The Body Sculpting Bible for Women

Today was quite productive for a Sunday!

We took my car to get serviced, got in a quick work out, and then stopped at KeKe’s for breakfast.

We shared a Greek eggwhite omelet with potatoes, whole wheat toast and turkey sausage links.  Always the most satisfying Sunday meal .

We went to the produce market, grocery shopped and cleaned the house.  I took a break to go get the first pedicure I’ve had in what seems like forever (I’ve spared you a picture of my weird toes- you’re welcome).

Bella helped me tackle Laundry Mountain:

I’ve raised such a helpful daughter.

And now, I’m just snacking on some leftover vegetable lasagna while waiting for Mellow Mushroom pizza from last night (Mega Veggie on Wheat Germ crust- subbed chicken in for the tofu) to reheat in the oven.

On a side note: La Croix was BOGO today at Publix- um…has anyone else tried the Coconut flavor?  I’ve been really into all things coconut lately, and I’m in love.

The Body Sculpting Bible for Women

So, my new friend from work that I mentioned before was kind enough to lend me a book called The Body Sculpting Bible for Women. 

If you take a look at my Workout Log , it’s clear that up until this week, the only form of strength training I’ve been doing has been BodyPump classes.  I absolutely love BodyPump, and I have been regularly taking the class for about a year.  But, now that I’m working full-time, it’s been difficult to get to one of the two class times that work with my schedule.  Plus, I can tell that my body is used to the workout routine and has plateaued.

I was explaining this to my co-worker, which is why she told me about this book.  After reading it, I decided I would give the program a try.  After all, it is proven that strength training is imperative for fat loss and increased muscle tone.

Disclaimer: The following is my own opinion and is not meant to be viewed as a substitute for the advice of a physician or fitness professional- always consult your doctor before beginning a new workout program.

The book provides 3 different categories of women:

1. The Beginner- someone who has never strength trained before and wants to lose weight.

2.  The Intermediate- someone who has experience with weight training and is looking to tone up and increase strength.

3.  The Wanna-Be Body Builder- someone who is looking to gain extreme muscle mass with the goal of competing in fitness competitions.

I toyed with the idea of going with #3, but the thought of me in 7-inch Lucite heels, a hot pink thong and a spray tan that rivals Snooki’s snapped me back to reality and I went with #2.

The plan starts out with two weeks of 3 different workouts that you do as compound supersets- each workout is made up of about 8 different exercises.  For example, you would do a set of bicep curls, rest for 60-90 seconds, then do a set of pushups, then repeat both, and move on to the next compound superset.

Weeks 3 and 4 consists of similar exercises, except you do supersets- which means there is no rest in between two sets.

Weeks 5 and 6 are “Giant Sets”, or 4 exercises in a row done as supersets.

Strength training days are 3 days a week, and cardio + abs are 3 days a week, for a total of 6 days in the gym and one rest day per week.

My plan is to do strength training Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and cardio and abs on Tuesday, Thursday, and whichever weekend day I feel like working out.

I started this plan on Monday, and although I skipped Tuesday (alarm clock malfunction, also known as: Corey didn’t wake me up) I can already see a difference!  I warm up with 20 minutes of cardio, and the strength training itself takes me about 20-25 minutes.  As long as I’m in the gym by 6:20AM, I can be in and out in 45 minutes and still have enough time to eat breakfast and get ready for work to be out the door by 8:15AM.  Piece of cake!  (Kinda.)  I have to say, there is no greater feeling than knowing that your workout is done for the day before 8AM rolls around.

Besides providing workout plans, this book provides nutritional guidelines.  I think with any book that offers diet and workout advice, you should always take it with a grain of salt- not everything you read is 100% truth- and you should always consider the viewpoint of the author.  But, one thing that I did realize is that I have been totally neglecting two very important nutrition categories:

1. The ever-scorned carbohydrate.  I’ve been focusing on adding healthy, complex carbs back into my diet.  These have come in the form of steel-cut oatmeal or cream of wheat for breakfast, and grains such as quinoa or brown rice bread with lunch.  When I was preparing for our wedding, I basically took all carbs (including whole-grains) out of my diet, which I now realize was a big mistake, since your body really needs those nutrients for proper functioning after working out, and you can actually damage your thyroid by taking carbohydrates out completely.  Whoopsies.

2.  Protein! I’ve said it before, but I am sometimes an accidental vegetarian- I don’t disclude meat on purpose, but somehow it is absent from most of my morning and midday meals, which results in a severe under-consumption of protein each day.  Now that I am aware of how badly I’ve been lacking protein, I have been making a conscious effort to include a healthy source into each of my meals and snacks.

So, there you have it!  My newest fitness goal.  I will update you on my progress at the end of Week 4 and Week 6.  I might even include before and after pictures, but that will probably only happen if I lose my mind from mad cow disease thanks to all the meat I’ll be eating .

Have you ever tried a strength training program before?