Muscles

Hello everyone. During my workout today, I did an exercise called burpies. I've done these before using the core ball; however, today, I did them using free weights on a mat and had to come up and do a bicep curl. I have no idea why but they were so incredibly hard for me. I honestly think a tear fell down my face....or maybe it was sweat but nevertheless, my face was wet and those burpies killed me. My trainer asked how I felt. I said terrible and asked if I could get a "pass" on the second set. (Hey, it was worth a shot!) I'm sure you all know the answer to that. Guess what? I have a muscle!!!! OK, don't laugh but I've not had a muscle in over 20 years. I'm sure of it. I was doing the Popeye pose with my kids the other night and noticed mine didn't fall like they've done in the past. So I flexed again and felt it. Firmness!! Yes, yes, hold your applause.....I have more muscles coming. You can clap later. I've pretty much had anyone that would listen to me rant and rave about it feel my new muscle. It's the little things that mean a lot. This transformation is truly just that. A transformation, not only of my body but my mind, health, way of life and the way I learn and take in information. It's a continual learning process. I'm sure I'm not alone in the fact that EVERYONE has the answer to help me in my weight loss. I've received a lot of advice, books, websites, etc with information to help me. I appreciate all of it; however, I didn't gain all this weight overnight, so I certainly can't expect to lose it overnight.......although I would love to and have no patience for otherwise. I'm working on that....being patient with myself. When I train with Holly, I ask her a million questions and she's very knowledgeable and patient with me (as all the trainers are). The most important thing to remember when eating is portion control and the food pyramid. Follow the food pyramid, she told me, use it. Another thing she taught me is how to decipher good and bad advice. How to determine someone's motivation for writing a certain book or conducting a certain study. This has really helped me. Holly said if they wanted me to lose a ton of weight in 5 months just to win this competition, they could certainly do that. But the goal is a lifestyle change. A transformation. 5 years from now, my trainers would like to see me and I tell them "Look, I've maintained my weight, I'm still eating properly and I still exercise" I certainly look forward to that visit to the Whitefish Bay Fitness Together in 2014!. In closing, I'd like to share a few things: 1) Carrot cake is not a vegetable and in fact is one of the worse things to eat. Wow! 2) Banana bread is not a fruit and should also be avoided if you're trying to lost weight. 3 Don't take your child training with you because they will tell your trainer that you ate cake. Not just a taste but "a lot". Thanks Alexis! Thanks a lot! Until next time............ Alicia

Trainer Notes: Week 6

Alicia was back in the gym training last week after her week-long vacation. We jumped right back into her workouts, and she did great!

As Alicia said in her last video, she did workout on her vacation. She even did lunges and mountain climbers! (I'm sure she never thought that would be a part of her vacation!). Exercise can be tough to make time for, or be motivated to do, during vacation, so we are very proud that she stuck to the plan and got her workouts in. She did have access to a full gym which definitely makes things easier...but a gym isn't necessary to get a good workout in. I wrote Alicia two different workout plans for her vacation: 1 for if there was a gym, and 1 for if there wasn't. Some things you can do in your hotel room if you don't have access to a gym include:

Lunges or Split Squats
Push-ups
Jumping Jacks and/or Squat Jumps
Wall sits
Dips
Mountain Climbers
Supermans
Abs/Planks

These exercises require no equipment, other than a chair (for the dips). You can also purchase elastic exercise bands to bring with you. They are light and don't take up much room in your suitcase. These will provide you with even more exercise possibilities. Walking/running outside or swimming in a pool, if available, are the easiest ways to get a cardio workout in if there's no access to a gym. Also, try to find active things to do on vacation, such as hiking, biking, canoeing, or horseback riding. These are great ways to get some exercise in while having fun and enjoying your vacation.

Video Blog #5

Video Blog #4

Trainer Notes

Alicia had a great week last week...it was a week of realization. Alicia realized that it will take some serious dedication to the nutritional component of this challenge. On the physical side, she is reaching new heights in her workouts! We have been pushing and pushing her and she has welcomed every challenge! She also got to experience 1-on-1 Kickboxing for the first time--lucky her! We are going to give her a more structured nutrition plan until she can get used to controlling portion sizes and food groups on her own. She is making great strides and we are very proud of her--KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!! Holly Tamm, MS, CSCS

Alicia's Blog April 12th

DISAPPOINTED Hello All. I'd first like to thank each and every person that is following the competition and those that have been supporting me. Whether it's an encouraging comment, something you say to me in person, a vote, or just a silent thought to yourself, I thank you. I read and re-read the comments and I'm so touched by all of them. I have an equation for you. What's a 1lb gain + a disappointed trainer=? Give up? The toughest workout I've had to date. Yes, it happened. When I weighed in last week, I had gained 1lb. At least that's what the scale said. Yes, I had every excuse. "I drank a lot of water right before coming in." I ate a big lunch cause I'm going to eat a light dinner" "I should weigh in in the morning" "I gained muscle" Blah, blah, blah! The fact remains...I had gained a pound. I was very disappointed. And I was very scared to face a particular trainer because I knew she would be even more disappointed. I had a session scheduled with this trainer Friday morning and really debated cancelling. I decided to go anyway and face the music. I needed to hear what she had to say. And oh, did I hear it. Her first question was "How's it going?" I said "good." The next word out of her mouth was "really?" The conversation continued from there (as she increased the incline on the treadmill to 15!) But the best part is I listened. I really did. I need to make changes in my eating habits. Period! So not only did I have the hardest workout to date (followed by my first kickboxing session the next day -I'M VERY SORE) but I will be provided with a menu that I MUST follow. I have no problem with that and in fact, that's the structure I need. Initially, I was given the amounts of each food group that I needed daily based on the food pyramid and given a little leeway. That didn't work for me, so I will be given more structure. Thank you Ms. Trainer! I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I plan to make up for that 1lb gain. I've set a personal goal for myself and will do everything to achieve it. Keep the encouraging comments coming. They help a lot. Until next time............. Alicia

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Trainer Notes

Alicia is now into her 4th week of training, and she is doing great! She has been very consistent, coming in 5 - 6 days per week, and always with a smile on her face! We have been alternating total body strength training workouts with cardio workouts. The intensity of the workouts and the weights she is lifting have definitely been increasing, but Alicia is handling it very well. She definitely has the ability to be pushed, and we will continue to push her more and more as the competition goes on..

In addition to her workouts at FT, Alicia is also trying to get in 30 minutes of cardio during her lunch break at work. We are very proud of her for this. It shows that she can push herself, and this extra cardio will help to improve her cardiovascular abilities (meaning we can push her even harder during her workouts here!) as well as help burn some extra calories.

A big test for Alicia will be next week when she is out of town on vacation. She will really have to stay focused and make sure she sticks to a healthy diet, and gets her workouts in. She is not sure if she will have access to a fitness facility, but I told her there are several exercises she can do in her hotel room if she can't get to a gym. We will give more details about that in a later post.

Alicia Blog: April 8

Fat Test-(FT) Hello All. My excitement towards my workouts is still high so that's a good thing. I promised to tell you about my first (I'm certain there will be more) embarrassing moment at FT. I was doing crunches. I can't believe there are so many variations of crunches but the one I was doing involved me putting my hands on top of each other and crunching up enough to reach my trainer's hand. This was my first time working with this particular trainer. For lunch that day, I had a nice salad with bowel moving items in it. You guessed it, I let loose. Not once but twice!! Can you imagine?? This trainer was super nice and said "oh that's ok. It happens." I apologized a million times and was told (I really think just to make me feel better about "blowing" up the place) that a fit person lets loose more than others because of eating a lot of high fiber foods. I was still embarrassed…tremendously! Needless to say, I now watch what I eat before working out. Next, I promised to talk about what I will call a fat test. Now I know there's a proper medical term for the test but to me…it's a fat test. My results were: YES. That's all that was printed on the sheet!! I already knew this though, hence one of the reasons I entered the competition. Seriously though, it's a great test. Different from a BMI calculation and based on an entire body scan, it measures the percentage of fat and your bone density. I will disclose, only because this number will never be the same. But 42.6% of my body is fat. (Ok, you can stop looking at my picture and videos again to see if it's true. It is!) The largest percentage of fat is in my midsection. This is to be expected after having 3 children and will be the most difficult to decrease. But I'm up for the challenge! And all this time, you thought FT stood for Fitness Together. hehehe Last, let's talk water. Now water's good……to bathe in. But drinking? I must admit, I drank water, but not always every day before this competition began. I am now required to drink a minimum of 80 oz per day. 80 OZ PER DAY!! Going from about 20 oz or less per day to 80 oz….the restroom and I are best friends. I've now set up a tv, radio and book stand in there. J At work, the door no longer says WOMEN on the outside, it says ALICIA'S. Everyone tells me that my body will get used to the increase and adjust, but when I say, when?? Any tips you could provide regarding getting your daily intake in without living in the restroom will be greatly appreciated. Until next time……. Alicia

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