Getting Serious

Yesterday I watched a video by Jamie Eason.. It was on her Facebook page and probably on bodybuilding.com, as well, she was talking about her workouts, meals and supplements. She said that her protein intake stays the same and she only adjusts her carbs depending on her goals, for example, she'll raise her carb intake if she wants to gain mass or lower her carb intake to lower body fat. She also exercises 6 days a week. So, I decided I need to get more serious if I want to reach my goals. So I'm going to try switching up my diet and my new short term goal is to work out 6 days a week for two weeks and see how practical it is with my schedule. I don't know if many of you know what my schedule is like but it can be pretty busy. I'm a full time student with a full time job. I own a house which adds more "to-dos" on my list. So adding my new goals of living a healthy, fit life is pretty difficult. But I've used it as an excuse long enough. I will never know if I REALLY AM "too busy" unless I try it out. However, I think I'll start next week because.... IT'S MR. OLYMPIA WEEKEND!!! I'll talk more about that later!!

Anyway, after class i went to the school's gym and here is what I did.

3 minute warm up on Elliptical

4 sets of 12.   - Dumbell Flys (15 lb dumbells)
4 sets of 8-10 - Bench Dips (own body weight with feet on another bench)

4 sets of 8-10 - Bench Press (just the bar, which is 45 lbs)
4 sets of 12    - Standing Calf Raises (no added weight)

4 sets of 12 - Overhead Tricep (15 lb dumbell)
I tried to do some push ups but I felt pretty weak. The bench press took a lot!!

Afterwards, I ate my pear and my protein shake and then used the elliptical for 30 minutes.

In case anyone is wondering about the pear, I'll explain. First of all, there is a short window where after your workout you should get protein in your system. Muscles are made up of proteins. When you lift weights your muscle tissue breaks down and the protein you consume replenishes the nutrients taken to fuel your workout and repair muscle tissue . Now, what about the pear? There is a pretty long and scientific explaination for this but here's the condensed version. Sugar triggers an insulin response in your body, this sugar normally goes to your fat cells but since your muscles are starved of nutrients the insulin carries the protein directly to your muscle cells.

I feel very proud of myself to have lost 25+ pounds these past few months, however, I still feel like I have a long way to go to achieve my goals! I will constantly adjust and improve what I'm doing until I've learned exactly what my body needs.