BFL check in Week 11/2

Rhonda

Cathlete
Hi everyone,

Well here we are again with the start of a new week. I did OK last week. Went down 1/2 a pound and lost about 1.5 inches. So I am happy with the progress.

Tricia - with the weight training Bill says do upper day 1, lower day 3, upper day 5 then the next week do lower day 1, upper day 3 and lower day 5. Keep switching it up like this. So one week you get upper twice and the next week is lower twice. This has been working well for me.

This is what I plan to do this week:

Monday - Upper only on supersets
Tuesday - Imax 2 intervals 1-5, abs
Wednesday - PLB
Thursday - KPC, abs
Friday - PUB up only
Saturday - Imax 2 intervals 610, abs

Hope everyone is doing well.
Rhonda
 
Hi everyone,

I did the upper only on SS. It was a nice change of pace. I will have to go heavier on a couple of the exercises. I now know I need to also inflate the stability ball.

Have to get my eating under control. Weekends always seem to hurt me.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Rhonda
 
Hi, I started a BFL challenge just over 4 weeks ago and having a difficult time (with the food part) and just found you all and would love to join in! I am recommitting myself with the food and so far today is going very well and eating according to plan. Would love to hear what meals and snacks you all eat, especially things that are quick and easy :)

The first 3 weeks I focused on the PS series alternating upper and lower body according to BFL guidelines. Last week I started CTX so this week I'll do CTX upper body on Mon and Fri and Leaner Legs and along with her Wedding leg floorwork on Wed. I'm a marathoner and triathlete so my cardio sessions alternate between running, swimming and spinning. I'm currently training to do a marathon in Jan. so my runs are longer than BFL guidelines.

Have a great day all!!

Cheryl
 
Hi all,

Yesterday went well. This morning got up and did Imax2 1-5. Boy for some reason that tape is harder for me then Imax. I could be because she uses the step more on the blasts.

Cheryl my eating usually looks like this:

Breakfast - eggs and some sort of carb
snack - yogurt and piece of cheese
lunch - salad, soup, or leftovers from night before
snack - 1/2 protein bar
dinner - meat, carb, veggie

I can't give what I eat since it does vary day to day. It is much easier for me during the week because I am at work and only take what I am going to eat. The weekends are harder because I am home and the food is more easily accessible.

Hope everyone is doing well.
Rhonda
 
Good morning all! I had a good run workout this morning (on my treadmill) followed by some pilates. I'm still a bit sore from the half marathon I did last weekend, should be good for heavy lower body strength by tomorrow though.

Rhonda, thanks for sharing what you've been eating. It sounds like you're seeing very good results!! What kind of protein bars do you eat? I tried the AdvantEdge lo carb bar and just didn't like it. A friend sent me a protein bar recipe that I may try soon, she said she used the EAS protein powder that you buy at Walmart and they turned out good.

Have a great day everyone :)

Cheryl
 
Hi Everybody - My weight hasn't budged in 2 weeks, I am so frustrated. I was even careful with Halloween candy (which is really hard because I LOVE chocolate).

The workouts are easy. Yesterday I did PUB - and am seeing great definition in my arms. Today, I was short on time so I could only get in half of Boot Camp (which I love almost as much as chocolate). Tomorrow PLB, Thursday - hopefully all of Boot Camp, Friday PUB and Sat is up for grabs.

For cardio work I am doing Tae Bo, Boot Camp,Cathe Kickbox or a Firm. Do you think maybe I am not doing enough cardio, or that it isn't hard enough? I have IMAX2, but I hate it. Way too complicated for me. Any other cardio suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Are you doing the 20MAS or HIIT intensity? I use Taebo, IMAX1 or 2 or Intense Moves for my cardio. If I do Taebo, I modify and do the 20 MAS and slowly up my intervals. So often I'm going at a different pace than the video. Not sure if this is helpful for you or not. But I have found that as long as I'm doing 20 minutes of HIIT, it beats me up much more than 60 minutes of 'regular' cardio.

Colleen
 
Hi everyone-
I only lost 1 pound last week. bummer. It's usually around this time where I completly fall off the plan, but I'm determined to finish it!

My workout plan calls for me to be off tonight, but I did a kickbox class last night and it was so easy, it was a joke. I didn't even need water -that's how "beginner" it was. So - I feel like I can do something tonight and take off maybe Friday night.

For my eating I usually have
Breakfast: egg substitute and oatmeal
snack : 1/2 powerbar
lunch: a lean cuising
snack: 1/2 powerbar
dinner: chicken and vege
and after a strength work out, I have a protein shake. Does anyone know if you need this after cardio and weight training or just weight training?

the best protein bars I had is Tri-o-plex carmel apple. It's almost too good to be good for you. It has a ton of calories (335) but you burn it off, right? plus its supposed to be a meal replacement..so I split it between my 2 snacks.

Linda
 
Was wondering if I can join the check-in? I'm in dire need of some accountability these days! I've been doing BFL off and on since last May or so. Just recently taking an extended 4-5 week break due to vacation, minor foot injury and lots of excuses!!! But it's time to get back on plan!!

My workouts this week are:
Monday: PUB
Tuesday: Taebo 20MAS
Wed.: PLB
Thursday: Taebo 20MAS
Friday: PUB
Saturdday: Taebo 20MAS

I can't step yet due to my foot injury but hope to be back to the IMAXs next week.

Today's eats:
WW bread, egg/egg whites, salsa
Egg white/protein crepe, cream of wheat
Turkey, beans, tomatoes, veggies
Turkey, beans, tomatoes, veggies
Chicken, potato
CC, fruit

Colleen
 
Welcome Colleen! Glad to have you on board.

This morning was PLB - even upped my weights on the lunges, squats and plies. too hard to up the weights on step ups and deadlifts. All the other exercises I can go to my squat rack and put the plates on that way and am able to walk under the bar and lift instead of lifting from the floor. I may try to use dumbbells for the step ups next week. The weight is getting a little easy so I need to up it.

My eating this week has been great. I still have three days before the cheat day so hopefully I can continue.

I have a box of Detour bars at home so I am trying to use those up before I buy any more.

Linda where do you find the Tri-o-plex carmel apple bars. Sounds like those are good. I haven't heard of tri-o-plex.

Tomorrow is KPC. I mainly use Imax and Imax 2 for my cardio. It is funny because I use to not like either of those videos, just thought they were long but now that I split them up doing 5 intervals at a time, I enjoy them

Hope everyone has a great day.
Rhonda
 
Good Morning!
Last night I did PLB and it was pretty tough, but I felt I should have upped my weights, but that was my first time ever doing that tape, and I wasnt' sure what to expect. I hate working legs more than anything, yet it's my worst feature-so I should do it more. I used dumbells instead of a barbell.

My scale says I haven't lost anymore weight, and I'm getting a little discouraged. It wouldn't bother me if I felt I looked better, but I can't see that happening either. I know it's only been 2 full weeks since I started, but I like instant gratification!

Rhonda-I get the Tri-o-plex bars from a local health place. (I live in Chicago). I loved the Detour bars, but the cholosterol is really high and since mine is high enough, I stopped taking them. These Tri-o-plex bars have no cholesterol and 30 grams of protein (38 g carbs, 7 g fat). I haven't checked, but I'm sure you can find them online.

I have a plank question - when I do the planks (the ones where your front side faces up) my wrists really hurt, so I prop up on my fingers more (can you picture it?) I was wondering if that was ok as far as form goes. what do you think?
 
Hi all, Wow great to see more people!!

Shopgirl, it sounds like you could try making your cardio more intense. Colleen has a great suggestion on making Tae Bo harder. I have lupus which affects my immune system and joints so I have a hard time doing intense strength PLUS intense cardio all the time so I really have to vary my cardio sometimes with intervals and other times longer and less intense. Depends on how I’m feeling since the intense cardio can really beat me up. My focus right now is heavy strength work so my cardio is not as intense as the 20MAS or HIIT. I figure when spring comes I will lighten up the weights and focus on the cardio intensity to prepare for triathlon season. Don’t be too discouraged though, if you are seeing good definition in your upper body then you are definitely losing bodyfat!!

Hi Linda, hang in there!! I’ve been discouraged too that I haven’t lost ANY weight in 4 weeks but I’m determined to finish this and I know I am making progress on getting stronger and building muscle. I’m trying to focus on keeping my mindset positive so that I will stick with this since I know if I just give up I certainly won’t see the results that I want! So don’t give up okay?! If I’m not giving up you can’t either :eek: I know my eating hasn’t been perfect and I think my free day usually ending up being free weekend eating and that is definitely my downfall. The Tri-o-plex bars sound great, I’ll have to check for those! That is a good idea to split the bar into 2 snacks since it is more calories.

Colleen, sorry to hear about your foot injury, hope it feels better soon! Great to have you here with us! I need the accountability as well so this is really helpful for me. Very good idea to post our eats everyday, that will certainly keep me on track!!

Great job increasing the weights Rhonda!! I really want to get a squat rack, what kind do you have? Most of the ones I’ve seen are too large to fit in my exercise area. Seems like I saw one that was 2 separate stands that doesn’t take up so much space, I will have to look for that again and check about getting it.

Linda, I know what you mean about aching wrists from the plank work! I had to get down on the floor in my office to try with the fingertips like you described, sure glad someone didn’t walk by, HAHA! I think the form is fine on that but golly that is HARD on the fingertips!! That would be a good question for Cathe so you might post that on her Ask Cathe forum. I’d like to know that myself.

Had a great workout this morning with Leaner Legs (standing segment) and Wedding floorwork and Kickbox plank and abwork. Went heavier on the weights this morning so it was tough!! Do you gals all focus on a series like PS or Pryamids for several weeks and then switch or mix workouts around? I find I like to focus on one series for 3 weeks and work on increasing my weights with those workouts and then switch to a new series. Sometimes I can hold the same weights but some of her workouts are more endurance based so I have to lighten up a bit and slowly work up again.

This week and next I’m focusing on CTX strength, then switching to Slow & Heavy. Has anyone done all the upper body segements from the S&H series in the same workout? I think I’ll try it but only do 2 sets of each exercise, not sure how long that will turn out to be!!

Well, better get back to work, have a great day all!

Cheryl
 
Hello, I keep seeing this check in and want to know what BFL is? I think it is Body for Life, maybe? Are you all seeing results? What makes this program different? I am really curious about how and why, and any of your thoughts would be great to hear!
Dani
 
>Are you doing the 20MAS or HIIT intensity? I use Taebo, IMAX1
>or 2 or Intense Moves for my cardio. If I do Taebo, I modify
>and do the 20 MAS and slowly up my intervals. So often I'm
>going at a different pace than the video. Not sure if this is
>helpful for you or not. But I have found that as long as I'm
>doing 20 minutes of HIIT, it beats me up much more than 60
>minutes of 'regular' cardio.
>
>Colleen


Hi Colleen,

I have a stupid question for you, what is 20MAS and HIIT intensity?
 
Dani - BFL is Body for Life. Most of us are eating by the plan but using Cathe videos for the exercise portion.

Cheryl - I have a big "cage like" squat rack. I have my set up in the basement so it works fine for me. If you have smaller room, then it would take up too much room. Sorry can't help much.

Back to work for me,
Rhonda
 
Do you use the book and journal, or is that not necessary? Is it difficult to figure out and implement, or fairly complicated?

I am so curious and love the idea of something that lays it all out for you, and you just do what you're told. That is why I love rotations, but I need a little more to kick it up a notch. I expect the BB DVD's will do that, but in the mean time I am looking to get through winter with a good routine.
 
>
>Hi Colleen,
>
>I have a stupid question for you, what is 20MAS and HIIT intensity?

The 20MAS is the cardio described in the Body for Life Book. I'll probbaly get the numbers wrong but off the top of my head you do:

2 minutes at your level 6
1 minute at your level 7
1 minute at your level 8
1 minute at your level 9
2 minute at your level 6
1 minute at your level 7
1 minute at your level 8
1 minute at your level 9
2 minute at your level 6
1 minute at your level 7
1 minute at your level 8
1 minute at your level 9
1 minute at your level 9
2 minutes at your level 6
NOTE: I'm missing 2 minutes here so I'll maybe someone else can fill in the blanks.

Your level varies on your fitness level. It is basically a form of interval training. For example for my level 10 I run like the bogeyman is chasing me, for a 9 I run like he is at the neighbors house :) 6 might be a slow jog, 7 a little faster, 8 almost running, 9 running and then 10 a sprint.

HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training: IMAX is a perfect example

These are the two types of cardio if you are following BFL 'by the book'. I have found them highly effective and to burn more fat than an hour of Cathe for example.

Colleen
 
Hi everyone,

Got up and did KPC (low, hi, combo 2 and abs). Those abs are killers. I cannot do the ball between the legs and arms as low as Cathe does, will take time to do that. Those pikes are something I also need to really work on, I just role the knees in and out as a modification.

Eating went well.

Tomorrow is PUB.

Dani- I don't write down what I eat, I probably should be I have been keeping myself in check. Exercising I do write down what I do each day on a calendar and also have a journal where I write down all my weights and exercises. I jot down notes on when I need to go up in weight. On the calendar I also jot down my weight each week so I know how I am doing.

Hope everyone has a nice day. I am gearing up for meetings all morning at work. Rhonda
 
Thanks for explaining that. I do the 20 MAS once a week on the bike at the gym, but go hard on Tae Bo and Cathe. This morning I did her CTX Kickbox and just worked it the entire time. I am thinking of ordering some of the cardio workouts from her new series to shake things up a bit. The choreography for IMAX2 is too intricate for me. I don't want to waste time trying to figure out how to do a workout, I just want to do it. Any suggestions as to what to buy or do would be very welcome.

The advice on this board has been so helpful. I really look forward to checking in here every day.
 

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