6 Months Old: Sitting up Like a Boss

Baby girl turned 6 months old on Thursday! We've tried some solids and she scarfs them down. My squee pig pig. It certainly makes for some interesting diapers (more on that below).

Around 5.5 months, baby E started rolling over from back to front. She's been doing front to back rolls since she was 5.5 weeks old (hmmm 5.5 theme going on here), but back to front is a lot harder for babies.

She also sits up without support now! She's been doing that for about a week :) She is so much happier now that she can sit up and play with her toys.

Baby girls weighs about 18 pounds. That puts her in the 82nd percentile for weight. So chubbers. I love me a chunky baby ^_^ She also did some serious growing length wise, but I haven't been able to measure that yet (a wiggly baby is also an uncooperative baby).

Beach Babe

Baby girl had her first trip to the beach last week :) She didn't seem too thrilled with the ocean, but she greatly enjoyed splashing in her baby pool. She did great on the beach though. She loves to people watch (who doesn't?) and was content to hang out in her bouncy chair with her new favorite toy: an empty water bottle. Hahaha.

Hanging out in the baby pool with grandpa

Learning to drive at the OBX.

We found some hilarious sunglasses.

We climbed the dunes (I love my ErgoBaby carrier).

Little shade roof  for the sweaty baby.

My mom and dad were on vacation too, so they helped us with baby girl. The hubs and I got to go on a couple of baby-free dates, which was awesome :D We also ran into a teacher both hubs and I had in high school. Such a small world.

And now for some new mom survival tips.

More New Mom Survival Tips

1. You will lose all the hairs. 

All of them. It started to happen to me around 4 months post partum and has just started to slow down a bit. Now I have a billion little tiny baby hairs growing in their place.I have a weird frizzy halo all around my scalp. So strange looking. Oh well. Try not to panic, you aren't balding.

2. Starting solids means disgusting diapers. 

My daughter was EBF until we started letting her try solids. Within a matter of days her poops began reflecting this change in diet. Breastfed babies tend to have yellow, mustardy poops. They don't have as foul of an odor as regular poop and it's way easier to clean.

Now with the solids we have epic blow outs and baby clothes soaking in the sink to avoid horrendous yellow stains. She also grunts when pooping since it's much more solid now. It's kind of hilarious to look over at my baby and see her get this serious look of concentration and then suddenly let out a weird grunt. It's probably not as funny for her though since her digestive system is getting used to solids.

Regardless, brace yourself. Gross poop is coming.

I-I-I I Workout

Hubs got super into lifting while deployed, so naturally he wants to make me do it too haha. Basically, I'm super weak sauce. My max bench press is 70lbs and my max deadlift is 120lbs. At least I can deadlift more than my weight?

Anyway, we ultimately ended up doing leg day. I just used the bar for this (45 pounds) because I can't figure out the hang clean thing to save my life hahaha. Hubs didn't want to add more weight until I can figure that out.

5 sets of 5 front squats with 10 burpees in between each set

Repeat 3X (first round I held a 22 lb weight, then dropped to an 11lb weight for the last two):
30 lunges (15 each leg)
15 sumo squats
25 tuck jumps

2mile run

That workout took about 46 minutes and burned 506 calories, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. My legs were a wee bit dead

5 Months Old: Meeting Daddy

DADDY IS HOME :D Our little family is finally whole.

Baby E got to meet her daddy for the first time July 15th. I had a photographer come out to capture his homecoming, and I am so glad I did. We got some excellent pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

Baby girl loves her daddy ^_^ I was worried she would be scared of him, but I played recordings of him reading books to her. Knowing his voice helped ease transition immensely. 

Having the hubinator home is such a relief. Major props to single moms, I have no idea how they raise children alone. Caring for baby girl on my own was one of the more difficult things I've had to do in life (I'm pretty sure childbirth wins that title haha). Traveling back home frequently helped since I had my parents' help, but it's not the same as having my husband home. 

Our homecoming wasn't quite what I thought it would be. There were tons of wives, children, and family members waiting for the men to be released, so there was a lot of nervous tension. Baby girl, our photographer, and I showed up around 1530. The guys were supposed to be released around 1600, which I knew would not happen. Not nearly enough "hurry up and wait". They ultimately got released around 1700. 

This massive flood of men collided into a wall of ecstatic women and children, and all the while I'm searching for my husband. Eventually, most of the families reunited and started dispersing to go home. Hubs wasn't there. I cannot explain the complete adrenaline crash that followed this realization. I went back and checked my phone. Sure enough, I had a message saying he couldn't go with the main group and he would be another 15 minutes. 

Suuuuuuuuuuure, haha. 

I felt kind of bad for the photographer. Some of my husbands' friends found me well before he was released. As they would walk up to say hi, I could feel the question of, "Is that him?" That happened about three times. 

It worked out in the end though. Since practically everybody was gone, there aren't a bunch of random strangers in our photos :) Plus, some of our friends got the hubs' gear together for us and put it by the car since he was so delayed, so that saved us some work. 

It's been so amazing to watch the hubs with our daughter. He is so fascinated by everything she does. I love watching him interact with her and talk with her. 

Speaking of little miss, she is 5 months old today! And she is gigantic. I know I say that all the time, but she is. She barely fits in 6 month clothes and is mostly in 9 month clothes now. It all depends on the brand of course. As of the 24th, she weighed 16.8 pounds. Thankfully, most baby clothing brands give a weight range so I can just go off of that rather than what month-size they claim the outfit is. 

I swear she normally is a very smiley baby. She gives me dead face when she sees my phone.
I have to sneak the pictures now to capture a smile.

Look at how much bigger she is!

Baby girl has reached some new mile stones. She's been babbling for months, but now she says mama! She obviously has no idea what mama means, but she says it all the time :) She is also so close to being able to sit up unassisted. She can do it for 5 seconds or so, but ends up keeling over to one side eventually. She's also working on her crawling skills. She's no where near actual crawling yet, but she turns herself around in circles and can push herself backwards.

She also greatly enjoys her walker. I know the powers that be recommend against using them, but whatever. My house has no stairs and I'm watching her anytime she is in it. Plus, she loves to motor around. For awhile she could only push herself backward, but she's figured out forward movement now :)

She also likes to chuck all of her toys as she scoots around and then is highly confused as to where they all went.

The toy graveyard

Growing up, my brother and I each had a child-sized rocking chair that our granddad got us. Dad repainted mine and bought a tiny toy one. He painted it to match for baby girl to use for dolls and such when she gets older.

It is currently the perfect size for her.

Look at the bad mambajamba lookin' so fly. 

We also have a nimble nook pack n' play now. I call it baby jail hahaha. She seems to like it well enough.

Now that I am five months post partum, I feel pretty much back to myself physically. Of course, I'm not nearly as strong as I once was and my lungs are no where near their past capacity. I frequently forget this though.

Bearing that in mind, I did this workout today:

30 sit ups
21 Burpees
21 Dumbbell (DB) swings
30 sit ups
18 Burpees
18 DB swings
30 sit ups
15 Burpees
15 DB swings
30 sit ups
12 Burpees
12 DB swings
30 sit ups
9 Burpees
9 DB swings
30 sit ups
6 Burpees
6 DB swings
30 sit ups
3 Burpees
3 DB swings

I've done it before pre-baby and it took me about 15 minutes. So there I was thinking I would do this workout then go for a run.

27 minutes later, I was finished haha. It is deceptively difficult. Then again, there is a reason nobody likes burpees. 

4 Months Old: When Life Gives You Lemons

Baby E is a big, four month old baby today! As of yesterday, she weighed 15 pounds and 10 ounces. What a biggin'. She has figured out I must be doing something when I pull out my phone to take a picture of her because she just blankly stares at it now. She absolutely refuses to smile if she sees my phone pointed at her. What a stinker. Also, her big toes nails are painted red hehehe.

Here hair is getting a lot lighter.

Here are our other attempts at a 4 month picture.

Thinking hard about this smiling thing.

Trying to eat the hand.

Not even gonna try to be helpful.

For the last few weeks, baby E has been a teething fool. She drools constantly, bites everything, and gets a serious case of the grumps in the evenings. Gripe water seems to help though.

It's been a rather trying month. Baby girl tested positive for MRSA. She doesn't have an infection or anything, she's just been colonized. I had to swipe some goo inside her nose for 5 days to get rid of it, and it was pretty awful. She absolutely hated it and screamed the entire time. Thank god that nonsense is over. She also has eczema, so I have to slather her up in industrial strength moisturizer. It seems to be getting better.

My knees have been killing me and I finally got an MRI done. My doctor though it was a meniscal injury, but it turns out I have fluid build up. They suggested physical therapy, but when exactly am I supposed to do that? Work, schweet babe, and flying solo do not add up to free time to go to physical therapy.

I also had a freckle on my face biopsied . It showed up under my eye last summer and started to darken and grow this summer. The results came back as a moderately abnormal, precancerous mole. It's also much larger and deeper than they originally thought as well.

Apparently it's a bigger deal than I thought because the dermatologist wants it taken care of as soon as possible. I asked if it could wait until after summer since we have a lot coming up in the next month, but she said absolutely not. She says it's an issue because of how quickly it started to change after showing up on my face. Then she dropped the word "Melanoma" casually in conversation.

I now have to go see a plastic surgeon who specializes in surgery near the eye. As the dermatologist put it, "The scar shouldn't be bigger than a centimeter." Last time I checked, a centimeter long scar is frigging huge when it's on your face. I'm really not thrilled about it, but it's better than leaving it and having it turn into melanoma. Blah.

And lastly, I had my post partum pap come back "unsatisfactory," so I have to get it done again. Because that is every woman's favorite thing to do.

Oh, and I can't take baby girl to any of these appointments. No babies allowed, they say. We live to make your life more difficult, they say.

Basically, life decided to upend a box of lemons on me. I found this picture on the interwebz, and it sums up how I feel about it:

However, it's not all griping and moaning. Baby E does some super adorable stuff now. The best things she does by far are blow rasberries and giggle when tickled. She wasn't ticklish up until a week or so ago. Baby giggles = endless entertainment.

In an abrupt shift in focus, I found some quality old photos. Well, actually, my parents unearthed them from the depths of our sunroom, but whatevs. They're awesome.

See? My baby looks like me too, dagnabbit.
Also, dad is big cheesin'

This is my first cat, Kitty Boos. Look how big his head is. I'm 5 in this picture. 

For some reason I wanted all of those barrettes in my hair.
Also, look at dem curls.

Guitar cat.

There are a ton of other pictures, but my mom said she would scan them so they're better quality. These are just pictures I took of the originals with my phone, so they're kind of funny looking.

Fitness, fitness, fitness time. I was chatting with an old friend in the last week or so, and I realized I haven't posted any workouts in awhile.

I got an interval timer for Christmas this year, and I am getting a lot of use out of it. Here is a 30 minute leg and core workout I did the other day (use weights for a bigger challenge).

Legs: 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest

squats
forward lunge - left
goblet squats
forward lunge - right
squat pulses
side lunge - left
curtsy squat - left
side lunge -right
curtsy squat - right
reverse lunge + kick - left
sumo squat
reverse lunge + kick - right
curtsy squat pulse - left
forward lunge pulse - left
curtsy squat pulse - right
forward lunge pulse - right
plie squats
lunge jumps
squat jumps
alternating side lunges

Core: 50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest (repeat 2x)
scissor kicks
Russian twists

jack knives

plank hand taps

reverse crunches

I also went to a friend's baby shower recently (due in a couple of weeks!!). I got her some diapering and baby bath supplies, made her a diaper cake, and knitted her a baby blanket. Love me some baby blankies.

Having a sewing machine makes putting borders on blankets sooooo much easier. No more sewing them on by hand, woo!

Pregnancy and Fitness: Upper and Lower Focus WOD

My mantra for this pregnancy so far is "I'm pregnant, not sick" whenever I'm feeling lazy and don't want to work out. Today was definitely one of those days where I had to convince myself to get off my butt and exercise. Here is what I did today:

I tend to do 8 reps for exercises that use dumbbells. If you've ever done P90X, then you know 8-10 reps is for size, 12-15 is to get lean. Choose your preference, then go from there. As always, every pregnancy is different and you should always consult with your doctor about your exercise regimen.

Upper - Repeat 3X
8 Military Shoulder Press
8 One arm DB row (L and R)
8 Front raise
5 Chin ups
8 Lateral raise
16 Bird Dogs (8 each side)

Lower
10 lunges
10 lunges, 10 squats
10 lunges 10 squats, 10 weight calf raises
10 lunges 10 squats, 10 weight calf raises
10 lunges, 10 squats
10 lunges

Run 2 miles

This took me about 35 minutes.

Pregnancy Updates

Yesterday I went to my first centering meeting. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically group healthcare. I still have my normal one-on-one appointments with my doctor but these meetings are to provide support and foster information sharing (the idea being you may hear questions you never even thought to ask, or get some relief to find out you aren't the only preggo person who hasn't crapped in three days--I'm such a lady). 

I got to hear the baby's heartbeat on a doppler, which was awesome. I was not expecting that. I also managed to keep my blood pressure in check, which is always a plus. Prior to pregnancy I had a pretty terrible case of White Coat Syndrome, and just the site of a doctor would send my BP soaring. 

Anyway, while listening to the heartbeat I kept hearing these weird clicking/clunking noises. Apparently that happens every time the baby moves. The nurses call it "moving furniture". We have an absurdly active baby from the sounds of it. Why am I not surprised? Looking at you, husband.

I also got all my results back from all the blood work and tests they have run so far and everything is looking good. To use the nurse's words, "Your health is perfect." 

Week 14: Welcome to the Second Trimester

Here I was thinking I was already in the second trimester for the last two weeks. Apparently some consider the beginning of the second trimester to be week 12, others think it is week 14. Either way, at 14 weeks 1 day I am definitely in the second trimester.

I have more pictures to share but I still don't look all that different despite my weight gain (this is apparently typical for a first pregnancy). I can see my lower belly starting to bow outward though.

8 Weeks	14 Weeks

My cravings are just as strong as ever (tomatoes, cheese, and sour candy), but I've been attempting to eat a healthy and balanced diet. I also have another workout to share.

Pregnancy and Fitness

There is an absurd amount of advice and information to take in when you first become pregnant (and not all of it is wanted). However, there is one piece of information you should really pay attention to: your weight gain. Here is the recommended pregnancy weight gain break down based on BMI (calculator here):

Underweight = < 18.5 (gain 28-40 lbs)
Normal = 18.5-24.9 (gain 25-35 lbs)
Overweight = 25-29.9 (gain 15-25 lbs)
Obesity = 30+ (gain 11-20 lbs)

You can read more here.

Prior to pregnancy, my BMI was 19.1 so my doctor has recommended the standard 25-35 lb weight gain. That may seem like a lot, especially considering your baby should only weigh around 7-8 lbs. So what accounts for the extra weight?

Here is the break down according to WebMD — you know, that site you use to check your symptoms and pretty much find out you have cancer every time ;)

• Baby: 8 lbs 
• Placenta: 2-3 lbs 
• Amniotic fluid: 2-3 lbs 
• Breast tissue: 2-3 lbs 
• Blood supply: 4 lbs 
• Stored fat for delivery and breastfeeding: 5-9 lbs 
• Larger uterus: 2-5 lbs 
• Total: 25-35 lbs

So really, only 5-9 of those pounds is extra fat; the rest of it is stuff you kinda need. Gaining too little or too much both have their draw backs. Your doctor should discuss and monitor your weight gain over the course of your pregnancy, so be sure to mention any concerns you may have. 

One way to manage weight gain during pregnancy (particularly if you are like me and want to eat all the food all the time) is exercise. Again, this is something you should discuss with your doctor. However, in general, you can continue any exercise routine you had prior to pregnancy. The only caveats I have run into so far are:

1. After 20 weeks you will no longer be able to work out on your back due to the potential to compress veins and limit blood flow to your baby.
2. You MUST be able to breathe! When running, make sure you can talk comfortably the entire time. If you are not breathing, the baby is not breathing. This also means if you are using weights or resistance bands, do not hold your breath at any point. Be sure to breathe the entire time.  

Be aware, this is my particular pregnancy. Everyone is different. I cannot stress enough discussing your exercise routine and questions with your doctor. 

I worked out quite a bit prior to pregnancy. Most of my work outs consisted of running, circuit training, and weight training. I've been advised to be careful when using weights. If you do not know proper form, you can hurt yourself and potentially your baby. I've also been told to not increase the weights I use. Also, you should avoid exercises that involve balance or expose you to possible traumas (think volleyball, cycling, etc). 

All that being said, here is an exercise routine I did today. It took about 30 minutes and is a combination of walking, running, and weight training. If you do not have a treadmill (and the weather is playing nice) you could just take the walking and running outdoors. 

Warm Up

5 minutes easy walking at 3.5 mph

Set 1 — Repeat 3X

1 minute run 6.5 mph

8 bicep curls 

8 dumbbell tricep extension 

8 military shoulder press 

Set 2 — Repeat 3X

1 minute run 7.5 mph

8 hammer curls 

8 tricep chair dips 

8 lateral raises 

Cool Down

5 minutes walking at 4.5 mph

The 1200 Calorie Myth

Anybody who has ever dieted knows about the 1200 calorie myth. There are multiple variations of this myth, but here are the most common two I come across in fitness forums.

1. You must eat 1200 calories per day in order to lose weight quickly (2 lbs per week)
2. 1200 calories is the minimum caloric intake a person needs before they go into starvation mode

I've heard this myth and parroted #2 a few times myself. However, after calculating my BMR and realizing I needed 1491 calories just to exist (as in to just lay in bed all day doing nothing) I started to doubt the 1200 calorie myth.

Mmmm delicious burger...aaaaand I'm not eating again for three days.

The first thing most of these forums don't tell you is where this myth even came from. Some of them site the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), so I started my search there. And I found nothing. Well, not nothing. I just found some super complicated formulas. No magical explanation about the 1200 calorie myth.

So I turned to Google and tried to find the 1200 myth's connection to AMSSM. What I found was a connection to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). I found one article with no citations and no author. It references the ACSM guidelines, but gives no link to them. I also couldn't find them after scouring the web. Nevertheless, I had my first source outside of public forums quoting the myth. It also added to the myth including men need to eat at least 1800 calories per day.

By the way, this is what a 1200 calorie diet looks like.

I turned to Google again to try and find the root of this myth and I finally struck gold. Here is the direct quote from the article:

So where did the 1200 and 1800 calorie floor numbers come from? Those are generalizations based on average caloric maintenance levels (TDEE), as determined by exercise physiologists. According to Victor Katch & Frank Mcardle, the average female between the ages of 23 and 50 has a maintenance level of about 2100 calories per day and the average male about 2800 calories per day.

Based on the maximum recommendation of two pounds of weight loss per week given by organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine, these "calorie floors" are based on 1000 calories below the average person's TDEE (2800 calories per day average for men, minus 1000 calories equals calorie floor of 1800 calories per day. 2100 calories per day average for women, minus 1000 calories equals a calorie floor of 1100 calories, and most health organizations round up that number to 1200 since 1000 calories under maintenance is a larger relative deficit compared to men.)

This blows the 1200 calorie myth out of the water. Very rarely have I heard an argument for a net of 1200 calories; usually I see diet plans that account for 1200 calories exactly as well as an exercise regimen. Thus, anyone who is actually working out while sticking to 1200 calories exactly is most definitely throwing themselves into starvation mode.

Not only that, but the 1200 calorie diet is meant for the average person who is purposely trying to lose the maximum safe amount of weight per week. But what exactly does average mean? I don't own the book by the physiologists cited above; however, I can guarantee you the average person is not busting their butt in the gym every day.

This is where your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) comes into play (check out my post on the Biggest Loser fiasco, I get more into how it is calculated there). I included links to a few different equations for determining daily caloric need. Using the Harris Benedict equation, my daily caloric need came out around 2300 (using all the various equations I got a range of 1900-2300).

According to the Harris Benedict formula, I am 200 calories over the suggested average. 200 calories may not seem like a lot, but after a week that is 1400 calories. Imagine how out of whack my diet and metabolism would get if I continued that deficit unknowingly.

Also, in general, leaner bodies will need more calories. For example, two women who are the same height and wear the same clothing size, but have totally different body composition will have different caloric needs.

To sum it up for those who don't like reading:

Myth 1: You must eat 1200 calories per day in order to lose weight quickly (2 lbs per week)
Reality: You need to calculate your BMR to determine your daily caloric need. Then you subtract 1000 calories from that in order to lose 2 pounds a week. You also need to take into account calories burned through exercise (ex: 1300 calories/day to lose 2 lbs + 300 calories burned through exercise = 1600 calories total for the day).

Myth 2: 1200 calories is the minimum caloric intake a person needs before they go into starvation mode
Reality: 1200 calories in the minimum caloric intake for the average woman who does not exercise. Again, you will need to calculate your BMR, daily caloric needs, as well as calories burned from exercise in order to determine what your minimum is.

About Samantha Bookwalter

Google+
Samantha Bookwalter is currently Associate Web Content Manager for Health Supplement Wholesalers. She specializes in web editing, copyediting, SEO, HTML, CSS, and other web-related acronyms. Samantha has an affinity for health and fitness; in her free time she enjoys working out with her husband and researching recipes that are not only healthy but delicious too.

Insanity vs P90X vs Crossfit and My Results

Almost a year ago I posted my Insanity before and after results. I was happy with them at the time, but I was still nowhere near where I wanted to be. I also didn't really understand how fitness and nutrition really worked. I knew it was calories in vs calories out, but I didn't really pay attention in the beginning to the kinds of calories. Now I track fats, protein, and sodium as well (and sort of sugar, but not really since I don't have a sweet tooth--my issue is salt, so I pay more attention to that). There is obviously more to fitness than those factors, but those were the factors I let slip the most. I think it was those factors there were keeping me from where I wanted to be as well.

I gained a good bit of the weight back over the holidays and I got super mopey about it. My husband was also about to leave for 9 weeks for training so I was mega down in the dumps about that as well. I also decided that it was time to get back on the fitness horse for real. In the 12 weeks of P90X I lost 14 lbs and a good bit of inches.

Once I completed P90X, I moved onto crossfit workouts and I love them. I feel like I did the various workout programs in the best possible order to set me up for success. Insanity got me back in cardio shape, P90X built lean muscle and helped me annihilate fat, and crossfit has given me the variety to stay focused (and not get bored) while maintaining my weight. The first column contains my post-insanity results, the middle column is my pre-P90X results (my numbers went back up since I slacked over the holidays), the final column is where I am now (same as my post P90X results). I've maintained my weight and results for 5 months now! Woo!

Neck: 12.5
Waist: 27.5
Hips: 37
L Thigh: 20.5
R Thigh: 20.75
Wrist: 5.5
Forearm: 8.75

Neck: 12.5
Waist: 28
Hips: 37.5
L Thigh: 21
R Thigh: 21
Wrist: 5.5
Forearm: 8.5

Neck: 12.25
Waist: 25.5
Hips: 34
L Thigh: 19.5
R Thigh: 19.5
Wrist: 5.5
Forearm: 8.25

I am freakishly ecstatic about my triceps. You don't even know. In regards to the different programs, I would say Insanity is for beginners since there are no set reps--you just do the number of reps you are comfortable doing (but take it easy if you have no exercise experience, I'm not an expert nor a doctor so I can't really say what is safe for any given individual), P90X is for intermediate fitness enthusiasts (if you use lighter weights and elastic bands) to above average fit individuals (if you heavy up the weights and can do pull ups). Crossfit is technically for anybody. Some workouts are basic enough for even the laziest couch potato, others will make grown men cry. It all comes down to knowing your body, what it is capable of, and when to stop.

Some pros and cons:

Insanity Pros: No prep required for a workout, just pop in the DVD, most workouts are 45 minutes or less month one and about an hour month 2, calendar to track your workouts, and a nutrition guide.

Insanity Cons: Some moves cannot be altered for those who cannot perform them yet. My biggest beef with the program looking back is it is super cardio-based. A lot of people are stuck in the mind set to lose weight they need to do cardio, cardio, cardio but I saw my best results after lifting weights. Muscle burns fat, so build some! That's why I think Insanity is a good starting block for most individuals.

P90X Pros: Again, no prep, calendar to keep track of your workout schedule, and a kick-ass nutrition guide with meal ideas that look awesome, involves weights and really picks up the intensity.

P90X Cons: They're all around an hour (some even a bit longer like the yoga day) and you will have to buy weights. I know I just said weights are a good thing, but for those who do not want to or cannot spend the extra cash, this can be a negative of the program.

Crossfit pros: the WODs are nearly endless, go onto pinterest and you will see tons of them all over the place. Many can be tailored so they do not require equipment if you don't happen to have access. The variety is what really trumps here as you can only hear Tony Horton caw like a pterodactyl or listen to Shawn T say "Pump through it!" so many times before you want to strangle them both. Plus, if you do it on your own, this can be totally free for you if money is tight.

Crossfit cons: While doing it on your own can be free, if you want a membership to a crossfit gym, you are going to need to shell out a decent chunk of cash (more so than your standard gym). Plus, doing it on your own can be intimidating or even dangerous if you don't know proper form. Also, having to go on the hunt for a workout (or plan your own) can result in not working out for the day if you didn't plan ahead. If you do opt for the membership though, you get the super bonus of 1-on-1 time with trainers who will help you with form. Just make sure to do your research first and read reviews for the gyms in your area.

You can also check out my review of Focus T25 here:

Something else that is often overlooked by beginners (or those who just like to eat all the time like I did a few months ago) is nutrition, which is a huge part of successful weight loss and maintenance. Check out my blog for other recipes along with the corresponding nutrition info. I've also put together some crossfit WODs of my own that require little to no equipment, so take a look for examples and ideas, good luck!

About Samantha Bookwalter

Google+
Samantha Bookwalter is currently Associate Web Content Manager for Health Supplement Wholesalers. She specializes in web editing, copyediting, SEO, HTML, CSS, and other web-related acronyms. Samantha has an affinity for health and fitness; in her free time she enjoys working out with her husband and researching recipes that are not only healthy but delicious too.

Butt and Gut WOD

So I decided to focus on the muscles in my body that I want to be super toned. One day I will have a six pack dammit. I meant, wth, why is it the top 4 are super defined and the bottom two are just all like, "Yea, we know you do lower core workouts, but we don't care. We're not coming out. Neener, neener, neener."

Oh well, I'll crack the code on that one another day.

On the other hand, I'm super proud of my glutes. I went through Insanity, P90X, and now crossfit style workouts and it wasn't until about a week ago that I even looked at my butt since probably Halloween. I mean, I'd seen it in clothes (but looking good in clothes and looking good naked are two completely different things) but for the first time in a long time I donned a bathing suit to go to the beach. My reaction was pretty much this:

Squats, seriously, do wonders for the butt region. DO ALL THE SQUATS...anyway. So at work I've started making those pins since they are in the health and fitness industry. Here is the latest one, which can be found on this blog post as well.

 

So there it is, your core and glute WOD. 

Total Body WOD

My husband brought this WOD home to me a few weeks ago. It took me 22:15 to do the whole thing, and then die afterward...or go for a run, whichever. In other news that apparently only I care about (rest of the world, why u no interested in my fitness?), I can now do ~6~ pull ups. Your jealousy is overwhelming.

Anyway, here it is without further ado, the total body WOD:

Those 3 max set of dead hang pull ups were killer. I warn you, your max after the 4 sets will not be your max from a fresh start. I was all jello and lame-sauce after them and could not crank out nearly as many.

Good luck!

Cardio & Strength WOD

I realized I tend to either get hyper focused on strength training or cardio and I never really mix the two, which is what inspired today's WOD:

I originally planned on doing this one later today, but seeing as there is a tropical storm passing through causing bucket of rain and tornados to appear, I think I may be staying indoors. I do have a treadmill, but ug I hate that thing. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and use the dang thing. Not sure what the hubs is gonna do though. His stride is way too long for it.

As you may or may not have realized, I post these on my pinterest as well. There are tons of other workout routines on that board, so be sure to check it out for more ideas.

Speaking of fitness boards, what is it with most pinners and their inability to pin real workouts? They have tones of motivational images but no actual routines to follow. It is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to pinterest. I don't care if people want to have pictures that motivate them, but, seriously, label the board as such. Fitspiration, My Motivation, etc are all acceptable title. I Workout, Working on My Fitness, etc leads me to believe there will be workouts. If I don't see them, I get irritated (which is why I started making my own workout graphics in the first place. I've actually written an entire article on the issue:

#1 Reason Pinteresters Fail at Pinterest.

But enough of my blather, you have a workout to do ;)

Work Those Glutes/Abs - Crossfit Light WOD

Here is one I put together meant to focus mainly on the glutes and abdominals. Other parts are incorporated to give them a break, but still. The picture says to repeat 3 times, but do more if you are feeling particularly ambitious or compliment it with another one that I've posted, such as the abdominal circuit.

50 mountain climbers
40 bridges
30 squats
20 lunges total
10 burpees
1 minute plank

3 rounds, AFAP

Abdominal Circuit

So this isn't really a full workout, it's meant to be in addition to another workout. I like to put together circuits so I can mix them to keep workouts interesting.

Here's a brief explanation of the moves. Sit ups everyone knows. For oblique v ups, you lie on your side and bend slightly at the waist to create a 30 degree angle. If you are on your left side, lay your left arm on the floor and put your right hand behind your head. Making sure to keep your legs straight, lift your legs off the ground and bring your torso toward your legs. Once you begin, try to keep your shoulder and feet off the ground. If you can't that's fine, just work towards it.

V sits require you to sit with your knees bent into your chest making sure your feet are off the floor. You can either keep your hands behind your head or extend them out in front of you. Then you will lean back and extend your legs straight out. Pull your legs back into your chest; this is one rep.

Alternate heel touchers require you to lay on your back and bend your knees. With your feet firmly planted you will raise your shoulders off the ground like you are doing a crunch. Then you crunch to the left and touch your heel. Staying up in the crunch position, you reach over to the other side and touch that heel. Each touch is one rep.

Most also know bicycles and scissor kicks.

Pulse ups require you to lie flat on your back with your legs straight in the air. Keeping your hands by your side, thrust your feet into the air, taking care to keep them as straight as possible. Do not thrust them over your head, try to make sure your feet never cross over your belly button.

Russian twists are also pretty standard as are planks. If there are any moves here that I did not explain or you would like a better explanation, Bodybuilding.com has tons of pictures and explanations.

That brief explanation was not so brief haha.

Workout cross-posted  to www.healthsupplementwholesalers.com

Crossfit WOD 2

Well here is another one. I've done this one a few times before. I usually just do max pull ups (for me that's 5) then 45 seconds of squats, another round of max pulls ups, 45 seconds high knees until I get to 25 pull ups. Then I move on to the curls and tricep stuff. Time will differ for most. If you are looking to gain muscle mass, stick with a heavier weight and 10 reps, if you want to get lean get a lighter weight for 12-15 reps. On the last 3 reps you should feel the burn. I also take 30 second breaks in between, but go with what ever is comfortable for you (just don't take too long of a break, otherwise not much is going to happen).

Crossfit Light WOD

So I've progressed beyond your traditional cardio, light weights, whatever people do before their actually really fit phase, but I'm not at the point to really be able to do crossfit workouts. I'm close to being able to take on some of the girls (I'm looking at you Cindy), but not quite. Yesterday I met one of my first bench mark goals, and I'm pretty stoked about it.

I can do 5 pull ups in a row. Oh yes, I am a beast. Well not really, but it was my first big goal. Considering 2 months ago I could only do 1, I am thrilled.

Anyway, I can't reliably do 5 in a row over and over again, so I've been doing my own version. I just require myself to get 5 pull ups before I move on to the next part of the circuit (so the first time I get all 5, then the next time I'll get 4, take a break for 15ish seconds then get the last one before moving on, hopefully that makes sense).

So here is the workout I did yesterday and turned into a fancy graphic just for you:




It took me about 21 minutes, and that too me is just not a long enough workout so I did some shoulder stuff as well:

3 rounds of each before moving on to the next move. 15 reps, 30 second break in between.

Military press
Side raises
Upright rows
Front raises
Shrugs

That got me to about 36 minutes, which is still short of where I like to be (40-50 minutes), but it's acceptable.

Lean Legs Workout

Long time no post. I've decided to pretty up some of my workouts (Pinterest inspired). It's easier to read them as a graphic anyway. Here is the first :)