Workout Wednesdays... Progress, Recipes & Fitspo

So last week I was moaning about having hit a plateau (sorry).
 
This week I'm feeling much more positive. Despite being at my mum's for the weekend (which means missing workouts & not eating clean), I've had a good week. I've managed to compensate for missed workouts by combining two into one on a couple of occasions. I've been really good with food prep & only had one little slip up - an emotional day + a bag of mini eggs = a binge. But I've forgiven myself for it and moved on. I am only human, after all.
 
I don't want to boast but I'm proud of myself today. Last night, I did my first set of measurements since Christmas. So...
 
Left bicep: 0.5 inch loss
Right bicep: 0.5 inch loss
Chest - 1 inch loss
Waist - 2 inch loss
Hips - 1 inch loss
 
I'm seriously impressed with this! My thighs have each gained half an inch but, judging by the feel and the slight definition in my quads, this is muscle and not fat so I'm happy with that!
 
Most weeks, I feel like there's no change on the scales and my jeans aren't getting any looser so monthly progress checks like this are really good for me. I shall be taking another set of progress pictures soon too but these are for my personal gallery; I'm nowhere near confident enough to reveal them to the world just yet!
 
Part of why I feel successful this week has been down to being prepared. I'm finding it easier and less time consuming each week, now that I know what I'm doing and how much to prep of what for when. Being a lot more confident in all of this has led me to deviate from my original basic diet and experiment & research new recipes.

Yesterday I found this recipe for Omelette Cupcakes from a lovely lady that I follow on twitter (https://twitter.com/HHH_Dannii).

Mine didn't come out quite as perfectly as hers but that's natural for a first bake! They came out huge & fluffy and subsequently sank quite a bit. Shallowness aside, they were super yummy! I made 10 to have for breakfasts over a few days and chopped up some mushrooms and peppers into the mix to give it a bit of a boost. Very impressed with these, especially as they don't taste too egg-like!

 

For the final part of this blog post, I wanted to give you a list of some of the accounts that I follow on Twitter that keep me motivated. Whether it be by posting their workouts, recipes, pictures, or just telling me to get in the gym when I'm feeling lazy, these people really make a difference. This list is neither definitive nor exhaustive but they are people who have inspired me in the last week or so!

 

https://twitter.com/RightHealth

https://twitter.com/wceagles929406

https://twitter.com/hanaxfitness

https://twitter.com/LolaFitHD

 

and, of course, my favourite FitLads of all time...

https://twitter.com/LDN_Muscle

Get following and get inspired!

Workout Wednesdays.... Plateau Pity and Tabata Training!

I like to keep my blog posts upbeat and positive but I am a human and not always happy. This last ten days I have been really struggling with my lack of progress. I've hit a serious plateau; I'm not losing weight, not gaining muscle and not getting stronger. I know I'm not an actual machine. The human body is unpredictable and life doesn't always go as we want it to. But that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be a little annoyed when everything isn't happening as I planned.

I decided that my body needs a shock to give it a jumpstart and get going again. So I bought the LDN Muscle Bikini Guide V2.

I feel a little as thought I'm starting from scratch again. It's a little scary but it is fun and interesting to learn even more.

This guide is a definite improvement on the original. There's 2 full weeks of training programmes, aimed at not letting your body get used to your routine (which I think has been my problem). There's a new diet guide with comprehensive information on nutrition, supplements and body types. Everything you could want from a training guide is there, bar the voice in your ear telling you to push for one more rep!

Two days in and I've failed slightly on the diet side but I couldn't resist a trip to Yo Sushi! with my friends! I'm so excited to get in the gym today and do my new arms and back workout!

 

I spend a lot of time online researching form and technique and just reading about fitness types. I have discovered I am definitely an endomorph - easy to gain muscle but hard to lose fat! As brilliant as my LDN plan is, I think I would really benefit from incorporating some short fat-burning sessions into my regular sessions.

 

I don't want to be a slave to cardio and I don't want to overtrain so I had a good look around and discovered Tabata Training. Tabata is a type of HIIT created in Japan by Izumi Tabata. Essentially, the premise is a 20 second powerful burst of movement followed by a 10 second rest period, repeated. Some people choose to do this for up to 20 minutes but I think that's a little excessive on top of a mammoth weights session so I've found one that adds up to four minutes!

 

Hopefully this will get my heart going and fat burning quickly without exhausting myself and detracting from my weights training. Below is my little workout that I'm going to throw in halfway through my session today! I'll let you know how it goes!

 

20 seconds High Knees

10 seconds standing rest

20 seconds Jumping Jacks

10 seconds standing rest
20 seconds light Dumbbell Punches
10 seconds standing rest
20 seconds Squat Kicks
10 seconds standing rest
Repeat, done!