End of Week 9

The last few weeks of the Body for Life program have moved along very quickly. We continue to improve each day finding new, healthier, tastier foods to eat and improving our form on our exercises. Our bodies have changed for the better. We have more energy, better posture, and general strength to do more. We've trained our minds to push through challenges in the workouts daily. This translates to daily challenges of house cleaning, work, spiritual challenges, etc. Needless to say, it has been a really good experience so far and well worth the effort of making the time, planning ahead, and putting the extra money into it. A wise investment.

I don't have much to share about this past week. One thing that stands out though is the whole mind over body thing. I'm sure it won't sound very appealing but I really look forward to the opportunity to push myself. In the beginning, not so much. But now I know that I better myself and make myself stronger when I push passed what I think my body can handle. There's an incredible sense of accomplishment when it happens. I remember when I was in Cross Country in high school and college I would usually dread the hard workouts and competition. Even though I did pretty good, it was really hard and painful. A big difference I notice now is that I'm recovered, energized, and ready for each workout. The meal plan makes a huge difference.

Thought I'd share an example of a workout and meal plan from this past week

You'll notice in the intensity levels, I don't always reach a 10.  A 10 means you are pushing passed what you think you can do.  You should be able to say that there was no way you could have done anymore repetitions.  It's very hard to do.  I only hit 3 of the 5 tens for this particular day.  It's very hard to get a 10 on every exercise because of the amount of focus it takes.  I'm pretty hard on myself too so it's hard for me to give myself a 10.  You can also see my notes and side comments about my form.  I always write down questions I have and problems I'm having so I can research them and do better the next time.

Some of my abbreviations and symbols might not make sense so I'll try to clarify.  The P & C on the Eating page are for Protein and Carbs so I could count them and make sure I got enough portions.  I used quotations in the Actual column if I ate what I planned.  Myo is the Myoplex protein drink that we have after every workout.  Multi and Fish Oil are vitamins.