I'm moving into my third month of this training plan, week 10 of 13, and it's going well. I started trying some body recomp recently, too, which requires me to eat more than maintenance calories on training days (which goes against every fibre of my being, making it very difficult) and just under maintenance on rest/cardio days. 'Training day' means weights and resistance training, muscle building - if neither are involved, it doesn't count as a training day, even when 30-40 minutes of Core de Force is involved (which I am still doing and loving).
The added challenge to this has been actually acknowledging my maintenance calories. I've been eating more these past few months than I used to - 'used to' being 1300 a day, and more recently 1600 a day. But I used seven different BMR/AMR calculators before changing my eating (none of which compare, of course, to the personal evaluations of a nutritionist and a trainer, but I quite simply cannot afford that), and all of them say that that's too low for me. Two said 1750, three said 1850, and two were up around 2000! Maintenance! That means the calories needed to neither lose weight nor gain muscle, and I want to do both. That doesn't typically go hand in hand, but body recompositioning is possible.
I've taken these numbers with a pinch of salt and have been aiming for the 1750 bracket. I'll know if it's working, too, because I'll see muscle gain before I see fat loss. If it doesn't work by the end of this training plan at the end of September, then I'll increase it to 1850 when I start my next plan in November.
Otherwise, it's been amazing. Once again I've been loving the fact that I don't repeat anything in a week; I have one lower body workout for Monday, a total body workout for Wednesday, another lower body workout for Friday and 30-40 minutes of Core de Force on Saturday, of which I have 6 different options in itself. Which also means that I only actually repeat a workout four to five times in a whole month, and it really helps to keep the boredom away. Strength grows with every workout, however, both physically and mentally, and when the end of the month rolls around, I always up the weight, and that timing is just right.
I started with a 12.5kg (27.5lb) barbell in the first month on both lower body workouts, and 15kg (33lb) barbell on the total body. I switched that to 15kg for lower body and 17.5kg (38.5lb) for total body on week 5, then on week 9 (last week; one week sooner than planned) I switched it to 17.5kg on lower and 20kg (44lb) on total. It feels amazing. And, what's more, when I was doing the triple alligator push ups in Core de Force last Saturday, I was finally able to jump switch my hands and feet at the same time, rather than just my feet and then replace my hands. That is a huge achievement for me!
I'm feeling awesome, but I'm not checking my results. No mirrors, no tape measures, nothing. Not until I've finished. Though, that said, I can't escape the fit of my clothes - either all of my jeans are starting to shrink in the wash, or my bum has gotten bigger. And as someone who has never had a fat bum (or any bum at all, in fact - seriously, lower back -> hamstrings), that is just...impossibly good news.
One month to go, and I'm still buzzing. Sometimes, I admit, I don't relish the idea of working out, but when I actually get down to doing it, I love it. Then there's also the fact that I've not listened to music while training since I started this program - I've been watching The Secret Life of the Zoo. So has Seeg. I stay focused enough, and I enjoy the work enough to concentrated and ensure I get the very best out of it, to the point that I completely miss some episodes, but it does result in the occasional outburst should a baby otter flounder onto the screen. Or, I admit, a few tears when another animal dies. I don't want to work in a zoo. I couldn't do it. I love animals too much. Fortunately I can hip-thrust 20kg. And it made me ridiculously happy to see that that's what Cassey Ho is hip thrusting. #GoalsMetGoalsSet.
And chocolate caramel protein powder helps, too...
The added challenge to this has been actually acknowledging my maintenance calories. I've been eating more these past few months than I used to - 'used to' being 1300 a day, and more recently 1600 a day. But I used seven different BMR/AMR calculators before changing my eating (none of which compare, of course, to the personal evaluations of a nutritionist and a trainer, but I quite simply cannot afford that), and all of them say that that's too low for me. Two said 1750, three said 1850, and two were up around 2000! Maintenance! That means the calories needed to neither lose weight nor gain muscle, and I want to do both. That doesn't typically go hand in hand, but body recompositioning is possible.
I've taken these numbers with a pinch of salt and have been aiming for the 1750 bracket. I'll know if it's working, too, because I'll see muscle gain before I see fat loss. If it doesn't work by the end of this training plan at the end of September, then I'll increase it to 1850 when I start my next plan in November.
Otherwise, it's been amazing. Once again I've been loving the fact that I don't repeat anything in a week; I have one lower body workout for Monday, a total body workout for Wednesday, another lower body workout for Friday and 30-40 minutes of Core de Force on Saturday, of which I have 6 different options in itself. Which also means that I only actually repeat a workout four to five times in a whole month, and it really helps to keep the boredom away. Strength grows with every workout, however, both physically and mentally, and when the end of the month rolls around, I always up the weight, and that timing is just right.
I started with a 12.5kg (27.5lb) barbell in the first month on both lower body workouts, and 15kg (33lb) barbell on the total body. I switched that to 15kg for lower body and 17.5kg (38.5lb) for total body on week 5, then on week 9 (last week; one week sooner than planned) I switched it to 17.5kg on lower and 20kg (44lb) on total. It feels amazing. And, what's more, when I was doing the triple alligator push ups in Core de Force last Saturday, I was finally able to jump switch my hands and feet at the same time, rather than just my feet and then replace my hands. That is a huge achievement for me!
I'm feeling awesome, but I'm not checking my results. No mirrors, no tape measures, nothing. Not until I've finished. Though, that said, I can't escape the fit of my clothes - either all of my jeans are starting to shrink in the wash, or my bum has gotten bigger. And as someone who has never had a fat bum (or any bum at all, in fact - seriously, lower back -> hamstrings), that is just...impossibly good news.
One month to go, and I'm still buzzing. Sometimes, I admit, I don't relish the idea of working out, but when I actually get down to doing it, I love it. Then there's also the fact that I've not listened to music while training since I started this program - I've been watching The Secret Life of the Zoo. So has Seeg. I stay focused enough, and I enjoy the work enough to concentrated and ensure I get the very best out of it, to the point that I completely miss some episodes, but it does result in the occasional outburst should a baby otter flounder onto the screen. Or, I admit, a few tears when another animal dies. I don't want to work in a zoo. I couldn't do it. I love animals too much. Fortunately I can hip-thrust 20kg. And it made me ridiculously happy to see that that's what Cassey Ho is hip thrusting. #GoalsMetGoalsSet.
And chocolate caramel protein powder helps, too...
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