Trainer Notes

Last week we performed Alicia's fitness assessment. While we have been weighing her each week, it is important to look at other measurements as well. Sometimes the changes that occur off the scale can be just as, if not more, important than the ones on the scale.

As of the date of the fitness assessment, Alicia has lost a total of 22 pounds! In addition, she has lost a total of 6.25 inches off her chest, waist, and hips, and over 12 inches off her whole body (measuring at 9 different sites).

Her performance tests also showed excellent results. Her cardiovascular fitness has gone from below average to average (just 1 point from above average!). Her flexibility is better, as she gained 2 inches on her sit and reach test. She also nearly doubled the amount of push-ups she did the first day, showing that her strength and muscular endurance are also much improved.

These tests show that several other things are happening in addition to the pounds she is losing on the scale. While overall weight is important, it's also important to look at the other health benefits that result from working out and eating right. Too often people become obsessed with hitting a certain number on the scale and don't stop to think about how they are improving their overall health.

Contests

Hello everyone. My inspirational quote for this week is the following: "No matter how tough, no matter what kind of outside pressure, no matter how many bad breaks along the way, I must keep my sights on the final goal, to win...with more love and passion than the world has ever witnessed in any performance." - Billie Jean King How fitting because lately people have been asking me what the prize is if I win the competition. I've consistently given the same response to everyone: "We are all winners.....just by being selected to be in this competition." To everyone who knows me, I absolutely love contests. I strive to enter anything that doesn't cost and hope and win them all. But this "contest" is not a contest in the sense of winning a prize. This is a life changing event for me and I'm blessed to have been chosen to represent the Whitefish Bay Fitness Together. So while this is a performance because it's such a public forum, I win each and every day as I eat right, exercise and continue to make life long changes. Until next time....... Alicia

Trainer Notes

A couple more pounds gone! Alicia is staying on track and moving along nicely with her weight loss. Her new training program is going well. The workouts are a little more intense, as we focus more on specific muscle groups. We still do 2 days of all cardio, but we also include cardio on the weight lifting days (cardio is always good!). We've been doing more sprints and interval training to increase the intensity of the cardio. And of course we're still working on running as Alicia gets ready for her 5k race in July. Today Alicia ran a full mile....no problem! We'll be up to 3 miles in no time!

Habits

Hello everyone. My motivational quotes for this week are the following: Curious things, habits. People themselves never knew they had them-Agatha Christie & Habit is habit and not to be flung out the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time-Mark Twain Comments from Marina: IT MAY TAKE SOME TIME, BUT YOU WILL BREAK THOSE BAD HABITS. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! The definition of habit is: a behavior pattern acquired by frequent repetition or physiologic exposure that shows itself in regularity or increased facility of performance b: an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary. When I entered the competition, I thought my biggest struggle would be consistently working out and changing my eating habits would come easy. Well, it's been the opposite for me. Working out comes naturally for me now and I truly enjoy and look forward to it. My eating, well that's different. Looking at that definition helps me see why it's been so hard to change my eating as quickly as I would like to. For those that know me, I've made tremendous strides and I have pretty much come full circle with changing my eating. I rarely eat out and when I do, I choose healthy selections. I eat fruits & vegetables daily and now drink water more than I drink my Diet Pepsi. In fact, I went from about 3-4 Diet Pepsi daily to 1 every few weeks. I still haven't made enough changes though. When I want that piece of cake, I still eat it sometimes. I'm still trying to find the balance. But as Mark Twain said, I will take one step at a time. Until next time.......... Alicia

Alicia's Video for Friday

Alicia Video Blog

Trainer Notes

It was another successful week of training for Alicia. Even with food poisoning, she showed up at 5:45 Saturday morning for her training session!

This week we are changing up Alicia's program. Previously we were alternating total body weight lifting sessions with cardio days. Now we are adding a split routine into her program. Her week will look something like this:

Day 1: Legs
Day 2: Upper Body
Day 3: Cardio
Day 4: Legs
Day 5: Upper Body
Day 6: Cardio

There are a couple reasons for switching the program. First, it is good to switch up your program once in a while to avoid plateaus. If you do the same routine for too long, your body becomes used to it and you will stop seeing the results you were previously. Switching your program "shocks the body" -- it doesn't know what to expect, so it must now adapt to the new demands. This is what gets results. Second, doing this split routine will increase the intensity of the weight lifting sessions since we can focus more on the specific muscle groups and get more exercises in for each of those groups. This increased intensity is another way that we will "shock the body." We will keep you updated on how Alicia responds to this new program.

We will also be doing a fitness assessment on Alicia later this week and are eager to see the results of all her hard work!

Quotes

Hello All. I receive an encouraging quote every Monday from a co-worker (Thanks Marina) to keep me motivated throughout the competition. She observes me (I'm learning) and uses those observations to determine what type of quote I receive. She will sometimes add her own thoughts-(I WILL PUT THEM IN CAPS). With the exception of people who stop by my desk, no one has seen the quotes. So I'm going to share those I've received so far and will share my new quote with you when I receive it on Monday mornings. Week of March 16-"Not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the next best place for the next moment"-Oprah Winfrey Week of March 23-"If there is no struggle, there is no progress"-Frederick Douglas "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate"-Oprah Winfrey (THIS WEEK IT'S ALL ABOUT ATTITUDE!) Week of March 30-"I want to grow. I want to be better. You grow. We all grow. We're made to grow. You either evolve or you disappear" – Tupac Shakur (KEEP GROWING ALICIA, YOU HAVE THE SUPPORT FOR CHANGE!!!) Week of April 6-"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it" & "If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain."- Both by Maya Angelou Week of April 21-"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places" – author unknown (NO PARKING & STAY FOCUSED) Week of April 27-"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go…And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three quarters percent guaranteed." – Dr. Seuss Week of May 4 – "Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." – Sir Winston Churchill Week of May 11 – I'm bringing sexy back" – Justin Timberlake That last one is funny but I will totally own it!! I have tremendous support from my co-workers and it's truly helpful and appreciated. Stay encouraged & be encouraging to others. Until next time…………… Alicia

Scale Obsession

Hello everyone. This week I will have my 8 week assessment. I will have my initial measurements re-done to see what type of progress I've made. I'm a little nervous because I'm looking for big numbers. In my opinion, my work so far hasn't been reflected in my scale weight....so of course, I can't stay off of it. It's become an obsession to me to weigh myself. As we all know, scales vary so I get on 3 different ones (several times a week) and go with the lowest number to make myself feel good! Wow, that's actually pretty funny now that I see it in writing. Hopefully, the measurements will cure me......at least temporarily, of my scale obsession. Good thing I don't have one at home. Hey, great gift idea!! hint, hint, wink, wink. I appreciate your continued support. Until next time................ Alicia

Trainer Notes: Week 7

The diet portion of this transformation has definitely been the hardest part for Alicia, but Holly is working with her a lot on that and we are confident that it will all click over time. There is a lot of information to take in, and making all those changes can be difficult....especially if you're trying to change eating habits that you've had for a lifetime. This is why it's important to make small changes at a time, and to not become defeated if you make mistakes along the way. It is a learning process; you won't be perfect all the time. But when you make those mistakes, it is important to realize where you went wrong so you can avoid those problems in the future. And then you need to get right back on track with your healthy eating plan. Often times people will have a bad meal, or a bad day, and then figure that they've already ruined their diet, so they give up on their plan and pig out. Don't let one bad meal destroy all the other work you've done though. Just accept that you had a bad day, but know that if go back to your healthy eating, you will be fine.....just cut out some of the extras in your diet, or add in a little extra cardio. Now back to Alicia.... Alicia had a big drop in weight this week and so far has lost a total of 18 pounds! This is a very healthy rate of weight loss (1-2 pounds per week is typically recommended) and we are thrilled for her! We will do a complete fitness assessment on Alicia next week to see how the other numbers look. We added some running into Alicia's program last week. Running is a great way to burn calories and improve your cardiovascular health. Alicia's goal is to run a 5k in mid-July, and I have no doubt that she will be able to do that. We will slowly increase the distance and speed of the running workouts, working up to that full 5k distance. Next week we will change up Alicia's training program a little. More details to come on that next week....