Well, it’s been about two weeks since my last post on working out. I’m incredibly happy to say that I’ve nearly reached my goal and the progress I’ve made has been great! In this post I’ll discuss some of the modifications to my workout as well as outline a cardio and ab/core routine.

Current Progress: I’m weighing in at 145.8lbs. I haven’t done measurements yet, but I’m thinking I should do that; I figure I’ve added about 1.5 inches to my arm and lost about a inch in the waist (not that I have many to loose). I’ve accomplished a steady 7-minute mile and a few runs at 6:19, 6:45, &c. That is a definite progress marker for me!

Regime: I’ve really been tailoring my diet more and more to promote my workouts. For example, I have an average goal of 150g of protein a day, which I accomplish by protein shakes (≥ 52g each [Now, I don’t know math to save my life, but that should be equal to or greater than, lol.]) and, well, meat. I’m eating roughly six meals a day opposed to 3 or 5. Each is enough to comfortably fill me up.

Now, for workouts, I’m finally hitting the hard, hard days but also the most rewarding. What do I mean by this? I’m hitting the weights harder with more pounds, less reps and to failure/max out each time. It makes waking up in the morning feeling very much like the Tin man, but it’s a beautiful pain.

Here’s my cardio summary:

Cardio
Stair Master	Treadmill	Elliptical
Level: 5	Level: 3-5	Level: 3
Time: 7-10	Time: 7-10	Time: 7-10

I’ve found this to be the best option for assuring my cardio works into my time at the gym. Spending 20-30 minutes on anyone one of these machines results in boredom and my quitting prematurely. I do these back to back in any order. If you question the results, I assure you – try it once, and you’ll be surprised just how much of a workout it is. The benefits beyond escaping a banal workout are the utilization of different muscle groups and different movements. This is a major benefit because the muscles are constantly meeting different demands which ensure a successful workout.

Now, for my ab work out. Because my goals for posting is to journal my workout and remain accountable to it, I’m posting pictures to show you rather than just using names cos, really, no one knows those (& in case you haven’t tried them, you’ll have an idea).

Abs/Core: This is currently my favorite muscle group to work out. It may be because husbanding these with my cardio has begun to result in visible results.  As a general rule, I do 3 sets, 10-15 reps.

1. Crunches: At first, I did the regular crunches; however, now, I’ve added a 10lb dumbbell to this. Honestly, I like this much more and rather than doing 100 I only need to do 30-45.

   

1. Bicyle or Supine bicycle crunches: These are great for the lower abs. I generally work these in between my crunches. It speeds up the workout.

1. Vertical lift: These I like to do with a small or large ball between my legs. I’m not entirely sure why I prefer these with the ball, but I think it’s helps with stabilizing my lift. Sometimes, I modify it my reaching up to touch my toes – this is when I really feel it.

1. Obliques: I tend to limit myself with these as my goal isn’t to have a barrel waist. Also, being short, were I to enlarge these muscles, I’d appear even shorter.

These few exercises conclude my favorites for working out my abs and my core. Check out this link for 26 others that I integrate to change things up. It’s important to not find yourself stuck doing the same exercises – your muscles don’t like that.

Keep an eye out for my next post on shoulders and arms.