Battle of the Bulge

The second month of my GMOBBIS Challenge was a time of going to war with my body.  The theme of February was Covert/ Commando where my exercise routines consisted again of a variety of light to medium to heavy weight training coupled with intervals of high intensity cardio work.  I picked the military/ espionage model cause some of the most fit men in the world are those that serve in the armed forces or work in the clandestine trade.  I mean, think Daniel Craig's James Bond in Casino Royal or various military soldiers.  


Like January, I kept the four day a week workout sessions alternating between Chest/ Back/ Triceps and Legs/ Shoulders/ Biceps.  Some of my workout routines were The James Bond Blaster, The Burn Notice (TV's CIA Spy Michael Westen), Heavy Artillery, Army Strong, Light Armor, and Boot Camp.  


Since I was into the second month, I was pushing it a bit more and was starting to see some changes.  I was starting to feel stronger and my cardio endurance was improving more and more.  Unfortunately, I wasn't losing much weight at this point which was frustrating.  I figure I must have been building muscle while losing some fat and just knew I had to stick with it as over time my body would start to drop the weight.


A BIG part of any weight loss program is the nutrition part.  I'm thinking in the weeks ahead I'll need to look at my overall eating program and make some adjustments.


Next time . . . the Ides of March means it's TOGA time!!

A SUPER New Year

The hardest part of any beginning fitness program is sticking with it.  Seriously, most of us start out great for a week or two, maybe three being dedicated and on fire.  We have the eye of the tiger and give a 110%.  We sweat, we feel the burn, and we are workout animals hear us ROAR!   Then . . . our busy schedules and sore muscles cause us to miss workout sessions and before you know it you've quit.


Knowing that this could happen, I decided to create monthly themed workouts that would hopefully keep me motivated to go do the workouts.  I put together three monthly themes:  Superhero, Covert Commando, and Toga.


Each themed month has a variety of different workouts that I rotate through alternating between lighter weight/ higher repetition routines and heavier weight/ lower rep routines.  My goal is not to get all pumped up like Aahhnold, but I do want to develop some muscle mass as muscle mass does aid the body in burning more fat which IS the goal.


I kicked off the year with my Superhero workouts cause nothing says strong fit body like a superhero physique.  The monthly workouts that I used were Superman, Capt. America, The Hulk, and Thor.  These workouts were a mix of heavy and light to medium strength training routines.


Typically I do three sets and unless its a heavy weight workout, I'm doing it circuit style.  This means that I kick off the workout with 5 minutes of cardio then go right into my first circuit of one set of each exercise in the routine back to back with as little rest as possible.  That first circuit is then followed by another 5 minute cardio blast so I my routine is:   Cardio for 5 min - 1st Circuit - Cardio for 5 min - 2nd Circuit - Cardio for 5 min - 3rd Circuit - Cardio for 5 minutes.   For me, personally, this style of exercising allows me to really focus and get intense for a solid 40 to 60 minutes and it keeps my heart rate up and the sweat dripping down.  On days that I do heavy workouts, I do a shorter warm-up cardio (about 3 mins) then I do the weight routine followed by 15 to 20 mins of cardio.


The first month doing the Superhero workouts I felt horrible, my old butt was dragging,  and I seriously considered quitting.  However, two things kept me showing up at the gym each week - convenience of going to the gym (I use The Wellness Fitness Center at MSUM) and just knowing if I could get through that first month it WOULD get easier and results would show.


Next time I'll blog more on month TWO with the Covert Commando themed workouts.

The Miller Kids

from l to r:  Alex, Kathryn, Nate, Jamie

I can hardly call them 'kids' any more.  They are definitely young men and women either out of the nest or just getting ready to fly!


Alex (my baby!) is 16 and about to finish his sophomore year at Moorhead High School.  He's a computer whiz and more recently fascinated by biology and specifically genetics.  He makes me think, "wow!" at least once a day.  We've all been enjoying his cat - "Gilbert," "Simba," or "get-off-there-stupid-kitty!" - since he came home from the shelter as a surprise for Alex's 16th birthday.  Alex & I have been thinking about what life will be like this summer with Jamie leaves and then next fall when Nate takes off.  WOW.


Kathryn (my big girl) is 22.  I can't even believe it.  She's renting a little house she loves in a neighborhood she loves a little less.  She works A LOT as a server at Redford's Steakhouse in Fargo.  Having Kathryn visit is always a treat -- we can't believe she lives right across town because we just don't get to see her enough!


Nate is 18 and just moments away from graduating from Moorhead High School.  He's had senioritis for about a year now and is SO excited to move on to the next phase of young adult independence.  He is the tallest of our family at just 6 feet even.  He's planning to go to school at NDSU next year, jumping right into the architecture program there.  

Jamie at PHCA, front row 2nd from L

Jamie is 20 and still the life of our party.  It has been fun to have her at home this fall and winter.  She's taking classes at MSUM and will be moving to campus in the Fall.  She will be back at Pine Haven for the 3rd summer in a row.  She loves it there!  In this staff pic, Jamie is right next to her cousin, Katie Cachiaras.  They are sometimes mistaken one for the other to the delight of both.


We're all well aware that some part of our life together is coming to a close and another part is about to begin.  So I just try to hang onto these precious moments together!