Sarah’s Blog

Sorry for the short notice.

… go here now:

    http//www.1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor <– 5-day-discount.

YOU MUST go here to get the discount… –

http//www.1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  <– 5-day-discount.

Go see the timer and the deal I have been allowed to offer YOU…

http//www.1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor<– 5-day-discount.

Go now –

http//www.1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  <– 5-day-discount.

This weekend we have 3 days off here in Canada – Victoria Day on Monday.  Apparently this is the traditional plant-your-annuals weekend J I’ve always found that t6o be a waste of time, effort and money, since the darned plants don’t bloom again the following year but have to dug up and replaced. I may succumb this spring though, and get bulbs in the fall for spring flowers next spring and the years after as well!

What I will do this weekend, is have a kitchen spring cleaning. Even the most fitness minded of us somehow end up with some not-so-fit ingredients in the cabinets, especially after a long, cold winter. When these things are there, they tend to get eaten. Therefore, a razzia is in order (Italian for clean-it-all-out, be that crap food or human enemies J unfortunately, but in this case it’s not the humans I’m after, lol).

I’ll take the opportunity to wash the cabinets inside while everything is out on the counter too.

Same goes for the fridge. Nothing bad in there, but I had an “illumination” last week: seeing how the two little fruit/vegetable drawers are overflowing so that the next two shelves above them are full of produce falling over each other, and having a fairly good-sized plastic, lidded container in which smaller food containers were packed, I thought “hey, clean that thing out and see if it fits on the shelf, I can use it for the “floating” produce to keep it from falling all over the place” and yes, wash out the fridge too. Once in a while, it’s necessary.

I still wonder how come. Foods are wrapped or placed in containers, nothing leaks, yet the fridge gets stained and dirty inside. Cabinets too. I don’t have foods boiling over on the stove, yet the burners look like crap after a while. Why is that? Just a reminder for us to wash things down once a week (or more often if we have young kids)? I don’t know, but it does feel and look good when the kitchen is clean.

It also feels and looks good when we’re clean – on the inside that is. No sludge in the intestines and liver, no visceral or sub-cutaneous fat; just a lean, clean, healthy person living in a lean, clean, healthy house and leading a lean, clean, healthy life – sound like brainwashing? It is! It’s the technique used in commercials do to make you buy crap; us it (on) yourself to get lean, clean and healthy =D

I read an article on the N1H1 (or is it H1N1? Who cares) vs Franken Foods by Tom Venuto this morning, a little long, but good; and so true!  There’s a media scare about a flu virus which is milder than most “regular” flues, but not much said about trans fats; nothing mentioned about how “No TFA” (trans fatty acids) in red and bold on the front label is a blatant lie when you can read “Hydrogenated oils” in the ingredients list on the back! And not a word on all the diseases caused by the TFAs, a lot worse than a little flu!

To quote the list of diseases from Tom’s article:

TFA’s are not new news, but there have been new studies published this year on the dangers of TFA’s, two of them just in the last month. If you think swine flu is scary, consider the following facts from the latest research:

·         Four recent studies indicated 24, 20, 27 and 32% higher risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or CHD death for every 2% energy of TFA consumption isocalorically replacing carbohydrate, SFA, cis monounsaturated fatty acids and cis polyunsaturated fatty acids, respectively.

·         Even consumption of small amounts of TFA’s (2% of total energy intake) is consistently linked to coronary heart disease.

If heart disease isn’t enough, the research says that TFA’s will:

·         Increase belly fat (visceral fat) and body fat

·         Contribute to insulin resistance

·         Increase risk of type 2 diabetes

·         Adversely affect circulating lipid levels (increase bad LDL cholesterol)

·         trigger systemic inflammation

·         disrupt glucose-insulin homeostasis

·         cause metabolic dysfunction

·         Induce endothelial dysfunction

·         Adversely affect almost every cell in your body, including hepatocytes, adipocytes, macrophages and endothelial cells.

Still want to eat this crap?

My brother-in-law tried to give me some Cool Whip last night … last time he managed that – before I had a chance to see the ingredients! – I ended up with such a hangover from the trans crap in there that never again will I touch that or anything else with TFA or MSG for that matter – same reaction. Dehydration, head aches (as a result), feeling out of it and bloated for days while my body gets rid of the poisons …

This happens to everyone when they eat TFA and MSG, the trouble is, they’re so used to eating this stuff, they don’t realize that the crappy way they feel is due to the “food” they ate the day before. By cleaning up your diet, and then accidentally (or on purpose for the sake of the experiment) ingesting some TFA or MSG in a “normal” portion, you suddenly notice that feeling, notice the difference between the feeling after a clean meal and this.

Last time, I promised you I’d tell you about a few other books and things … and you know, it’s a perfect transition from the above. Knowing what to do is one thing, but how many of you (us) know why and how?

You’re wondering what I mean, right? Why? Of course you know why! Doesn’t everyone? Yes. And no. Most of us have never sat down and really thought about the real, deep why. I know, some say you can compare it to wanting to swim an ocean if it would save a family member – I find that a bit extreme, frankly there’s no one I’d take a bullet for or risk killing myself swimming an ocean for. But without going to such extremes, the idea of it will make you think.

What is your deepest reason why you want what you say you want? And, what is it you want exactly? Seriously, once you know the answers to these two questions, the “how” is a breeze! The answer to “how” will often present itself almost automatically without you even thinking about it or looking for it! No, really.

OK, but how do you go about finding this “why” thing? My favourite way, one I shook my head over and dismissed the first time but since have listened to several times and done the exercises of, is Jon Benson’s M-Power Series.  http://tinyurl.com/M-Powe-Series is a little pricy if you look at the $$, but if you think of what you get … a year of weekly audios that you of course can listen to as often as you like any time you like.

Some of the audios are “just” listening lessons; ideal for walks and driving in the car. Others – most – have exercises you need to do in order for the content to really sink in. All will benefit from a serious taking of notes; and listening to each audio twice is not as much a luxury as a necessity if you want to get as much information out of them as you can.

After three years of listening to these audios, I still come away with new knowledge, new “aha!” moments, new stuff I can apply to my everyday life.  I’m not pretending to “know it all”, far from it, but you can imagine how much I’ve read since I got into the Fitness Industry, and I can tell you that this audio series is if not the best, at least one of the top 3 best there is! (And I’m just saying that to cover my butt, to me it is the best, by far!)

You may be of those who think “I’m too old to bother, what’s the point at my age?” Right? Or you know someone who says this when you try to talk to them about getting healthy. I know I have a lot of them around me!

Two things – one, did they see this just-finished season of the Biggest Loser? The At-Home winner was 62 … so sick when he started that he collapsed in the gym! He beat everyone who had been eliminated – and if I’m not mistaken would have beaten the finalists too had he been one of them. The winning finalist was a 48-year old woman, a mom who was obese at the start of the season. Honestly, to me she looked too skinny at the finale, but I’m sure she’ll put a little muscle and even a little fat back on to look better, just dropped as low as she could for the victory.

My point is, age has nothing to do with anything! Check out http://tinyurl.com/Fit-O-40 and look at the photos of the role models, read their stories, take heart. If they could turn their lives around, so can you! Dammit, I feel like kicking some butts sometimes! When I hear ridiculous statements like “our metabolism slows with age” or “we lose muscle mass as we age so it turns to fat” or any other stupidity along the same lines … I see red!

Age does not make you weak or fat! You do!

You read that right. Train for crying out loud. Use your body. Fuel it right. Read Fit Over 40, listen to M-Power, check the links from last week on 7 Minute Muscle and Every Other Day Diet. There is nothing about these books that suggests any hocus-pocus or sorcerer had anything to do with the making of these books and audios, in fact they are all made by a “former fatty” as he calls himself. Who better to guide you to a leaner body than a guy who’s done it himself and made all the trial-and-errors for you?

OK, you don’t have to switch screens to last week’s post, I’ll give you the links right here, ok?

http://tinyurl.com/7MinMuscl     

http://tinyurl.com/myEODD  

http://tinyurl.com/Fit-O-40         

http://tinyurl.com/M-Power-Series

And I’ll add for good measure:

http://tinyurl.com/low-pressr-sex

http://tinyurl.com/natu-pause   

 http://tinyurl.com/1-RepFitness

On blood pressure management  and hormonal balance, as well as an alternative training protocol to the 7 Minute Muscle one.

As a final message today:

To all Norwegian readers – Happy 17^th of May tomorrow!!

We all slip. We have in the past and we will again. Look, even the pros do, finding themselves in life situations that takes away (some of) their focus temporarily.

Here’s the key word: temporarily!

All too often, we non-pro athletes get discouraged, give up even; just because we slipped up for a given reason. I used to, and ended up at 205 lbs!

I don’t anymore. I react, switch gears, take the closest and shortest way back to the road leading to my goal.

That’s what happened in February. I had the road mapped out and was packed (1RF in hand) and ready to go. Almost immediately, I hit a bump in the road, actually more of a pot-hole! Flu. I didn’t have any significant fever for more than a day, but was weak and sluggish for 2-3 days.

A stuffy nose does nothing to give you any sensation of taste of you foods, which – stupidly – led me to seeking foods I remembered had taste (i.e. pizza, burgers, etc). The sad thing was that I couldn’t taste even that; but worse, this junk went directly to some fat cells I’d just cleaned out!

I trudged along on my pot-holed road, with 1RF doing its damndest to help, but finally decided it was time for something more drastic. A deviation. A 3-week Radical Fat Loss deviation, leading back to my 1RF road! 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

1RF, just so it’s 100% clear, has not disappointed, not in the least. And I am not getting off, just taking a fat loss deviation for 3 weeks, then coming back to do phase 3 of 1RF in a better mind set and with less bodyfat to weigh me down (mentally as well as physically).

You will therefore get a double for the next 2 weeks: the result of my “deviation” and the final verdict on 1RF (but I’m sold on that, in fact I’ve already scheduled a re-run in September after spending the summer on 7MM).

A quick note on this Radical Fat Loss Blueprint deviation.

If anyone came to me with a wild plan promising a 21-pound fat loss in 21 days; I’d tell them where to take their plan. The thing was, the person with this plan isn’t “anyone”, it’s one of a select number of trainers I trust. Jon Benson is crazy yes, but not so crazy he’ll sell you a health risk.

In fact, he won’t even let you have Radical Fat Loss Blueprint unless you have a lifestyle plan to go to after the 3 weeks! That’s sane for a guy I just called crazy (smiling here, Jon) and you can basically only get a copy if you own (or get here and now) his Every Other Day Diet http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/FitnessFor   (which incidentally, I have been using for over a year and can’t see not using for the rest of my days, it’s that good!) or prove that you own another good, sound and life-long nutrition program.

I could use the 1RF nutrition plan for example, or any of the other ones we give you access to on www.atozfitness.com , but you must have a plan for the after Radical-weeks.

RFLB (Radical Fat Loss Blueprint) is limited in time and only to be used for a maximum of 4 times a year. OK, there should be a warning triangle on the front page of the pdf, J kidding, it’s safe when it’s done the proper way, for the prescribed time, and with the necessary supplements. Jon even decided that he wasn’t letting anyone do the program or buying the supplements without completing a Certification course on his web site!

No direct information on how the RFLB goes or even went until May, as there is an on-going competition and of course, I don’t want to have the other competitors know where I am so they can more easily beat me.

Conclusion: my 12-week 1RF-journey gets a 3-week RFLB deviation which will get me back to the “main road” which is the 1RF-track. Life is unpredictable. We just have to deal with it and adapt our strategy. Giving up is never an option! (The word is deleted from my vocabulary, as is the word “problem”).

Have a great week!

PS. Note that AtoZ Fitness’ Total Body Makeover is being liquidated this month – you can still grab a copy at half price with all the bonuses (and a few new ones thrown in as well) right here: www.atoztoptrainer.com

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

I can choose from any of 5 meals per meal-time. The dinners are identical to those in Phase 1, so there’s nothing new to consider at the end of a long day at work. I mix and match as I want, keeping to the breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner menus – except I add a snack mid-morning as going from 6:30 to 12:15 is really too long for me. I’m on 1RF start of phase 2 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

This is where I “cheat” and add the allotted nut-serving from my previous nutrition plan, the EODD SNAPP. http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/FitnessFor 

The workouts are going great again now that I’m totally over the last residues of the flu-bug. The coughing has all but subsided, which makes my life a lot more comfortable. 

Doing just one rep at a time is really a lot of fun. It’s totally different from anything I’ve done before, and you might think that 1 rep is easy, what’s the big deal, right? Well, the big deal is in the rests between these one reps at a time. By the end of the set, believe me, you feel it!

At this point, I’m almost half-way through the program, and my intentions are to well, yes, finish the next 7 weeks of course; but also to start over from week 1 in the fall. That’s how much I’m enjoying this program.  1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

In the mean time, between the end of the 1RF take 1 (now) and the start of 1RF take 2 in September, I’ll switch back to 7MM that I also enjoy doing. The difference between the two programs will totally throw my muscles off, keeping them guessing at what’s coming next.

Variety is the key here. Whether you’re thinking fat-elimination or muscle gain, you need to switch plans and programs from time to time. I guess you could compare it to a travel from say North America to Europe – at the start, it’s the plane, then you switch to trains, ferries, rental cars, keeping your mind wondering what’s happening next J

I’m travelling between Texas and France, flying from a 7-minute muscle training program to a 1 Rep at a time program and back; making sure one of them starts before and ends after that Holiday season everyone tells you is so hard to “survive”.

The nutrition programs associated with both is so similar, it’s not hard to organize cooking or outing wise at all and switching here is a synch.

These two programs may not both be the best for you, but at least one of them will hit home and become a staple workout/nutrition program for you too. I recommend finding at least one program you want to cycle once or even twice a year. It’ll be a little like coming home, you know where everything is, yet since your last passage there have been some changes – in your strength, from using another program.

I will probably end up with a third program as well, something a little more calm. Not saying easier, just more calm! As in something yoga-based maybe, I haven’t quite decided yet, and it’s too far from the end of my 1RF program to worry about it at this point.

Check out these two programs, the 1RF from France  1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

that I’m doing right now, and the 7MM + EODD from Texas that I’ve been doing before and will cycle back to. 7minutemuscle.com/aff/FitnessFor  and  http://www.everyotherdaydiet.com/aff/FitnessFor 

Have a great week, spring is in the air (although it’s still cold!)

The idea of 1RF 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor is great, giving you access to one week at a time, four weeks of nutrition, no skipping ahead, you simply have to follow the plan as it was meant to be used!

There is of course the fact that almost every exercise in the program calls for a machine you have to be a gym member to have access to, but it IS possible to use substitution exercises to be able to do this program at home. Remember, there are only solutions, not problems!

For instance, like I told you last week, I have had to change the hack squat to a ball squat – the closest alternative I could think of; using ball leg cur.ls for a lack of leg cur.l machine; entirely skipped the leg extension – no machine, and there’s a limit to how many squats and lunges I can do, but I substituted for a lighter-weight Db squat, keeping the Bb squat as the 1-rep exercise.

For the glutes, abductors and adductors, I switched to the low-pulley cable on my lat-tower since I don’t have the specific machines. Works just fine, I get as sore as if I was using the gym machines!

Seriously, the workouts are challenging, tough, and totally worth the price of the program just by themselves! I recommend 1 Rep Fitness to anyone who likes to have fun challenging themselves in the gym.  1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

This past week, I had to switch workout days from Tuesday to Monday because we were invited to my in-laws Tuesday night. In fact, I will be doing Monday-Wednesday-Saturday training from now on – personal reasons. Our home gym has one set of selectable Dbs (PowerBlocks), one bench, a few weight bars and a lot of weight plates, one lat tower, two Swiss balls. If Lewis and I train at the same time, we either end up waiting for the equipment, or hitting eachother with the Dbs/Bb – not the ideal scenario for a workout. Since he’s not home Monday nights, I have the gym to myself; also, bu starting his week on a Sunday, he finds it easier to keep going the rest of the week. Guess it’s another example of how you can (habe to) be flexible and make sure you get

Getting the nutrition mapped out without having to calculate – just weigh/ measure up the given quantities of selected foods – is a time saver and makes meal preparation super easy.

I am ready with phase 2, starting tomorrow. More news in a week!

PS. I’ve seen the “blueprint” of an absolutely gorgeous dress, one shoulder covered the other not, draped across the bodice, skirt flowing below the drapings … I will wear that, in a size S, when it hits the stores. Probably in 12 weeks max, which co-insides with Lewis’ birthday. And yes, there will be a photo right here!

It’s utterly crazy how weak you can get from a tiny little organism invading yours.  You feel weak, out of “whack”, unable to do the simplest things you usually don’t think twice about doing …

I missed one workout on the Thursday I was hit with fever; and the following Sunday I felt too weak to lift even 10 lbs, so I rested. However, I only missed one workout total, because I changed my Day 1 workout from that Sunday to the following Tuesday, thus setting the last day on this program to May 3^rd rather than April 30^th. In the long run, this is not a big deal, and it’s kept me in the gym and pretty much on track in spite of the flu.

The only things I noticed was that I had to reduce my weight loads, and cut the cardio due to the coughing. On some exercises I found that I could only manage half the weight I used the week before I got sick! Yikes, right? But I left my ego at the door and concentrated on the movement, on the muscle-mind connection, and the intensity of the workout. Believe me, I got the sore feeling 24 hours later anyway!

Starting Monday (tomorrow) I’ll be in the gym at 4:50 am for 20-30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week before going to work, and keeping the Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday weight training days.

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

Cardio was simply not really an option this week. Sure, I could have gone on the stair stepper and done a minute, stopped for a minute to cough my lungs out (or so it seemed), back on the machine for a little while, off to cough, etc; but frankly this seemed pretty counterproductive to any training logic, so I decided to simply skip cardio for a week!

Weights were no problem, I was able to push, pull, yank and press without getting those spells of coughing – albeit with the lower loads!

If anything, this shows that you have to be flexible. You cannot give up and quit just because some small germ decides to attack you. Sure, I could have said “OK, I’m only in week 2, I’ll quit, get over this flu thing, and start over afterwards.” Would this have been optimal? I don’t believe so.

By moving my workout Day 1 from Sunday to Tuesday, I “bought” myself two extra days of rest. By lowering the loads, I was able to keep going to the gym and training, keeping my body moving, my muscles working, the germs frustrated that they were being ignored (yes, I believe they do dislike my ignoring them and thus clear out faster, lol – it may be wishful thinking, but the powers of suggestion …). Of course, having the gym in-house and not risking contaminating others or getting those ugly looks of “how dare you come here spreading your germs?!” helped a lot.

You can still adapt your workout by using bodyweight exercises if it’s just to keep moving for a week before you go back to the commercial gym, it’s better than not doing anything at all.

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

I have no leg c.url machine – I do Swiss ball leg c.urls. I’m hopeless at hanging leg raises because my grip gives out way before my abs even start feeling anything, so I do lying leg raises. Gluteus-machine and abductor/adductor machine I don’t have either, the low-pulley on the lat tower gets me through these exercises as well. There is always a way, if you want to find it!

Last night we felt well enough to be able to go out and actually enjoy a meal at a restaurant – last week we didn’t even make our usual lean, grilled sirloin, knowing we’d not be able to taste it at all. We were “bad” J ending the otherwise reasonable meal with a chocolate mousse!

I surprised myself though; I was unable to finish it! I was not just a couch potato, I was also a chocoholic; and for me to leave half of my chocolate mousse … I feel cured! It was preceded by a Caesar salad, and a grilled chicken breast topped with a slice of goat cheese (also grilled) accompanied by grilled vegetables – and a couple of tablespoons of homemade mashed potatoes.

Next week, the treat meal is going to be that grilled sirloin we didn’t have last week, with garlic, mushrooms and salad. The next meal out is not till the following week – make the treats different, and of better quality by spacing them out a little more.

Right now, I’m off to do Day 3 week 3, Tuesday will be the first day of the fourth week, and yes, I am curious about phase 2! You’ll have to wait 2 weeks to see me write about that though – next update will be on the end of phase 1.

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

Have a great week!

Juggling 1RF 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor training sessions, family, cooking and work has proved to be easy, because I had planned my weekly schedule before starting. I chose a 3-day split program and placed just two training days during the work-week, the third is on the weekend.

On the weekday training days, I either have a slow-cooker going all day so that supper is ready when I am; or I have an oven-dish made on the weekend that I pop in the oven to reheat while I train. On te days I don’t train, a piece of chicken or fish takes less time on the grill than it takes me to prepare the salad I eat with it!

Lunch at work is left-over supper from the previous day. Breakfast I prepare while our evening coffee and supper clean-up is done, and the snack meals are mostly cold (shakes, hard-boiled eggs, yoghurt, other protein, fruit) needing only to be portioned into containers.

Cats, dogs and fish are fed on time and get their attention too, and we attend the weekly family suppers on Friday night seeing everyone then. Pay-week is out bi-monthly treat at an as healthy as possible restaurant on one of the weekend days.

Of course, this is just logistics and planning, but without making a plan, you plan to fail. I would not even be training if the workouts weren’t programmed and planned into my week!

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

As it is, I train day 1 on Sunday morning an hour or so after breakfast and on Tuesday and Thursday between getting home from work and having supper.  This Thursday I even had to split the workout in two to fit in a dental appointment at 5 pm!

If week one was intense, week two added a few more percentages of intensity; changing rep-ranges, adding sets, adding to the cardio time … I’m not getting as sore as last week, but I didn’t expect to. I have added to the weight load where that was appropriate, adjusted other loads a tad down where I found I’d gone too heavy for the full exercise last week; and overall had a great week – again!

I learned a valuable lesson on Sunday when I almost pulled a muscle. Feeling what was happening, I stopped my movement before any serious harm was done, but had to skip the lunges after that. The reason was … not enough warm-up and pre-stretching! I am not making that mistake again!

1RF 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  workouts are tough, but safe as long as you do the prescribed warm-ups and stretches ahead of the training! On a “soft” program you can get away with skipping the warm-up, on others a few warm-up sets will do; but with the intensity of 1RF working with 65 – 85% of you 1 Rep Max, you need to warm up properly! Whether you want to use 65, 75 or 85% of your 1RM depends on the end results you are after; for my present goals I’m working with 65-75%.

 The nutrition part of  1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  1RF, as I just choose one of the 5 propositions per meal and prepare that for the week. I shop according to my list, portion and freeze what I’ll grill or slow-cook, prepare the oven-dish and freeze it; and take fruit, vegetables, yoghurt etc as I need them. The amounts are given through a calculating link based on my bodyweight, all I have to do is weigh a little, not really a big deal.

“Verdict” after two weeks: I’m still enjoying it with as much enthusiasm as the first day, and I have a feeling it’ll intensify next week – even more!

Had to drop one workout this week though, you do not train with high fever! Back on track for week three! 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

Reading the pdf for 1 Rep Fitness 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor   I knew I wanted to do Fabrice Rinaldi’s program. Doing workout nr one on Sunday, I was convinced that this was the right decision. Having completed week one, I can honestly say that I haven’t had this many muscles as sore as this and at the same time, for a long time J hey, even my abs were sore for 3 days! (they never are!)

The workouts are intense, concentration is a must. I have the stereo on in the gym but frankly, I don’t even hear what’s playing. I am too much in a mind-muscle connection to hear anything outside of that. That’s of course also why I’m getting more sore than usual.

Just a word on the abs exercises. There are many versions of crunches – floor, ball, reverse, weighted with the weight on your chest, weighted holding the weight at arms’ length above your face – I’d tried all of these. However, with 1RF’s 25 crunches at a shot, I found my neck was getting tired and took away the concentration from the abs. Holding a hand behind my head to help support it was one solution, but then I had an illumination: I placed the weight plate behind my head, resting on it but of course using the abs-contraction to lift my upper body, not my arms!

This version not only eases the stress on the relatively small neck muscles, I found it to be much harder on the abs! Followed by the second abs exercise, it would really have been more strange had I still not felt any soreness.

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

I trained last Sunday before lunch, then on Tuesday and Thursday between getting home from work and supper. Thursday I even stopped at a couple of shops on the way home, and I had a splitting head-ache. I still went, telling myself that allowing one excuse to keep me out of the gym would snow-ball into more skipped workouts. The funny thing was, after that workout and shower, the head-ache was gone, and I felt more alert and awake than I had going in.

The few muscles that didn’t get sore, still feel very much tighter than they did the previous week. Those that did get sore and got over it are certainly tighter as well.

I am keeping to a Monday morning official weigh-in and calliper bodyfat test to ensure that I stay on track over the weekend, but I do keep an eye on the scales during the week. There hasn’t been any significant weight change this week, but I haven’t checked the callipers (them I only check on Mondays). Watch for the update next Saturday.

I am awaiting the instructions for the coming week by e-mail today, maybe cutting it a little short since I need to know what I’m doing tomorrow. I would have preferred having the instructions last night so that I had the whole day today to prepare myself for the Sunday workout that I do as early in the day as I can so as to liberate the rest of the day for other activities. As long as I have the instructions by lunch I’ll be ok though.

In the mean time, I suggest you check out 1 Rep Fitness 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor   and join the fun!

Sarah, CPT

PS: this program is for serious trainees only, you will be stepping out of your comfort zone several times!

1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

Wow. 1 Rep Fitness looked challenging and fun on paper.

I just completed the training for Day 1 using the second alternative which is a 3-day split program, and I can tell you – it’s even more challenging and fun in real life than it looked on paper!

Tough, yes. I know I’ll have sore glutes tomorrow as well as quads – for the first day at my new job, that’ll be fun – probably sore pecs too, and the delts by the feel of them now; abs …doubtful, I never get sore abs, but I’ll keep training them anyway – looking into maybe getting sling straps to help with the hanging leg raises as it’s not the abs that stop my reps there, it’s my grip! For now though, I’m “stuck” with seated knee raises or lying leg raises.

I decided on the 3-day split program, doing it on Sunday morning and Tuesday and Thursday evenings so that I only have two workouts at the end of a 10-hour work-day (commute included). On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will, if needed, add 20 minutes of cardio before breakfast.

I am very much in favour of doing no more cardio than is needed to get results.

The 1 Rep Fitness 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  meal plan is simple. I went to the link, plugged in the information, and instantly received the correct amount I need of each food listed for these first 4 weeks.

The menus are also easy to use, as I get just the ingredients listed, and am free to do as I please to prepare the foods. I can grill, bake, steam, make salads, add herb and spices (nothing else) and just enjoy. With 5 menu-choices per meal, it could really not be any simpler.

Of course, I’m also in favour of the “simplify, simplify, simplify” idea (ever watched “Earth Star Voyager”?) and therefore decided on one menu per meal for the duration of this first month. I’ll only change the tastes with herbs and spices to keep it from being boring.

Oh, and for those who count calories, I worked it out for me for the first week based on the list I was given, and it’s close enough to what I need to burn fat, no need to recalculate anything, just weigh, cook/prepare, and eat.

First day, first impressions:

1 – this was as fun as I figured it would be, and then some!

2 – this is not for wimps – not if you use the correct weight load!

You should check this program 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  if you want to have fun, do something different, change up your routine, get the pulse going and stay motivated throughout the workout, and -I’m certain – get results at the end!

I will be giving you weekly updates on my own 1 Rep Fitness Journey right here, with update-photos and stats every 4 weeks. Every 4 weeks, because 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  is divided into 3 phases of 4 weeks each. I have no clue at this point, what’s coming next – I don’t even know what my workout will be next week! That information will be e-mailed to me towards the end of this week. No cheating, no skipping ahead, no getting impatient – I have to follow the scheduled plan!

Oh yes, one little thing: no treat this week. That’s right, 1 Rep Fitness does not allow a treat of any kind the first week! Well, that’s why I didn’t start last week – had to have my birthday cake this weekend! There’s another birthday this coming Friday as well, but I can skip that cake, it’s not mine!

OK guys, what are you waiting for? Click on 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor  and get started! It’s only February, start now and you’ll have completed this program by early May, plenty of time before the pools open and beaches beckon (ok, depending on where you live of course). There’s a training program for men and one for women – and for once, it makes sense to have a different one for us. Seriously!

One more time: 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor 

Now click!

Sarah, CPT

www.trainwithsarah.com

In recent weeks, I’ve seen quite a few posts on forums from people complaining of how hard it is to understand a given program. For the most part, it’s the nutrition they get confused about, or so it seems.

After a few posts back-and-forth with these people however, it turns out that they hadn’t prepared their journey. One wasn’t adding protein to his shakes, another hadn’t understood that she could add some more protein to a meal, yet another thought all they were allowed was plain chicken breast with brown rice and a salad with no dressing …

In some cases, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry; or even if the post is serious because it’s just so … well, ridiculous to be blunt about it. Ridiculous, because if these people (and I’ve only selected the latest 3, from this week) wouldn’t even have had to ask their question if they had prepared themselves properly before starting out!

Seriously, I’ve been on this fitness journey for 3 years now; yet with the new program I’m starting at the end of this week, I’ve spent hours, days, weeks even, reading, re-reading, studying, planning, juggling recommended meal-times with my own hours and future working hours, figuring out when to optimally fit in my workouts, etc. etc.

There is just no way I’d pick up the initial pdf of this program on Saturday night and say “ok, so what do I do tomorrow?”

How the heck would I know without laying down the groundwork first? There is no way! True, Fabrice gives me 5 alternatives for breakfast and every other meal . Fine, but which of the 5 will actually work for me and my life-style? How will I present it? What if anything, will I have to tweak on that? This is not something I can decide or figure out the first time I open the pdf.

And the same goes for the three workout plans, which one will be the optimal one for me to use? Studying and planning is essential to the success of any program, protocol or plan, to any voyage in life.

1 Rep Fitness 1repfitness.com/aff/FitnessFor is not a complicated program. In fact, all I have to do is “follow orders” as they drop into my mail-box every week for the following week. That does not mean I don’t have to think and make some decisions. Decisions based on my full understanding of the program! Which is why I’ve read the introductory pdf 5 or 6 times, some parts more often than others, working out the details for myself.

When I start on Sunday, I know what I’m going to do for the first week. The correct groceries will be in my fridge, freezer and kitchen cabinets. No winging it, no “oh well, I’ll just make do with …” none of that. If I want results, on any program, I have to be prepared, know where I’m going.

I don’t approach a fitness program any differently than I do a road trip. I have the maps (pdf) and the meals planned and prepared ahead of time, I know where I’m going, I can see my destination in my head, I know the road ahead from having looked at the map (no GPS thank you, it doesn’t give me the larger view nor the alternatives if there’s an obstacle).

It is my conviction that many people drop out, fall of the wagon, fail their program … from lack of planning, lack of foresight and knowledge.

So before you skip on yours, before you demand a refund because it “doesn’t work”, get back to basics, read properly, study as for an exam, and get it right! I can vouch for each of the programs on my blog-roll, they will not fail you! But you can fail them. And in so doing, you fail yourself.

Remember this, by now becoming a cliché :  If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

So take out your notebooks, your laptops, whatever support you plan best on; and plan your next training and nutrition program. In detail!! It may seem like a waste of time, but it is so worth it in the long run!

Sarah, CPT

www.trainwithsarah.com