Elite Rings

Okay...like a kid at Christmas right now! My Elite Fitness Rings ( http://www.ringtraining.com/ ) came in this week. If you haven't seen these things check out the website I listed...they add a whole new dimension to your workout (like P90X), especially in pushups, dips, and pullups as they recruit more muscle into the movement. These are similar to what gymnasts use and I know we have all seen the kind of shape those folks are in!

Tony Horton even uses ring training in his sunday workout routines....here is a vid of Tony doing "muscle ups" one of the hardest moves on the rings at Muscle Beach in Santa Monica (well and Iron Cross is pretty crazy too!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5qfFdj2lxw&feature=channel_page

Here is my setup in our home gym...bought a 2x6, cut it to span across three floor joists (want to distribute the load), drilled two holes for each joist and put in 5/8x4 lag bolts, drilled holes 19.7" apart for the eye bolts (rates at 1200lbs each...I think they will hold ), bought some real carabiners and then ran the straps for the rings through the carabiners...

Maybe I'll get some video of us using them? This is all part of our "Mix it Up" Round of P90X...

Cravings vs Hunger

I've read a lot of messages on the TBB forums lately where people are talking about eating clean but still wanting to run out and grab some pizza or a burger etc...and I remembered reading an article on Mark's Daily Apple about the differences between true hunger which is a physiological response vice a craving which is a psychological response that can be triggered by things in our daily life, kind of like an addiction...anyways check out the article it some good "food for thought" (pun intended)

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/hunger-cravings/

let us know what you think....

Mark's Daily Apple

I wanted to point out a great fitness and nutrition site, Mark's Daily Apple, which is the site for Mark Sisson, the creator of the P90X Recovery Drink which so many of us love! The motto is:

A Blog that Helps People Achieve Health and Wellness

Mark has a new book out on "Primal" nutrition....I plan on getting a copy at some point. So take a look when you get a chance.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

Shakeology Weeks 7 & 8

I'm sitting here drinking my wonderful Shakeology as I write this. You would think after eight weeks of the same shake it would get old or boring. Not for me, I wake up daily craving it and have it for breakfast 90 percent of the time because, I just can't wait until later in the day to have it.

The weight loss has continued for weeks 7 and 8 totaling 2.2 lbs for the two weeks and a total of 9.4lbs for eight weeks. The shake has helped me feel full throughout the morning to the point where I really have to think and remind myself to have a morning snack. I'm also a total chocoholic and the shake being chocolate, has helped to almost eliminate my cravings.

On Mother's Day I got my mother to try one of the chocolate shakes. She loved the flavor and I told her of all the benefits I was having with the shakes, so she ordered a 30 day supply to see how she would like it.

Well I am happy to report after 4 days she is hooked and is already seeing great benefits. As longs as I can remember my mother hasn't been able to sleep well at night. A good night for her is a few hours of sleep. The first night she slept straight through the night and told me that she woke up rested and relaxed. She said "usually in a years time frame she only has one night that she feels like that in the morning". That was just the first day of Shakeology. Here restful nights and relaxed mornings have continued through day four and she said that the restful sleep is worth every penny of the cost of Shakeology!

Trying to gain mass...avoid the alcohol

I've always had a hard time gaining lean mass. It's a challenge for me and something I work at...got this article from another coach about how alcohol counters the gains made in adding lean mass

Article

Chicken Parmesan

This is one of our favorite recipes, even our 8 year old loves this meal. To save on the carbs usually we only serve it with a salad and a veggie. It's guaranteed to be a family favorite.

4 (4oz) thin cut chicken breasts

1/3 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs

1 tablespoon olive oil or cooking spray

¼ cup red wine

1 jar tomato basil pasta sauce

½ cup low-fat or skim mozzarella cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese

Pound chicken with mallet or large pan until breast thickness is about a ¼”. Coat each chicken breast in bread crumbs.

Heat olive oil or cooking spray in large skillet. Add chicken breast and brown on each side until chicken is cooked through and remove. Reduce heat and add wine to pan to deglaze and then add pasta sauce. Add chicken back to pan and cover each chicken breast with the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover and simmer until the cheese is melted and the sauce is heated.

Calories: 350 Fat: 8gs Carbs: 25gs Fiber: 3gs Protein: 35gs

Insanity?!?!?!?

The previews of Insanity show huge puddles of sweat on the floor, people gasping for air, and Shaun T telling the people in the video to take a break...boy does it live up to the preview! Plyometric Cardio Circuit was on tap for us; I burned more calories in a half an hour than I do in the P90X plyo workout that is a full hour.

Pat and I just got Tony's latest One-on-One workout, recovery, and it came with the Insanity Cardio Plyo disk. Very smart move by Beachbody, because after that one workout last night I'm definitely ordering the program this summer when it is released!

For those of you that haven't seen any of the previews of Shaun T's new Insanity workout here is a little sneak peak.



Obviously I like the workout if I plan to purchase it once it comes out, but to be exact I LOVE the workout. All I can say is the hype is true I was dripping in sweat from the warm-up on! Pat and I are on week 12 of P90X and we both had a tough time getting through the workout. It was the first time in a long time that I remember having to pause the video for an extra minute so that I could recover. We had completed Chest Shoulders and Tri's the night before and there was a section of the workout that involved push-ups and my arms were killing me. I burned just over 400 calories in the 42 minutes and Pat burned almost 600. I was happily surprised to find that after the workout my body was sore including my abs.

The workout is staged in a gymnasium and Shaun T is yelling at you and pushing you through every move. This workout was so tough that even some of the participants in the videos take breaks. Made be feel a little better when I wasn't able to hold myself up with my arms anymore.

So in one word I "LOVED" this workout, okay maybe I didn't love it while I was doing it, but I loved how hard it was, how much I sweated, and how many calories I burned.

Shakeology Week 6

This is week 12 of this round of P90X. Recovery week next week and then onto a new round. We're still trying to figure out exactly how we want to mix things up. Week six of Shakeology brought more steady progress on the scale. I was down 0.6lbs last week for a total of 7.2 lbs since the start.

This is not the fastest weight loss, but it is steady progress in the right direction and I can't beat the amount of energy I've had with it. I was able to spend the entire weekend working on getting the "popcorn" ceiling scraped off and applying a new ceiling texture. Not that I wasn't tired and sore by the end of the day, trust me I was, but I was able to work from 9 in the morning to 9 at night only breaking to cook and eat. In my opinion that is some serious energy.

I've also tried a different shakeology recipe this week. I am in love with the combination of peanut butter, 1/2 banana and instant coffee so it was hard for me to pull myself away from the wonderful concoction for one day to try something else. :) I added a tablespoon of coconut oil, which is one of the best oils/fats you can have, and some shredded coconut. It was yet a another blissful creation that tasted similar to a mounds candy bar. I may try it next time with a little almond milk to see if it would taste like an almond joy.

Can't wait to see what the final two weeks of P90X have in store for Pat and I. Stay tuned for part 7 on May 15th.

Update...

Been a rainy week up in the Northeast...but looking to clear out for Saturday. Anyways, Vicky and I have been busy with the kitchen and all. We got in our last Shoulders and Arms for this Round of X....we both had the gorilla arm thing going on which is always a nice feeling.

Vicky was even saying how sore she was last night....but that means that she "Brought it"!

Tonight we will be doing some fountain of youth yoga with one Mr. Tony Horton.

Vicky is still loving shakeology and is still getting great results from it...

We ordered the new recovery one on one for this month...will be useful during our two week recovery period after this round of X. Everything we've read says take the two week period for a full recovery before starting another round. So that is the plan....

Round two/three will start after that...going to be getting some fitness rings and bosu to add into the mix for the next round. Can't wait!

Shakeology Weeks 4 and 5

It has been a really busy couple of weeks for Pat and I. Back in February of this year we had an ice dam on our roof which caused a pretty big water leak in the ceiling of the kitchen and a significant about of damage to the cabinets, counter tops and flooring. We have been in the process of remodeling the kitchen and due to these repairs, there has been little free time, so I missed the post for week 4 last Friday.

The increased energy has continued through weeks 4 and 5, good thing with all the extra time we are spending on demo, painting and drywall. I've also been in a much better mood if I drink my Shakeology daily, just ask Pat about my mood when I don't drink it! Last Saturday we were so busy with working on the kitchen I did not make my shake for breakfast and then forgot to make it for my snack that day. I was hungry all day and a total grouch. I did not realize until the end of the day that I had not had my shake that day. Then besides the bad mood all day, I had the worst nights sleep I have had since I began using Shakeology. I will NOT make that mistake again, plus I don't think Pat will allow me to forget.

As for the weight loss the scale has continued to drop, but at a slower pace. A total of 1.4lbs over the past two weeks for a total of 6.6 in 5 weeks. Over the past couple weeks, due to the crazy schedule with the kitchen remodel, I haven't been able to get in my extra cardio workouts so I'm happy with these numbers. With the kitchen remodel it has made it hard to keep the diet clean, but we are figuring it out so look for a future post on Tips to Eat Clean During a Kitchen Remodel.