Luckily for you, we're over halfway through the program. By now, you should be feeling good about yourself, no matter what's going on with your weight. It's also time for an assessment to find out where you are in reaching your goals. Go to the Vital Statistics form, print it out and fill in your latest measurements. Compare it to previous forms you've completed and see if you've lost any body fat and/or inches from your body. Are you any closer to reaching your goal?
If you haven't seen significant results, you shouldn't panic. It takes time for your body to adjust to your new program and many people won't see results for several weeks. The only time you should be concerned is if you're gaining body fat (not the number on the scale). If your body fat has gone up, that's a sign you're eating more calories than you're burning and you should go back to your diet and see if you're eating too much.
Now, it's time to go over your assignments for Week 9. This week will look awfully familiar--yes, you're following the same schedule as last week, but with a few extra challenges. In your strength training routines, you'll be adding weight to each exercise, so get ready for that.
Your cardio workouts are also the same--you can change them yourself by making them longer or more intense or, as always, you can choose a different type of cardio. As long as you're doing something, I'm happy.
As always, this is your program, so make it work for you.
Checking In
It's time for your weekly check in to see how you did last week on your cardio, strength and nutritional goals. Did you do all of your cardio workouts? Did you challenge yourself by adding time and/or intensity to your workouts? And what about the strength training? Did you add that extra set or more weight? Even if you missed some workouts, don't beat yourself up. Give yourself credit for everything you did do and realize that making exercise a part of your life takes time. Every day is different...do the best you can!
Take a moment to fill out this checklist to see where you succeeded and where you may need a little more work.
Cardio
Your assignment this week is, again, 3 structured cardio workouts. One is an interval workout, one is based on endurance and the other one is whatever you want it to be. I've provided the same workout options as last week, but feel free to do your own thing. Just remember that interval workouts should be shorter since you're working harder.
On the active rest days, you don't have to do a structured workout, but I do want you to be ACTIVE. That means walking whenever you can, taking the stairs, playing with the kids, or anything else that gets your body moving. It all counts!
Make sure you're keeping track of your Perceived Exertion with this PE Scale or a heart rate monitor.
Strength Training
This week you're doing the same upper Body and lower Body workouts, along with a full body workout. Each week, we've increased the intensity of these workouts by either adding weight OR adding reps. This week, you're adding reps to your total body workout and you'll be adding weight to your upper and lower body workouts. It's best to just add a couple of pounds, if you can, although if you're using machines, that may be impossible. Do your best to challenge yourself!
Feel free to visit my Workout Center to see more options for workouts or use a different workout. Make sure you're lifting enough weight that you can ONLY complete the assigned number of repetitions. It may take some time to find the right weight for each exercise.
Flexibility
The flexibility workouts include your usual stretching option and the Mat Workout I assigned a few weeks ago. Again, feel free to do your own stretching routines or your own yoga/pilates videos. Remember, it's your workout. Do what works for you!
Nutrition
This week, we're going to explore things like vitamins, green tea, cookbooks and more. You're always hearing about these things in the news, but should you add supplements to your diet? You'll find out what you need to know with a bit of research this week. You'll also get a treat of your choice this week, which should perk you up.
Motivation
If you're having a little trouble motivating yourself to keep going, what's wrong with you? Kidding! We all struggle with this and I hope I've given you some ideas on staying motivated in the last few weeks. This week, we're exploring yet more ways to get yourself going--reminding yourself of your goals, getting friends and family involved...basically, using every resource available to you to keep moving. If you're ready to get started, I won't stand in your way.
Day 57 | Day 58 | Day 59 | Day 60 | Day 61 | Day 62 | Week 9 Calendar |
