Change In My Workout Routine

I updated my workout page a little bit. My workout is still basically the same, I just changed my workout days around. Instead of doing strength training three days a week, I now do it twice a week. Tuesdays and Fridays are my strength training days now. I plan on doing more sets starting Friday. I do one set of 15 reps using my 10 pound weights. I've been saying for a long time now that I've wanted to do two sets of 15. Friday's the day. Enough of me saying I'll do it next week. By doing strength training twice a week now instead of three days, it might be a bit easier to do more than one set. More time in between so my muscles can relax and recover.

Cardio days are Tuesdays through Sundays. Mondays are my days off. I tend to get a lot of housework done on Mondays and tend to skip my workouts. It's not always easy to work out on Saturdays and Sundays, but I'm working on it.

I still get on my elliptical each day, but I've added something new to my cardio routine. Back in November, I bought myself a DVD. These DVDs were recommended by several of my SparkPeople friends, but I always hesitated to get them. Leslie Sansone is an awesome lady.

“Leslie Sansone is a nationally recognized fitness expert, and creator of the Walk at Home program. Her philosophy is simple. She believes that our bodies were made to move and we can walk our way to health and wellness.” Quoted from http://www.walkathome.com/

When I first heard about her from people at Spark, I hesitated because I wasn't sure if I could do all of the moves. I also thought, “Oh, it's just marching in place”. I had done that before while watching TV almost five years ago when I first started losing weight. But it's more than just marching in place. You march to the beat of music. She adds moves into the walks to make it interesting. Back in October or November, I found a few of her videos on the On Demand channel, and decided to check them out.

I tried three of them, and enjoyed them a lot. I tried the moves, and was able to do them. The only move I have problems with is the “tap out” move. It's sort of like a “side step” only you don't bring the other foot to meet the foot that stepped out (if that makes sense). I am able to do the knee lifts, and the kicks.

Then one day, I couldn't find the videos on the TV anymore. So I decided to buy one. I decided on the 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk. You can customize the workout by doing one mile at a time, or all five miles at once. I tend to use her DVD as a warm up before I get on the elliptical. Warms up my legs so they're not tight when I get on. I have done all five miles at once...once. It's tough to do them all at once. It's about 65 minutes of walking in place. I take a break after every mile.

I like the fact that at the end of every mile there's a “boost” for two minutes. During these two minutes you boost the walk into a gentle jog. She does kicks and knee lifts during the boost, but I just continue to jog in place. She hops during the kicks and lifts, and...I don't hop. If I get tired during the boost (usually around mile 3) I go back to walking.

I feel like her DVDs are good for anyone, no matter what their activity level is. It's helped my balance I think somewhat. It's helps me have better posture on the elliptical I think.

So, yes, I've become a big fan of Leslie Sansone. I don't know if I'll get any more of her DVDs. Maybe one more, but I hear they're basically all pretty much the same. The conversations and commentary during the video can get a bit old, but that's OK. She's a bit perky, but not in an obnoxious way. And if you think you won't sweat with the DVDs, think again. I sweat just as much doing her DVD as I do on the elliptical.

So that's what I'm doing as far as my workouts go. I plan on working on endurance on the elliptical. I try to get one mile in when I get on, that's my goal. But if I do more than one mile of Leslie Sansone, I get tired pretty quick and do ½ mile. I still take a break after every tenth of a mile. But I'm extending that to 200 revolutions. A tenth of a mile is 160 revolutions, so I'm upping that to 200. I'm doing pretty well. I can go about .6 mile and then go back to doing 160 revolutions.

Tomorrow is Thursday, and my plan is to do 2 miles of Leslie and then try for one mile on the elliptical. I did 2 miles of the DVD today and only made it a half mile on the elliptical. Here's a link to a little intro to the 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk

5 Mile Fat Burning Walk

Have a good one.