Good Morning Everyone and Happy Thursday!
I figured it might be time for another life update so to speak and an overview of what’s been going on with me in regards to diet and workouts.
First off, I’ll start by saying that I feel fabulous. I have loads of energy and I guess the best way to describe it; is by saying that I feel alive and positive. (Except for at 4:30am; but who feels fabulous then anyway?...lol)
It’s been a very cold week here in Fort McMurray; the temperature has been in the -40s with the wind chill. Brrrr……
I finished the book ‘Devote yourself to an Ideal’ by Jarret Grossman which I had mentioned before and I highly recommend it. I think it has literally changed me as a person and given me a different, better outlook on life in general. The book is so motivational and inspiring, not just in a fitness sense but in the sense of life overall and how to get the best from it. I couldn’t put it down.
I think I may have also mentioned in a previous post that I am following the Paleo diet these days which to be honest is not much of a stretch from where I was anyway. The only thing I have been doing, which falls outside of Paleo, is giving myself a high carb re-feed day every Sunday and a fast day every Monday. Carb re-feed day typically includes oats, quinoa, among other things but all gluten free. I have gone Gluten Free as well after reading ‘The Wheat Belly’ book; another great read and highly recommended.
So what is the Paleo Diet?
Paleo is basically a diet going back to the way our ancestors would have eaten (hunters and gathers) and includes lean meats, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, fruit, oils, etc. (Keep in mind that fruits are higher in sugar so you don’t want to go crazy with them).
What differences have I noticed so far?
I am getting leaner, I have increased energy, I am never hungry and I feel great.
My workouts have been intense to say the least. I am still following Andrew’s 28 day program but because I am advanced, we started with the more intense workouts right away.
Monday: My husband and I completed biceps, triceps and abs
Tuesday: Quadzilla workout with Andrew (prvious post)
Wednesday: Chestasaurus workout (described below)
Chestasaurus Workout by Andrew Bambury:
-Bench press x 4 sets (95lbs x 8 reps, 105lbs x 8 reps and 115lbs for 2 sets of 5 reps)
*115lbs is a personal best for me*
-Chest dips x 4 sets (bodyweight (12), 3 sets with a 25lb plate attached to me (8 each) and 1 more bodyweight (7))
-Cable flyes x 3 sets of 10 superset with atomic ring pushups x 3 sets of 20
-Shoulder combo: 3 sets of 10 (lateral raise, front raise, upright row, overhead press and bent over flyes)
*Video from last night of me completing the Atomic Ring Push-ups (these are tough)*
Thursday: Back workout; everything else is sore anyway..haha
Friday: Rest (it’s my husband’s birthday)
Saturday: unknown right now
Sunday: Also rest
Tonight will be my last session with Andrew until March as he is gone on vacation and once he returns I will be gone as well. March 5th will be my first session and it will be full steam ahead for competition training.
So I wanted to bring up a topic for discussion and I would like some feedback if you wouldn’t mind.
Overtraining- how do you personally prevent it?
I know this is a highly debatable topic and there is a lot of talk and different assumptions made about it.
In my opinion, a lot of people judge what would be overtraining for them to mean overtraining for everyone. For instance, working out 5-6 times a week for me is not, what I would consider overtraining based on my fitness level, however for others it maybe.
I prevent overtraining simply by listening to my body and resting when I need to, getting enough sleep, working different muscle groups at each gym session to allow recovery, eating very clean (lots of protein, veggies and healthy fats) as well as drinking lots of water.
So what do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my comments above?
