I portioned well with about a 1/3 cup of mom's coconut ice cream and a very small amount of Christmas cake...but one glass of wine later I had another helping (same portion) and then after midnight I unabashedly raided the kitchen's leftovers again. Hahah
I didn't really care until I woke up the next morning when I was supposed to have my morning easy run and I was too full (and admittedly dehydrated) to even think about running. I rolled over and woke up past 10! Great belated Christmas present!
My torte came out quite nicely by the way!
Since I missed my morning run and I had already taken two days off I wanted to do a little something or the 26th so I decided to 'just do' one of the exercise challenges from bodyrock.tv
It was a crossfit challenge to complete seven rounds of the following exercises as quickly as you can:
50 one-legged jump rope on right leg
50 one-legged jump rope on left leg
10 commando push ups
The commando pushup is basically this: Lay on your stomach and place your hands next to your chest and power up to plank and draw one knee to your chest. Lower back down to the floor and power up again bringing the other knee to your chest and lower again (essentially a push up/knee tuck combination). Then roll over to the other side of your mat. That is one rep.
The creators of this challenge completed it in 16:39 and 17:57 respectively so I figured I should be able to do it in about 20 minutes. WELL, I was SO sluggish from Christmas day and shamefully slow on the one-legged jump rope that I finished in an embarrassing 26:31 AND I was totally beat. However I will give myself the small excuse that I have never done more than 10 one-legged jump ropes at a time and I also had to battle off my dog that kept harassing me during my commando push ups. The fact remains that I sucked at this challenge though! Hahah! High intensity interval training on Boxing Day proved to be a suicide mission.
This leads to the main point of today's post though: My New Exercise/Diet Challenge for myself.
I have been following Zuzana Light from Bodyrock.tv for a while. This woman has an insane physique and only exercises for 12 minutes a day on average. All of her workouts are high intensity interval training (HIIT) and she claims (and proves by the way she looks) that it's all you need to be lean. She also follows a very strict diet of only getting carbs from fruit and vegetables except for the meal after a workout where she has 'earned' her carbs like bread or potato. Now, I admire her very much but our goals are slightly different so I do not follow her workout schedule 100%. I use her workouts on days where I want to do a little crossfit at home and now for my new challenge for myself. I can't deny how ripped she is looking since she has taken on her new diet so this is inspired by her.
The exercise challenge that I used yesterday is just one of the many that they post on the site. These challenges are short and designed for rest days when she doesn't do a full workout and just wants to get her body moving and 'earn' her carbs. Just for the record, I don't believe that everyone needs to earn their carbs that way but I have decided to take on her diet strategy for at least a couple weeks and see the result I get. My problem is that I want to eat grain and such more than once a day but I only go to the gym once and I don't want to have to do another full workout at home just so I can have my oatmeal! This is where her shorter exercise challenges will come in handy. Some of them are as short as 2-5 minutes! So, I have decided that I will try to do one of her short challenges before any of my meals with complex carbs like whole grain. This will also stop me from having the late night carby treats that I have been sneaking like cake and too-much-peanut butter and toast. Hahah! I'm very excited to take on this challenge and today marks Day One! Let's see if I can make it a whole two weeks!
This morning I knew I would have oatmeal at work for breakfast so as soon as I woke up I did a quick stretch and set up for today's exercise challenge:
150 Step Ups on a chair per leg as quickly as I could. A Step Up is a very simple exercise but it can be hard on your knees so if you have knee problems I would not suggest trying it. You place your right foot on the seat of a chair while your left leg is straight and out to the side. It's kind of like you are in a side lunge with your leg elevated but your stance is not as wide as a full side lunge. Then straighten the leg on the chair as you step up and draw your left knee to your chest while keeping your core tight. Zuzuana completed her challenge in 9:54. She suggested doing 20-50 reps at a time and then switching legs but I was silly and did the three sets of 50 on my right leg and then switched to the left once I completed the 150 reps. By the time I reached my left leg I was so burned out that I had to lower to sets of 20 and then 10 near the end. I finished in 11:15 and I solemnly swear to LISTEN to Zuzana next time. Hahah! I also just discovered that she did not do the knee lift either...
This small routine to start my day has completely revved my metabolism! I am getting hungry much faster and I also feel so energized! I LOVE this new challenge and I really hope to stick to it for the full two weeks!
Bodyrock.tv won't be posting enough exercise challenges to keep up with me since I am doing them pretty much every day so I will have to make up some myself. I'll be sure to say whose is whose to make sure that Bodyrock.tv continues to get the credit for their great ideas!
Need motivation to try this challenge with me?
THIS is Zuzana doing the Step Up exercise. Who wouldn't want to look like that?? Haha!
Feel free to check up on me and make sure that I am sticking to the new plan! If you want to try it with me please let me know how you're doing!
Consider it our pre-New years resolution!
The gym is closed until tomorrow so when I finish work I will probably do a 300 rep crossfit session and call it a day. I wanted to run but my calves are seized up from the jump rope yesterday. I will try to take my 'before' pictures today as well!
Thanks for reading and keep enjoying the holidays!
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