Good last few days at they gym.....

After the move we joined the local YMCA.  Trying to get back into our old routine is a little hard since like some people it's very easy to fall into old habits.  Lifts are down quite a bit from a year or two back but overall considering my back issues I'm ok with it.  Ann and I had a great lower back workout on Sunday and Ann was back to doing deadlifts!  Unfortunately for myself, my deadlift and squat days are all but over.  Yesterday was chest day!  We usually go for dumbbells and not a standard bench.  I really like decline DB presses!  Felt good and could have gone up on DB presses but I'm trying to take things slow, remember...Rome wasn't built in a day!

Moving!

It's been a crazy couple months.  I received a job offer I couldn't refuse in Minnesota, so that turned Chris and my world upside down quite a bit!  It was a great opportunity for me to do what I love and the area is BEAUTIFUL!  The bluffs and river are scenic and the city of about 30,000 offers enough for us to do but is still small enough to not be too chaotic.  It's great to be able to get everywhere in 5 minutes too!  There are trails around the lake, other hiking trails, a YMCA, running clubs and all sorts of activities that we can do to help maintain a healthy lifestyle!  There's even a triathlon right here in June!  Here's a few photos of the area....enjoy!

Ann

New Personal Record on leg press!

What started out as a slow workout ended awesome with me hitting the 700 pound mark on leg press for 6 reps!  So stoked!

Ann

Thoughts on the 2013 Race Season......

This year has been one of ups and downs. I certainly did not achieve all of my goals, but that gives me something to shoot for next year.

First the downs. I found training very difficult this year. Between the winter that refused to leave, an extremely intense work schedule and injuries, it has been a mental as well as a physical challenge to keep going. Ending the year with a stress fracture of my foot would certainly bring anyone down and there were days that I have questioned if I want to keep doing this after I heal.

Which leads me to the positives. Throughout all of the frustrations, I DID keep training. I ran, I biked faster than I ever had before and I swam further and longer than I ever had before. I did the last tri of the year in the fastest time that I ever had....with a broken foot! How cool is that! Will I do this again next year when my foot is healed? DAMN RIGHT I WILL!!!  It is by overcoming the obstacles that are in our path that we prove to ourselves who we really are, and by simply getting up off the couch and moving, I am already a winner, even if I finish dead last.

Races:

2 5K's
1 Duathlon
2 Sprint Tris

Ann


As Ann said, it's been a year of ups and downs.  After recovering all last winter from rotator cuff surgery and a winter that would never end, I was anxious to get outside and start training.  The spring stayed cold and wet but I did my best to get out and train.

My first race of the year was a 5K.  My time was horrible which early season races always are for me but for whatever reason I podiumed!  My second 5K in early May was a little better time wise and for the second time I podiumed!  Ann and I did a Duathlon towards the end of May and it was a decent start to tri season with a good first run and decent bike.  Second run was a little rough.

The first tri of the year was a sprint race in the rain.  For whatever reason I panicked on the swim which never happened before.  I managed to pull it together and have a good bike and decent run.  The second sprint race I had some redemption having a great swim, and a good overall time.  Third sprint race was a small event.  My head wasn't in it and once again, I had a bad swim and struggled. I was frustrated.  Wanting to up the challenge, I did my first olympic distance tri in September.  Had a good overall race and was thrilled to end the season on a high note!  Currently I am dealing with a back/hip problem since the oly tri that's prevented me from running or biking and frankly it frustrating  I have however been able to get back in the gym and do some lifting.

Goals for the winter and into 2014 is to burn some fat off and lose about 10 pounds.  I feel better racing at a lower weight.  I need to do more "dreadmill" work over the winter and I plan on hiring a swim coach.  My swimming needs more work.  If all goes well and I can stay injury free, I plan on doing my first half ironman next summer, maybe Racine?  

Races:

Two 5Ks
1 Duathlon
3 Sprint Tris
1 Oly Tri

Chris

Weight Day in the Gym!

Had a good workout today hitting the large major muscles.  At this time of the year we are focusing on more endurance so our weight days are shorter and fewer.  I started out doing Smith Bench.  I did 4 sets and hit 110 pounds o my last set at 3 reps.  Next I did Narrow Lat pulldowns to work my back and tris.  I did 4 sets and hit 110 pounds as well on my last set for 5 reps.  Then finished up on Leg press...I was excited to do these since legs are always my strong area.  I did 5 sets and on my last set I PR'd doing 630 pounds at 3 reps!!!!!  SO EXCITED!

Ann

Weight training day!

Love lifting days!  Chris had me do Chest and Biceps and I threw some side Kettle Balls in as well.  Strength is getting better.  I was able to do a third rep (struggled but did it!) at my max of 120 pounds on the Smith Machine Bench Press when last time I could only do 2.

Ann

Great couple days of workouts!

So Sunday we went to the gym.  I did some"speed work" on the treadmill.  I ran 2 miles and did it in 15:45 so I was happy I was able to get it down below 8 min per mile.  Even when I train outside I rarely do that speed!  Hopefully it's a start of a good thing.

Ann swam on Saturday, so she wanted to do some lifting.  I had her do chest and core.  She did an awesome job, benching over 120 pounds and was able to hit 135 pounds for one rep!  She also was able to go p in weight on Pec Deck and Cable Crossovers.  She finished up with a medicine ball bounce for 3 sets and 3 sets of Kettle ball swings!

Home Made Protein Bars!

We were out grocery shopping a couple weeks ago and picked up some protein bars to try.  These were one of the healthier bars on the market with no soy!  The downside was they were expensive at almost $3.00 per bar.  So we thought "We can make these!"  It took some trial and error but I think we hit on a recipe that is pretty good!  This recipe will make about 6 bars.  You can double or triple the recipe but I found that if you do you will need to adjust the "wet" ingredients a little by adding a touch more.  Here it is!

In one bowl mix the dry ingredients:

1/2 cup Oat Flour

1/2 cup Quick Oats

1/3 cup Xylitol Sweetener

Dash of Cinnamon

1/2 cup Chocolate Protein Whey

1/8th cup Cocoa

1/4 cup crushed Almonds

In another bowl add:

1/4 cup Organic Peanut Butter

1/8th cup Almond Milk

1/8th cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Put the wet ingredients in the microwave for appox 40 seconds, then wire wisk it until you have a good consistency.

Now add this mixture to the dry ingredients.  At first it's sticky and you will think it's too dry.  Don't add anymore liquid at this time!  Keep working it (I use my hand ) until it get solid and thick.  If it is still crumbly and not sticking together simply wet your hand a little and keep kneading the batter.  Don't add liquid directly to the bowl or it will get too wet.  When it's mixed and solid put on wax paper sprayed with cooking spray and flatten out to about a 1/2 inch thick rectangle.  Set in Refrigerator for about 30 min or so until firm.  Cut into squares and enjoy!

Chest Workout Day!

Had a great chest workout today! Since Chris's rotator cuff surgery, I can't do normal free bar bench presses, so I have to do them on the Smith Machine.  On my 4th set I was able to hit 120 pounds!  

Ann 

Chest Day!

Had a GREAT weight day today, hitting my Chest/Pecs hard!  Got up to 45LB plates (90Lbs total) on the Smith Machine Bench Press, 120Lbs on the Pec Deck, 35Lbs on Dumbbell Incline Press, and 50Lbs on the Cable Fly (Pic below).  

Ann

Great Leg day!

Getting back into the lifting and yesterday felt great!  I did multiple exercises including close in leg presses, Sumo Leg presses, Lunges, calf press.  Here was my last set of Sumo Leg presses and after multiple sets I worked up to 540 pounds with just the plates, that's 12 total plates!  I was able to do 8 reps!  

Ann

Second Triathlon in 1 week!

Well, I loved doing my first one and Chris found this one relatively close to home so I thought I'd give it a "tri".  LOL!  This was a sprint Triathlon down in the Shawano area.  It consisted of a 1/4 mile swim, a 16.6 mile bike and a 3.5 mile run.  The event was fun, laid back and well organized.  The bike route was redone due to some road construction and had a number of hills and was more challenging than the old course from what we were told.  I felt great on the swim my timing was pretty good!  The bike was was challenging as I said before, with numerous hills.  I averaged just under 15 MPH.  I got off the bike and felt pretty good going into the run.  It was supposed to be a 3.5 mile run but I think it was closer to 4 miles.  The last mile got me.....I started fading and having a hard time with my breathing.  All in all I had fun, and it was a nice addition to my first tri I did the Sunday prior! 

Lunges!

If you want to build a "balanced" leg that will help in all areas

 of your fitness then lunges are a great workout!

Bodyfat and weight coming back into line....

After my "bulk phase" in the winter I added a fair amount of muscle mass.  Along with it I also added a little bodyfat which is very common.  At the height of my bulk I was up to about 13+% bodyfat and a weight of about 165Lbs.  Since I've started a "cut phase" about 6 weeks ago I have now dropped my body fat down to about 9.5% and weight to about 160.  My race weight during the summer last year was around 145 to 150Lbs. at about 9% bodyfat so the additional 10+ pounds this season are mostly in the form of muscle this time around.  I would like to drop maybe another 5 or so pounds just to make running and swimming a little easier but I really don't want to drop all the weight because that will mean I've lost muscle.

Diet is similar to what I was eating during my bulk phase but with less calories and around 2100 per day.  I used to eat an additional meal in the early afternoon consisting of a vegetable, wild rice and some type of lean meat and have replaced that with 1/2 cup of oatmeal.  I've also try to avoid a lot of carbs in the evening because if you have a surplus of carbs at night it tends to turn into fat storage (at least on me).

Goals will be to lose another 1 to 2% bodyfat and drop another 5 or so pounds in the next few weeks.

Chris

YWatch Video segment from our visit to WJFW (Channel 12) is up!

http://www.wjfw.com/ywatch.html

A new "Personal Record" on the Leg Press Today!

Had a good workout and on my 4th set of close leg presses was able to do a new personal best of 600 punds (just plates)!

Had a fun time at WJFW (Channel 12) last evening!

We had a fun time helping out the YMCA during the "Y-watch segment during the 5 O'cock news!  When we get the video we'll post it up!

Chris

New Personal Record!

Was extremely excited yesterday!  Felt great in the gym and was having a pretty good lifting day.  Did some warm up sets on the close leg sled machine and then started to hit it heavy.  My last set Chris added 10 more pounds to my previous record of 550Lbs.  I not only did it but I did 9 rep!  I couldn't believe I was able to do that heavy with that many reps.  Chris joked that he should have added even more.  Anyways, I was thrilled and it made my day!

Ann

Injured....

What can I say, didn't even know how it happened.  Doing chest yesterday and felt pretty good.  Got to the end and was doing pushups on a BOSU Ball and felt some pain in the shoulder.  By the time I got home I could tell it was injured.  Now rest and ice.  Not good.

Chris

Our first public appearance!