Interval Set Training: week 2- Legs, Back, Core Results!

Stacey Oster Thompson

Hi. I know I haven't been blogging daily as I have been doing research for the next blog post. Today's post is for this week's interval training workouts and I included my results! I hope you enjoyed the workouts as much as I did. I felt that the back day was the most challenging workout for me since I still have quite crappy arms anyway. So I gotta improve on getting my shoulders to really pop.

My personal goals are actually to do a 1-arm push up eventually as well as a 1 arm pull up. I think they are really cool exercises to pull off and I can prove that they aren't that impossible at all! Right now, headstand push ups, I can squeeze out a few and I can do 1-4 pull ups, depending on the day I guess.

What are your personal goals you'd like to see yourself doing? 

Interval Set Training: Week 2- Upper body

IT'S ONLY 8 MINUTES LONG! OMG!

I'm doing a repeat of this workout. But I added in a few changes.
1. I reduced the timing of 45s per set to 30s per set (i.e. each exercise for 30s in each round)
2. I reduced the weight of military presses to 3kg per hand
3. I did the normal chair dips instead the one with elevated feet
4. I did the exercises in a circuit. (i.e. 1--> 2 --> 3--> 4--> rest ==> Repeat 3x)

Lazy girl's tips on fitness

Hitting it hard AGAIN.

This is a personal blog entry. Thus, I'm tagging it under "skinny girl's path to sexiness".

If you're sick of clothes not fitting you well and being baggy on you because you don't have any curves, and people nagging you to eat more and having a low BMI THEN THIS TAG ("skinny girl's path to sexiness") IS FOR YOU.

From anorexic cheerleader to pro bikini model- Jessica Putnam

Interval Set Training: Carve out those sexy abs.

Abdominals. 
Abs. 

The body part that every guy and girl wants to show off. Be it a flat tummy or 4 or 6 pack.

What makes having abs so sexy?

Interval Set Training: You're getting sexy back!

A great quote for today's entry from The daily dose:

Long-term health goals can be intimidating. Don't freak, just focus on what you can do to make TODAY healthier than yesterday. Be healthy!

Today's workout will focus on getting a great back (thus burning those unwanted back fats more efficiently than just with cardio) as well as good biceps. No, you will not be getting bulky biceps that can crush heads, but just leaner looking arms. It's no use just training your triceps and have really awful looking biceps. Won't your arm look weird? Thus, all parts of the body must be worked out, not just trouble spots you want to target.

Do you have what it takes to be someone's inspiration?

Yes, being fit SUCKS. It sucks so bad because you gotta eat healthy, go get your butt out there to exercise, you don't eat yummy food more than once a week. The food tastes bland, the exercise is boring. Sometimes you don't reach your short term goals. You make shitty mistakes you don't even know you're making. Takes a lot of guts and dedication to upkeep this interest and fire to workout and stay fit doesn't it?

Thus, this entry is dedicated to my fitness inspirations to go on and hit it hard at the gym or whenever I'm training. To go on whenever I feel down and I want to give up. 

Give me strength on days I want to laze around and not work out.

1. Chicken Tuna

She's straightforward and no bullshit too. She just eats things CLEAN. Means no whining about food tasting bland. No whining about working out being boring and painful. No whining about people telling her what to do and eat. She just does it, after work. 

She works out with weights 3 times a week, 5 days cardio. 

I relate to her as she also used to be skinny. But she took that in control and there you go, she achieved a great body.

And she's right, on a more superficial level of working out and being CONSISTENT doing it, is that...what's more fun that walking around looking awesome in anything you wear?

Interval Set Training: Legs that were meant for daisy dukes!

Ah...Daisy dukes. Something either women want to wear but tend to wear them wrongly OR just find them hideous as they show off too much. I find them great, because it shows off all my hard work I've done for the past few years, working out. If you worked hard for it, flaunt it!

How do I get started on becoming healthy.

Living a healthy lifestyle.

People often envy healthy people and say "oh it's because they are fit so it's easy for them to be fit." 

Isn't it the same thing as "You're unhealthy, so it's just easier to be unhealthy?"

Becoming a healthy person who eats well and works out regularly is not something that happens overnight.

Nope, not even two nights.

It takes forever. 

Don't sigh and groan and say "I might as well give up now since it's forever."

The road to success is paved with candy.

Yes. It's true isn't it? You start the day with a glass of milk, your simple bowl of oatmeal and then you workout. Ahhh.
Then you eat your healthy lunch that's full of complex carbs, vegetables of a myriad of colours and your lean protein (I adore fish btw).
Then you eat some fruit with your baked almonds as a snack. Maybeee throw in another glass of skim milk to curb the hunger.
Then for dinner, you repeat with vegetables, complex carbs and lean protein.
Then SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, whips out...

And DAMN, you stretch out your hand and soon enough, you realise you've eaten half a bag of marshmallow/potato chips/ a snickers bar.
WHAT THE HECK?
And you look at yourself in the mirror and you seem a million miles away from your goal AGAIN.

No. In this entry, I'm not going to give you advice like "oh just stop looking" or "say no and you won't think of it" or "I don't eat them so you shouldn't too." (If I say "don't think of a pink cupcake", what do you think of? My point exactly.)
I have a crazy crazy crazy sweet tooth. I adore desserts, especially chocolate. ESPECIALLY MAX BRENNER'S HUG MUG DARK HOT CHOCOLATE. Totally hits the spot on a moody day (thus the boyfriend knows exactly how to get out of trouble.)

Interval Set Training

What is this? 
Interval set training involves HIGH BURST of energy to do work and a period of short rests.

Why I should do this?
It burns fat and builds strength. Thus creating a TONED look. Since we are concentrating on upper body today, we will be working our arms, shoulders, chest. Break out your tank tops ladies! This is gonna help you sculpt a wonderful upper body.

Laments of a skinny girl

This article from the Herworld was really great to sum up how skinny girls feel.

Yes, yes, many many women envy skinny girls for being underweight and "never having to deal with weight issues". However, skinny girls do have to deal with weight issues.

As compared to our shapelier counterparts, we also have thyroid problems, hormonal problems, blood pressure problems and maybe even worse problems such as being at risk of oesteoporosis, diabetes and many other risks associated with obesity.

Thus, maintaining a healthy weight is just better than being underweight/skinny/too thin. You end up looking like a teenage boy.

Thus, the question boils down to, would you rather look like the runway model on the left or the bikini/fitness model on the right?

OR 

Progress is but a slow and steady race.

Progress pics from January till March 2011