RAMPING UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS
30 Day Fitness Blog

It is this time of the year where we start to succumb to the guilty pleasures of the holidays and start to gain what we call the holiday pounds.  I know that a lot of my readers are here because they want to keep fit during this time or get in shape so that they can fit into that "PURRRRFECT - I can't gain a single pound" NYE dress. I'm sharing my fitness experience for the next thirty days to hopefully inspire you to start or keep up with your fitness regime.  So here's to doing this together this holiday season so that when the holidays come around we are feeling confident, sexy, and toned!  In advance I would like to thank my incredible personal trainer from Beat Body Training, Kenny Mugisha!

DAY 1: 21/11/11

Due to upcoming shoots, I have already been training since I got back from LA ten days ago.  I know that the first time getting back into training can be a bit disheartening and incredibly hard on the lungs when you push yourself but it is great to push yourself as hard as you can to shock your body.  You will feel incredibly sore the next day but I know that I absolutely adore that feeling because I know that I have pushed myself hard the day before. I have been training three days in a row now with my trainer, today being the third day.  In fact, I had both a basketball game AND training session back to back yesterday.  Today is my third day and I am definitely feeling it!  We eased on the cardio and included a lot of stretching, which can be a workout in it's own form!  When you're training with Kenny, there's no such thing as not working up a sweat.  In fact I let out some major stress on the punching bag! 

Is fitness your outlet? What are some forms of fitness that might keep it interesting for you? Yoga? Kickboxing? 

DAY 2: 22/11/11

Today was a day off since I trained three days in a row.  My body will be in rest and recovery mode today and tomorrow.  I know some people work in different ways.  When they are off from training, they tend to eat junk food or when they're off from training they eat healthier to compensate for the lack of activity.  I am the former. I LOVE food!  Quite the predicament for a model.  But Chrissy Teigen (Sports Illustrated model and not to mention John Legend's stunning girlfriend) is a fabulous example of a model that loves her food and can't be fat! You should check out her blog here: http://sodelushious.com/ 

Nutrition will make the difference between amazing results from workout regiments to minor or barely visible results from working out.  That means that curbing cravings is super important.  Drink loads of water!!! You can NEVER drink too much!  Load up on all those veggies.  Veggies are becoming my new best friend!  Brocolli, well ok, maybe not so much, zucchini, bittermelon (not sure if its a vegetable or a fruit but ah well it's still healthy), asparagus, avocado, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more.  I'm mainly a vegetarian.  Part-time maybe?  Well most of the time so you'll hear me speak about mainly vegetarian dishes, ok more like vegetables because I'm a terrible cook and I hope this blogging will inspire me to experiment and learn to cook.  In fact today, I decided to put together a salad!  See pic below :)  

You will find that my entries on days that I am off from training, I will most likely elaborate on my nutrition.  



DAY 3: 23/11/11

Today was my second day off from my personal trainer so I focused my energy on eating healthy and went swimming to get a lighter full body workout.  Not to mention, the hot tub felt amazing to relax my muscles from all the training and working out.  When I'm training hard, I tend to do 4-5 personal training sessions per week with 1 or 2 of my own workouts (one being basketball with the league that I play for).  

Nutrition wise, I had my usual Special K mixed in with Bran flakes (sometimes I even throw in a banana).  I absolutely ADORE cereal. I can eat it three times a day!  For lunch, my dad and I decided to cook some soup together.  I didn't realize how easy and fast it is to cook your own soup at home and not to mention it's sooooo incredibly good for you (especially in comparison to preservative filled store bought brands).  We went crazy on chopping up whatever vegetable we could find in the house.  Zucchini, carrots, potatoes, asparagus, green beans, onions, tomatoes, brocolli and mushrooms sprinkled with tortilla chips.  Talk about a POWER soup and so full of yum! I think this is going to be made every week!  It takes 20 minute of boil time and only takes some salt and water (and the Indian in my dad and I - tumeric powder).  You can always make enough to last you two days as well. I will definitely be having some tomorrow!

DAY 4: 24/11/11

I was back to training today and my body was not happy.  Even two days off from training felt like I hadn't trained in a week.  We started off with some intense cardio and I was already feeling it within the first five minutes of interval training between full speed running and jogging.  I managed to push myself through it.  Some days you will find are a mental challenge and today definitely started that way.  Once I got through the cardio, we focused on core.  My trainer Kenny Mugisha might as well called it the Core Kill because that's what it felt like.  I had to complete 100 pushups in a V shape form, that is, your entire core is engaged as well as your triceps.  As we moved to different exercises, my mind and body started to focus more on the physical and the mental barrier started to lessen.  Most of the time, the challenges of fitness training are mental, ie. we want to stop way before our physical limits!  It is important to address this and push past the mental barriers we create for ourselves.

I am very blessed to have Kenny Mugisha as a trainer as he pushes me to "dig deep" as you'll hear most trainers say.  Having a trainer helps you push past the mental so that you can achieve the physical results.  Remember though, you can do this too!  It's all mental!

DAY 5: 25/11/11

Fitness:
I must have used the phrase "Core Kill" yesterday in the completely wrong context because today I ended up completing 810 crunches (various different forms) and 510 seconds worth of plank holds. OUCH!  Abs of steel coming right on up :).  When I first started training with Kenny Mugisha a year ago, I barely could hold myself up for forty-five second planks.  Now, a year and a half later, I just completed a total of 8.5 minutes of holding myself up.  For those of you at home who want a tighter core, planks (holding yourself up in pushup position), is the ticket to strengthening your abs.  Start off with three sets of thirty second holds and then start adding time as you improve! 

Nutrition:
Boy did I work up an appetite today with my training yesterday and today.  I had Morning Crisp cereal (my absolute FAVORITE cereal in the world) with banana and branflakes for breakfast.  For lunch, I decided to have a veggie burger, celery sticks, and some sauteed veggies followed by basa filets and boiled veggies for dinner.  Because I was still hungry after my dinner, I did indulge again with some Morning Crisp :).  For snacks in between I ate a handful of almonds which are great to obtain healthy fats.  Speaking of almonds, I have started to use almond milk for my cereal - a very healthy, low calorie alternative for milk!

 

DAY 6: 26/11/11

I have the weekend off from training which means that this will be an intense test on my nutrition.  Today started off with a COLOSSAL craving for a BIG FAT piece of chocolate cake! :):):).  I'm envisioning it right now, you know those multi-layered chocolate cakes sold by the slice in grocery stores? Yes, not exactly the best way to start off my weekend with such a craving.  Another benefit of having a trainer?  You can message him or her before you succumb to such sinful indulgences.  My trainer Kenny Mugisha's response "don't do it Jess, your body will thank you later, drink water instead".  It must have worked because despite the craving, I ate my usual cereal for breakfast, veggie burger and veggies for lunch, and some more veggies as a snack.  If I am what I eat, I must be a piece of brocolli :p. Not even sure what that means.   

The true test came this evening when I headed to Chill Winston for a dear friend's birthday.  Thankfully they didn't have those "surprise cake" moments because I think I may have surrendered at this point.  I'm sure my trainer is going to make me do some extra pushups just for saying that.  Instead, I stared at the menu to see what could possibly satisfy my taste buds and that too, what was vegetarian on the menu?  I was left with a veggie curry and rice dish and a strawberry avocado salad.  Neither of which tickled my fancy.  I decided to ask the server if the kitchen could put a custom vegetarian plate together and low and behold they brought me some seasonal veggies and fingerling potatoes for dinner :).  It was definitely satisfying and quite filling, not to mention nice and warm (unlike the salad I would have ordered)!  I definitely felt like a vegetable after that ;).


  

DAY 7: 27/11/11

Today was my second day off before I start training intensely again tomorrow.  I woke up feeling very much under the weather which is a big Uh oh, because I crave comfort food when I'm sick!  Yes, ooeey gooeey chocolate chip cookies this time! Ok, snap out of it!  We are here to obtain RESULTS!

After breakfast today and a nice energizing nap, I started to chop up zucchini, brocolli, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, celery sticks, green beans, garlic, and mushrooms.  Yes, before I knew it, I was making my dad's superveg soup!  I was determined to FIGHT whatever bug was trying to drain me.  If the power soup wasn't enough, my dad gifted me with pomegranates today, which are so incredibly amazing for your health as they have a high level of anti-oxidants and Vitamin C and K!  Speak about feeling energized as I ate the pomegranate!

For dinner, I decided to go out again.  It's a bit tricky when you're eating out, especially when you're with three others who are about to share a PIZZA!!!  YUM!  That's ok though, because I ordered a delicious taco salad which was also very yummy!  Alright, so maybe it was more guilt-free then it was yummy but as Kenny says, my body will thank me tomorrow! :)  I did also treat myself to Morning Crisp as my dessert! :)




DAY 8: 28/11/11

My sugar cravings subsided today, mainly because I started another intense week with Beat Body Training today.  We focused on arms, which included pushup-holds, pushups, pressups, tricep dips, and quite a few more arm based body resistance workouts.  In the last ten minutes, my arms actually gave in while doing pushups.  I've never had that happen before which means, I must have really been pushing myself to the limits!  My trainer gave me ten seconds to regain strength and I was at it again.  It's amazing how fast the body regains strength with such a short break for the muscles.  Remember "when it burns, you keep going" - Kenny Mugisha 

Eating wise, I did well.  I had my usual breakfast cereal, followed by a handful of almonds/cashew/pistachio mix as a midafternoon snack.  I had my training mid afternoon so I ate a market salad for lunch.  When you train, you will start to feel a tremendous difference (aka MAJOR BOOST) in energy and efficiency.   Things that might normally take a few hours, you may get done in an hour.  Things that might mentally drain you (family situations, financial problems, etc.) will shed light and give you strength to be a rock or achieve ambitious goals!  I feel this way everyday that I train. If you push yourself past your limits during your training sessions, you will find everything else easy in life!  I had a super productive film meeting following my lunch and then decided to pay my mom a visit which meant for dinner I'd be having Indian food.

Normally Indian food tends to be loaded with vegetables but the problem is that it is fried with a lot of oil making it not so healthy.  I asked my mom to make me a healthier version of my favorite dish.  She used minimal olive oil and the rest was cauli-flower, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, salt, and tumeric powder.  She also made whole-wheat roti without butter, ensuring the full meal was healthy :):). Mmmmmmmm. 

DAY 9: 29/11/11

I officially got my behind handed to me today!  Today was "let's workout the legs till you drop" day.  Lunges, Squats, Squat jumps, Running, More Squats, Squats, Squats, Squats.  The secret to Mariah Carey legs- in three words - Beat Body Training.  The full hour was focused on leg workouts which felt amazing because that is the area that I feel I need to work on most considering 810 crunches and 8.5 minutes of plank holds, must mean my core is relatively tight ;).  I love the chisel that you start to get on your thigh. Most soccer players have them from all the extensive leg work required for them to perform well.  I think it is so attractive!  I'm sure I'm not the only girl that checks out soccer players :)  My chisel is starting to come in which I absolutely am thrilled about, and it is what keeps me going when it burns!

Nutrition wise, my appetite shot up today which meant I snacked more often today but kept it healthy.  
Breakfast - Morning Crisp, Branflakes and Banana mix
Snack - Nuts Mix (Pistachios/Cashews/Almonds)
Lunch - Veggie Burger Patty, a few slices of cheese, and superveg soup
Snack- Morning Crisp with Almond Milk
Dinner - Cauliflower/Potatoes/Pea mix with Buttermilk

DAY 10: 30/11/11

We are officially 1/3rd the way to completing our 30 Day Fitness Blog and I must say my legs were feeling SORE today!  My trainer Kenny Mugisha made me take the day off to rest because we will be training again tomorrow.  I took the day to relax and get some work done. I also finished reading the "Law of Attraction" which is an amazing read for anyone and everyone.  It is so inspiring and gives you a positive mindset (health, career, financially, and relationship wise).  There is an amazing worksheet in the book which I would suggest filling your health/fitness goals in (your desires as they call them in the book, the worksheets are free on the Law of Attraction website).  Something that I took away from the book, is that it is not simply wanting to be fit/toned  and saying you can do it.  But it is BELIEVING you can do it!  To remove doubt start acting upon your goals and tell yourself that you are in the process of getting that body you dreamed of.  This creates a positive vibration and the Law of Attraction starts working, allowing you to accomplish your goals in a shorter time period than you ever thought!  I believe in you!

Nutrition today:
Morning Crisp/Branflakes/Banana for Breakfast
Pistachio/Cashew/Almond Mix
Veggie Burger Patty and Salad for Lunch
Special K Cereal for Dinner
    


DAY 11: 01/12/11

This evening consisted of a full body workout.  There wasn't a single muscle missed or at least it felt that way (core, lower body, upper body).  We did calf raises, variations of situps, squats, jumps, weights, planks, to name a few.  I worked out with my best friend "N" today in my session with Beat Body Training.  We try to workout together in the same sessions whenever we can and I have to say it's so inspiring when you're working out with someone that has the same positive energy and goals as you.  We tend to balance each other out though strength wise which works to inspire each other.  I have a stronger core and she has an insane amount of athleticism when doing leg workouts.  It's great to have a workout buddy who is just as motivated as you are if not more!  Over the last summer and fall, her and I have been active hiking together, going swimming, and jogging through the woods!  If you can, grab a friend, boyfriend/girlfriend, family member and encourage each other to make some fitness and nutrition goals and stick by them.  Sometimes it makes it much more fun or encouraging to have someone to do your workouts with!

Nutrition:
Branflakes/Special K/Banana Mix
Nut Mix (Pistachios, Almonds, Cashews)
Kidney Bean Soup with Buttermilk
Smoothie (Pomegranate, Banana, Orange Juice - not from concentrate)
Kidney Bean Soup, Rice, Buttermilk
Special K Cereal

DAY 12: 02/12/11

Today and tomorrow were meant to be rest days again.  Today was definitely a relaxing day.  I slept for 9 complete hours.  I'm sure if I hadn't, my body would have felt like I was hit by a truck.  Actually, with yesterday's workout, my entire body still feels like I was hit by a truck.  I absolutely LOVE my sleep which when training is so important to have.  The key to being healthy is to have an active lifestyle coupled with tons of water, healthy food, and an adequate night's rest.  I'm still working on the water bit.  I should be having at least 2-3L of water a day, in fact, my trainer Kenny Mugisha would ideally like me to drink four 1L bottles a day in total.  I think that we should set a goal starting tomorrow to up our drinking to at least 2L of water a day!  You can never drink too much water and it's the best way to keep healthy!

Look at that, my readers have inspired me! Mission: Water.

P.S. tomorrow is going to be a true test of nutrition.  I'm going to my sister's work Xmas party tomorrow evening and I'm sure there will be a ton of temptations! Stay tuned!


DAY 13: 03/12/11

WARNING: CHEAT DAY AHEAD. Proceed with Caution.

So today was an example of it sometimes being hard to consistently eat healthy, especially when you're in the midst of a big social xmas gathering with treats EVERYWHERE!  Free drinks, Free dinner, Free dessert! Did I mention I'm Indian?  We like Free ;)  Drinking is not really an issue for me as I'm not really a fan.  It definitely saves me from all those empty calories. YAY! Although, this does not make eating desserts any less guilty!  

Because I knew what I was in for and to lessen the blow, I had my usual healthy cereal (Special K and Banana), and then a smoothie for lunch to limit my carbs (pomegranate, banana, apple, and five mandarin oranges, blended with ice).  Once I arrived at the Xmas party, I was famished.  Rule # 1, when you're going to a party, it is usually best to eat something healthy prior, so that you're not ready to eat everything that's at the buffet.  Rule # 2, load up on water so once again you're not ready to eat everything at the buffet.  Rule # 3 Message your trainer so that he tells you not to eat everything at the buffet. Oh, how I suffered from amnesia and forgot all the rules!  

The one good thing I did was load up on the salads.  I had my salads with a side of scalloped potatoes, veggies, and ravioli.  Once again because I avoided carbs for lunch, it wasn't the worst dinner on the planet (especially for one that only eats vegetarian when out).  It did get worse though when our whole table was SUMMONED to the dessert table. Ah yes. SUMMONED. That's what it felt like. :)  Yes I am saying this to make myself feel better.  I will not say what happened next, except that I took part in ever so sinful indulgences.  

I will officially be training HARD tomorrow with my Beat Body Trainer.  In fact, I may not survive to write Blog Day 14 after he reads this.  In case I do not, remember, keep going!  Fitness is a lifestyle of making healthier choices and remaining active. Once you start to train quite frequently, you will be able to indulge on occasion without it taking a toll on your body.  Time to go hard again! 9am training time tomorrow with no mercy from my trainer I'm sure!  I better catch some rest :)



DAY 14: 04/12/11

I survived today's training, or at least I think I did, unless this is what afterlife feels like. I was right about my trainer reading the above blog entry (Day 13) and whooping any calories consumed in excess yesterday. In fact, as myself and best friend "N" painfully held ourselves up in a plank after running laps up and down the hill (in the COLDDDD) outside, he decided to read the paragraphs of Blog Entry Day 13 ever so slowlyyyyyyyy.  We had to hold ourselves up while he read each and every paragraph.  "N" and I both fell which led us to buying an additional punishment. Burpies galore. 160 of them.

Our training today, was a mental game of running full speed up the hill, alternating with jogs as a warm up, pushups X 100, skipping to the point where my chest felt it was going to give in, and burpies to a number which numbed my thighs. Remember, we are far more capable of what we think we are.  Mental over Physical.

Nutrition wise...  You BET I ate healthy today!  Mission: water I'm still working on.  In fact, I think I should finish the liter before bed.  What say you? 

DAY 15: 05/12/11

We are officially halfway through our 30 Day fitness blog!  Congrats to those who have been reading along and have been making positive changes to your food choices and activity levels!  I hope you know that as much as I inspire you, you all inspire me to keep pushing.   I was having a conversation with a friend today and was explaining how important it is for me to be around people who inspire me and exude positivity.

Fortunately my trainer Kenny Mugisha and my best friend "N" are two people that do just that for me.  They inspire me everyday that I'm around them to push hard especially whilst training!  I even continue to feel inspired on my days off because I don't want to let them down because in turn I have been told that I inspire them.  

In fact, today was my day off, and I was not compelled to eat unhealthy because I was feeling super inspired and pumped to train again tomorrow.  Not to mention, my trainer reads my blog and probably would kill me tomorrow if I cheated again on healthy eating (I don't like the term "diet" tends to have negative connotations).

Anyways...who is in your inner circle? Do they inspire you?  Remember it's so important to have people around you that motivate and inspire you!

DAY 16: 06/12/11

I feel so FULL OF LIFE today!  Training today felt amazing!  I swear there is no better feeling when you are training super hard and are feeling energized after your workout. Today's workout was just that!  We went in, "N" and I during our training session.  Kenny brought some new equipment to add to his Beat Body Training program.  Weighted ropes, weighted vests, and boxing gear, just to name a few.  

Boxing is such an intense full body workout.  Your whole body gets a workout whether you be punching or kicking, especially the core.  Many actors have started to pick up boxing in Hollywood to work on their reaction times.  I guess it serves a multi-purpose, you get to work on your reactions AND look good while doing it! ;)

Nutrition today:
Branflakes/Morning Crisp/Banana/Almond Milk
Wheat Thin Crackers
Almonds/Pistachio/Cashew Mix
Smoothie (Crushed Ice, Banana, Oranges, Pomegranate, Apple)
Lady Fingers/Buttermilk Dinner
Morning Crisp for Dessert



DAY 17: 07/12/11

Today was a day off from training and it was one of those "catching up on errands" days.  It's always hard to make the right decisions when there's a sudden onset of hunger and you want to eat the fastest thing out there.  It was one of those moments when I all of a sudden was hit with hunger mid-afternoon and my sister and I were in the midst of errands.  I saw the McDonald's sign which to my surprise I did not even care for. Once you're training and in the groove, your body starts to just crave healthy food. AMAZING, isn't it?  We went to the food court in the strip mall and the choices were limited.  I decided to have Chinese which isn't exactly the healthiest choice but stuck to Veggies and a minimal amount of rice.  

I was tested again in the evening at the movie theatres.  When I'm on a health kick, I'm not going to lie, I'm a REBEL! I like to say rebel because I grew up a major goodie-two shoes so the most badass thing I can think of is sneaking healthy food into the theatre.  Gosh, I am a NERD!  Yes, I decided to treat myself to Vanilla steamed milk and took in a veggie sub to chow down while watching a particular Vampire flick.

DAY 18: 08/12/11

Twelve more days to go with the Beat Body 30 Day Holiday Fitness Blog!  We are making progress!  I had a last minute meeting at the airport with a fellow friend from Mumbai so I had to bail out on my training. I think I'm addicted to my fitness training because I was BEYOND bummed!  I am super stoked to train tomorrow. My nutrition today was similar to yesterday, mainly because I had some leftover Chinese veggies and rice.  It's too bad the rice were not brown because it's a bit more guilt-free!  As for my meeting, I had a vanilla steamed milk again.  I'm not really into latte's or anything caffeinated so it actually works to my advantage.  I think it's my new drink when I'm not in the mood of Green Tea which I'm also not a fan of but drink for the pure benefit of having anti-oxidants.

DAY 19: 09/12/11

I somehow managed to do two workouts today.  I was running late for my orthodontist appointment and realized I didn't have a car at my disposal.  My back up plan was to rollerblade but that didn't quite work out because they were in proper storage.  So there I was, fifteen minutes to my Aura Orthodontics appointment and I was exactly fifteen minutes away if I RAN!  RUN I did!  Did I mention, homebase is Vancouver for me, so it was FUH-REEZING!   My lungs hated me but with all the training I've been doing with Kenny Mugisha, I tapped into the mental and RAN!

I had a training session shortly after my appointment, so I was a bit tired going into my Beat Body Training Session with bestie "N" and Kenny.  No mercy from Kenny though.  We started straight off with 12 minute interval running/jogging and directly into weighted skipping rope jumps for 10 minutes.  Talk about cardio for the day!  We also did arms and core so it felt like a full body workout by the time we were done!  I might have felt wiped out but I felt GREAT after the workout! 

Nutrition: Branflakes/Special K (breakfast), veggie burger, potatoes, and asparagus (lunch), and then quizno's at the theatres for dinner. Snacks included, Special K and almonds, and a steamed milk.



DAY 20: 10/12/11

Today was a relaxing and lazy day.  Sometimes you need these days, just to let your muscles relax and recover.  As mentioned over and over again, it is especially these days where you need to watch what you eat.  I had some power soup again (zucchini, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, celery, asparagus, carrots, and brocolli).  I went to the theatres again and made a healthy choice of having a Naked smoothie from Starbucks.  Remember, results are going to be a reflection of your activity AND food choices.  Something I learned from Kenny Mugisha - Live an active lifestyle and make healthy food choices and you're bound to get results!



DAY 21: 11/12/11

I had another double workout day today.  I had a basketball game (which we won! ;) ) and a training session back to back which definitely made up for having a relaxing and lazy day yesterday.  The training started off as a mental game.  Despite having done a lot of cardio during my game my Beat Body trainer decided to be his merciless self (great trait by the way if you want results) and made "N" and I run hills in the FUH-REEZING cold!  Yep, lapping around an inclined hill (no jogging, RUNNING)!  How I LOVE my trainer! lol. Did I mention that was only our warmup? (Jaws music inserted here) 


DAY 22: 12/12/11

My muscles were feeling TIGHT today from yesterday's dual workout and I didn't know how I was about to train yet again today!  I think "N" and I have this secret love for workout pain because it means we're obtaining results.  It's definitely what keeps us returning to Kenny Mugisha for training!   We focused on the arms today and core.  Weights, Weighted jump rope, tricep dips, core bouncy ball (yoga ball? lol) were all part of today's workout.  Ah and how can I forget burpies, they somehow have started to creep up more frequently in our workouts.  They are insanely great for your body though, they work out everything, arms, back, shoulders, core, and legs!  

Nutrition: Branflakes/Morning Crisp (Breakfast), Chinese Veggies (Lunch), Morning Crisp Snack, Almonds Snack, Subway Wrap (Dinner)

DAY 23: 13/12/11

I had a day off from training today and managed to pull off a very efficient day.  Sometimes the adrenaline of training carries forward into your work efficiency which is an absolutely incredible feeling!  I was able to get some of my film work done, entrepreneurial work, and spend time with the family.  

Nutrition: Branflakes/Morning Crisp (breakfast), almonds (snack), potatoe, veggies, and a boiled egg (lunch), Subway wrap (dinner), Morning Crisp (dessert).  I'm officially ADDICTED to Subway which is not too bad if you make healthy choices (limit sauces and take it to town on the veggies!!!!).




DAY 24: 14/12/11

This might as well been called KILLER DAY!  "N" and I had an intense session.  We started with our 12 minute cardio and poor "N" had to do it with 30 pounds on her back.  That pity was short-lived when the 30 pounds were handed over to my back for a 10 minute additional cardio session.  Yes, 10 minutes of skipping with 30 pounds on my back and a weighted jump rope. This was only half of our workout.  Some may think I'm crazy, I'd like to think my Beat Body Trainer is just that good.  I've been asked what I'm training for.  The truth is, I'm training for LIFE. Food for thought. 

DAY 25: 15/12/11

Today was definitely a day of muscle confusion.  It is very important to switch around your routines of exercise so that your muscles become stronger, else they become used to and know what to expect when doing the same routine over and over again.  Since my trainer Kenny Mugisha is a Breakdancer, he decided to teach "N" and I some fundamentals to breakdancing.  It definitely was a different type of exercise but works out your entire body.  We were sweating within the first ten minutes of the workout!  It felt amazing to try something new and exciting yet still get a full body workout!

DAY 26: 16/12/11

I am SORE! Today was a day off from training so I took a family day today and spent most of my day with my dad and then the evening reuniting with some of my high school friends.  Nutrition has been great so far but I did have an indulgence which I will have to share with my trainer Kenny Mugisha. Uh oh!  Time to get my butt whooped on Sunday.

Nutrition:
Branflakes - breakfast
Veggies and steamed rice - lunch
Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas and Garden Salad - dinner
Pecan Pie - dessert (uh oh!)

 

DAY 27: 17/12/11

No Post.

DAY 28: 18/12/11

I've been itching to workout.  Two days off in a row are just too much now!  I never thought that I would say that before.  Instead of seeing my trainer though, I decided to play some basketball. Typically I play basketball games on Sunday but our games have wrapped for the holiday so I decided to play some pick up basketball.  It was two on two (two females and two guys).  It makes it a whole lot more interesting when I play with the guys because they tend to make it that much more of a workout! 

Nutrition:
Breakfast - branflakes
Lunch - Veggie wrap (Subway)
Dinner - Special K
  
DAY 29: 19/12/11

I am SORE! Today was a great workout.  Arm workout, Core workout, and Legs!  A full body kill.  I have finally been drinking plenty of water and I hope that it lasts throughout the holidays and into the new year!  It is definitely a resolution for the New Year since we have the workouts going already!  It helps to have a trainer which makes sure I drink 750ML-1L before I leave the training premises!

DAY 30: 20/12/11

This is it folks!!!  THE FINAL DAY of working out (well just for the holidays)!  Remember fitness is a lifestyle!  My trainer knowing that I'd be gone for the remaining two weeks decided to give me a 2.5 hour major workout!  We went to the gym today!  Cardio galore followed by upper body workouts (body weight) to alternating between hot and cold (sauna vs. COLD SHOWER).  EEEEk!  By the end of the workout, I was SPENT. Every ounce of me felt exhausted in an amazing way.  I felt like I had given my ALL.  That is what every workout should feel like.  It is an extremely rewarding feeling.  

Well it looks like we did it!  I hope that this blog inspired you all and I will continue to write in the New Year given the number of people that actually followed the blog!  Remember to keep drinking lots of water, eat healthy, and stay active!  I will be indulging in the break but it was definitely earned!  I am addicted to Beat Body Training so I will be back in two weeks to work out and go harder, faster, stronger!  Let's do this!

Signed,
Iekika Fierce