LM Combat: Day 6 Update

The past few days have been a bit busy for me between work & school, but I have been keeping up with my LM workouts! I can't stress enough how important it is to schedule your workouts at least a day in advanced. Otherwise, you'll keep pushing them back in the day until you're at a point you just want to sleep! I'm totally guilty of doing this in the past! For me what works best is dragging my butt out of bed earlier than normal and getting my workout done in the AM. Otherwise I just end up making too many excuses during the day & they don't get done!

Ok, I'm done with my speech. You came here to read how LM Combat is going, not to be lectured :)

On Thursday (day 4) a friend of mine came over and we busted our butt through HIIT: Plyo & Inner Warrior together. It's always more fun to workout with friends! I'm hoping a few more join us next time. Friday (day 5) was Combat 45, which was 45 minutes of punches & kicks. Pretty straight forward & simple to pick up on. Today (day 6) was Lower Body Lean Out. 30 minutes of lower body focus & my legs felt like jelly after! It's been awhile since I can remember doing so many lunges & squats in a week as I have this week! I am positive that all this leg work will be helpful for running & for sculpting some sexy legs! Wohoo!

I will admit that I have felt quite hungry during this 1st week. Of course, I'm only consuming around ~1200 calories as opposed to ~1800 that I will be eating the rest of the 60 days. The guidebook says you shouldn't feel uncomfortable hunger or cravings in the first week, but that you might feel a little "off". Well, I will admit that I've had to add in an extra snack these past few days because I have been starving! And I get cranky when I'm hungry, just ask my hubby :)

That being said, I'm definitely looking forward to bumping up my eating plan to 1800 calories. I'm taking time tomorrow while Jon is at work to plan out my meals for the next week. This program focuses on whole foods, eliminating sugary beverages, trans fats & refined carbs. I've got some great cookbooks I'm going to leaf through tomorrow (Karma Chow, Raw Food Real World, & Thrive) in order to build up my meal plan. Also, I hope I've kickstarted my metabolism enough to see some results on the scale this week! I'm normally not one to fixate on a number, but my 'number' has been stuck for over a year! My goal is positive change in my body composition, and to do that I need to lose some body fat.

Something that I've taken away from the workouts this week is that pain is temporary. These workouts aren't easy, but they ARE doable. It's funny what you can accomplish when you push yourself past your comfort zone. There are sometimes I want to quit. But I remind my self this is just 30, 45 or 60 minutes of my day and then I can have a break. The results are worth it!

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Tomorrow is a rest day for LM Combat. I'll check back in with an update on my meal plan for week 2!

♥L

LM Combat: Day 1!

Hey All!

Today I woke up nice & early to make sure I got my workout in for the day. I had some evening plans & I don't want to be screwing up on Day 1! The workout today was "Combat 30: Kickstart". I LOVED IT!

It may be hard to compare programs already, but LM Combat reminds me of Turbo Fire, just less coordination required. Turbo Fire is more choreographed, where as LM Combat is pure punches & kicks. It definitely got my heart rate up this morning! I feel like the routines will be easier to learn as well, and then I can really add intensity to kick it up a notch.

As far as eating, I'm on the 1200 calorie plan for this week. Normal caloric intake will be 1800 cals after week 1. I was a little nervous about getting hungry...1200 calories is a bit low for me. I made a point to eat every 3 hours and didn't feel hungry until dinner. Whenever I got the urge to snack, I just got up from my desk to get some more water.

There is a whole page of the nutrition guide dedicated to "The Wonder of H2O" with some ways to 'dress up' your water. I added a squirt of lime and some crushed up mint leaves to my ice water today. Someone at work asked me if it was a Mojito! Not quite, but still yummy.

Sure it's a mojito. Minus the alcohol & sugar! :-)

On deck for tomorrow is 2 workouts - my first HIIT workout of LM Combat as well as a stretching session, "Inner Warrior". Check back tomorrow to see how it goes.

I'll leave you with this motivational thought:

Commit to be Fit!

Get out there and get it done! Have a great night!
♥L

Back to Blogging

Life can be exhausting some times! So much has happened between my last post and now, I'm not sure where to even start! Wedding planning & online classes for my master's degree have sucked up all of my free time. The wedding is over though now, and one of my 'resolutions' for the new year is to commit more time to blogging & online coaching because, well simply, I really enjoy it!

I find New Year's resolutions a bit laughable. I mean, why do you need a new year to commit to bettering yourself? I know its a good reference point in time, but I think if you have a good idea you should just run with it, no matter the calendar date! For example, I was going to start training for the half-marathon I signed up for in January (the race itself is in May) because all the training plans I can find have you on about a 16 week plan. But why wait? I have lots of excess energy from sitting at a desk all day & need some outlet to burn my stress off! Plus, I'm just excited about FINALLY getting around to a half-marathon, so I'm trying to ride this good feeling. I know there will be days I won't feel like running the 13.1 miles I committed to, so this gives me some cushion room for training!

Back to blogging...I do need somewhere to keep track of my workouts & what I am eating & all the random fun fitness things I find on the web. In the past I've always used my blog as a place to store inspiration, so what better reason to start blogging again. As I say, my goal really is to inspire others as I have been inspired too!

So what is your New Year's resolution? Do you really need to wait until Jan 1 2013? Get started today!

Monday Mantra - Give It All You Got

I was traveling for work last week and a friend who lives in town invited me to a hot yoga class she has been going to. First off, I was ecstatic to get back to hot yoga since I had not gone since completing The Ultimate Reset. More importantly, the yoga teacher said something interesting that I will keep with me for a long time. More or less, she pointed out a workout only lasts "x" number of minutes. Give it all you got for that time period and leave knowing you couldn't possibly have done more. If your mind is elsewhere during your workout or you only give half an effort, you will leave feeling unsatisfied.

I think that is a great piece of advice! So often I find my inner voice complaining or whining and I give in. Before I know it, the workout is over and I *know* I could have given more. I tried to apply this 'give it all you got' mentality to my run the next day. I knew, total, I only had to run 25 minutes, and then I would be done with the workout. I ended up cutting about 10 secs off my normal pace! And by having this mentality on a consistent basis, I know I will only get stronger. This can apply to any workout or challenge you are taking on right now - push yourself! You can do it, I believe in you!

Monday Mantra : 6/11/12

Newsflash - we were all created differently! That is the beauty of the human race! I am tired of women - especially teens & young women - comparing themselves to an unrealistic standard that popular culture has set. Do not look inward to find your flaws. Look inward to find what makes you uniquely you!

 Repeat these words to yourself:

Photo: gettyimages.com

YOU are strong. YOU are beautiful. Remind yourself of that daily!

Monday Mantra - Opportunity

Finishing up the Ultimate Reset has taught me you never know what you can accomplish until you try! What challenge will you take on this week?