In July, I tweeted that I did a Fitness Analysis. This is something I learned as part of my personal training education. You can learn how to perform your own fitness analysis by going to this link. It’s great because it gives you a general idea of your fitness level. When you see my results below you’ll see I added in a few extra elements to the test just to get a clearer picture of where I was.
I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the results, but everyone needs to know their starting point. Isn’t there a quote out there somewhere that says what gets measured improves? I have been more sedentary since I have been working online more so here are my humble results.
After reviewing my results, I was bummed that I relapsed and lost most of my efforts I was making on my bikini body challenge. My sedentary lifestyle is eating away my physical abilities and I really needed to step up my game. There is no reason that I shouldn’t be in the top 95%ile in all areas. Obviously, I need to work on my upper body strength and cardiovascular ability. I decided it’s time to get back on track & make some goals, create a support system and accountability.
Goals Run an 8 minute mile. It isn’t a fantastic time, but it is a big improvement to my current time. Complete 40 consecutive modified push-ups and 20 consecutive full push ups Reduce my BMI to 18
Plan of Action August I started a 30 day challenge. The goal is to complete a workout everyday for 30 days.
Cardio Plan Complete 1 mile 5x on week 1= Total 5 miles Complete 2 miles 5x on week 2= Total 10 miles Complete 3 miles 5x on week 3= Total 15 miles Complete 4 miles 5x on week 4= Total 20 miles
Strength, Flexibility, Balance Plan Perform Yoga 2x a week- 90 minutes each session adding in lots of push ups or chaturangas for upper body strength.
Support System & Accountability I created a yoga bikini body boot camp group for women. I love helping others by solving my own problem! Together we are supporting each other to improve our levels of fitness. Another way to stay accountable is by posting blogs on my weekly workout wrap ups. So check in weekly to see if I am still going strong.
I have already completed 10 days this month. I haven’t missed a day of doing some exercise everyday! Even better, my sister decided to join in on the 30 days of fitness challenge and has been walking 4 miles everyday! I love it!
Comment below and share with me your current weekly workout!
My Fitness Goals To have a lean long body that looks hot in a bikini, also to have the athletic ability to surf, dance, and snowboard. I do not want to compromise athletics for aesthetics.
My Current Stats Age: 32 Height: 5’5.25″ Weight: 126.8 lbs. Body Fat: 22.8% ( 29 lbs of fat)* BMI: 21 Measurements: Bust: 35″, Waist: 27″, Navel: 29.50″, Hips: 37.75″, Thigh: 22.50″, Upper Arm: 11.25″, Calf: 13.50″
Ideal Body Composition Weight: 113 Body fat: 16% ** BMI: 18.7 Measurements: Bust: 34″, Waist: 25″, Hips: 35″
The Difference Weight: 14 lbs. Body fat: 6.8% BMI: 2.3 Measurements: Bust: 1″, Waist: 2″, Hips 2.75″
Because I am female I have higher estrogen and lower testosterone. This means it takes women longer to gain a pound of muscle than it does for men. On average, it takes men 2 weeks to gain a pound of muscle and for women it takes about 4 weeks. Lean muscle raises the metobolic rate. 1 lb. of muscle burns 35-75 calories a day. Therefore, if I gained 8 lbs. of muscle, I would be burning 280-600 more calories a day, which would allow me to get more nutrient into my body.
Workout Plan 3-4 hours of dance class a week (latin & hip hop) for fun cardio. 1-2 times a week swimming to build upper body strength for paddling when I surf 3 hours of yoga for strength and range of motion. 3: 30 minute strength training sessions (Day 1: core, Day 2: lower body, Day 3: upper body)
During strength training I am to maintain a target heart rate range of 136-146, with ideal at 141 (according to my age). 80% of my strength training should be with free weights because they recruit more muscle fibers than machines. 20% should be on machines so I can keep proper form and my heart rate up between exercises. The machines would be a bit of a support and provide a bit of rest from the free weight exercises.
Stay posted for my fitness analysis video on cardio, strength, balance, and flexibility. This should be fun and quite possibly embarrassing. 🙂
* Figuring my pounds of fat by multiplying my weight (127) by my body fat% ( 22.8) and dividing that number by 100. This gave me a reading of 29 (technically 28.9) pounds of fat are on my body.
** Dr. Douglas Graham recommends for women about 13-19% body fat.
I have been missing my greens this week. Not too sure why, just been eating mostly fruit & laying low on the overt fats.
Friday Evening to Saturday Evening water fast for 24 hours
broke the fast on red wine (biodynamic, organic) not a great way to break a fast Dinner: salad, sauteed carrots & broccoli, a 1/2 C of a rice dish
Sunday 64 oz water 1 young thai coconut water 2 mangoes 5 bananas (ice cream ..no cacao) 5 apples No workout Sun bathed
Monday 64 oz water 1 young thai coconut water 60 min yoga 25 min sauna (too much & blacked out) 25 min sun 7 apples 5 bananas 2 cucumbers Lettuce wraps
Tuesday Core Rhythms..cardio jam, 30 min sun bathe 5 apples 5 bananas Lettuce wraps
Wednesday 64 oz water & water from 2 young thai coconuts 20 min precor, 60 min yoga, 20 min sauna, 60 min sun bathe, 90 min easy walking Diet: 5 apples, Raw Chocolate Ice cream ( 5 frozen bananas & 2 T cacao powder), a few bites of papaya
Today 2 young thai coconut water 1 apple 5 bananas (made into chocolate ice cream …my latest sweet fix) Lettuce wraps (sprouts, shredded carrots, cucumber, tomato wrapped in butter lettuce and dipped into nama shoyu) 3 steamed russet potatoes (plain) 60 min sun bathe 40 min walk
Goal: consistent diet & workouts, 1 fast a week,& not eating late at night.
This looks about where I started, but it just goes to show that fat inches and weight loss can be two different things. As I mention in my video, it’s impossible to lose more than one pound of fat a week. So, I am looking at a slow and natural evolution in my body.
Exercise
My goal is to have fun. I want to enjoy being active not dread working out! I am going simple again with:
walking daily 2-4 miles
sun saluations daily, I want to try this fierce flow ! core rhythms (this was a gift from a friend and I LOVE it). I fall in love with dancing again and again. 🙂
Many are asking about my bikini body progress. Well, I started to feel overwhelmed and too wrapped up in every little thing I ate or did. It started to turn into a stress rather than a fun transformation. I was putting unneeded pressure on myself in order to lose weight. It felt more like a struggle than anything else. So, I needed to take a break and change things up.
Not only was I stressing myself out emotionally, I think my workouts were too high stress for me. I even think that the adrenalin rush I would get from intense workouts were defeating the progress. If the cortosol levels are too high in the body and the adrenals are overworked it will suppress thyroid function. Not good for someone who is already dealing with a slow thyroid. So, I decided to pick up the yoga and drop the hard core boxing and boot camp classes.
I even laid off spinning since it really reduced my range of motion and slowed the progress I was making with yoga. I have been dealing with a considerable amount of low back pain. I have hyper lordosis which simply means my low back is really overly curved. It makes it a bit more vulnerable. I injured a disc 10 years ago and it just seems to be my weak link. However, when my quads and psoas are fully stretched my back pain greatly reduces. So, lunges, splits, warrior 1 and all those similar stretches are rocking out! Plus lots of core work keeps me better aligned.
As I was clearing out old data in my computer today I came across pictures I didn’t realize I had. This is me weighing in at 108. As you know I am a little over 5’5″. Don’t mind the boob slippage. I was laying on my tummy and sat up quickly . I didn’t realize I was doing a “fashion DON’T”. 🙂
I decided to post these anyway since it really got me excited to think of being that size again. When I see these pics , it takes me back to that feeling confident in my body. I am enjoying this process. As long as I stay in this zone I feel energized and not pressured. I am happy to watch my transformation.
I want to stay in a state of excitement and gratitude. I want to be thankful for what I have now and remember how lucky I am to even have a healthy able body. So many people are less fortunate, disabled, or ill and how dare I complain. I am one lucky chick and I look forward to being as healthy as possible.
If you are running through life feeling overwhelmed and not really making the impact you know you want, or wishing you felt alive and filled with passion then you are going to LOVE me!