Gettin’ Fit with……Cardio!

Week 1 Week 16

I have now completed week 16 of my 23 weeks of training for my bodybuilding competition! I have lost almost 19 pounds. My trainer isn’t measuring my body fat anymore because once you get down to a very low level of body fat (around 9-10%), you just can’t measure it using the caliper method. I am currently at 125 pounds which was my competition weight on the day I competed five years ago! And, I have 7 weeks of training left–yikes! I think I’m on my way to getting really, really lean!? Don’t tell my husband, but I have been on one big shopping spree and buying clothes like crazy! But, it is such a great feeling when you put on your current clothes and they all are too big. So, it’s time to shop–not that I need a reason to shop! For those that know me well, I think they definitely call me a shop-a-holic! And, yes, it’s true….but now I do have a legitimate reason to shop right!? Sorry Tim—don’t look at our credit card bill this month!

And, so, now I can finally say that I am doing cardio!! Yippee….NOT! Cardio isn’t my favorite but it is necessary for me to achieve my goal. So, I started cardio two weeks ago and it is kicking my butt!! I am doing 40 minutes of intervals on the elliptical 5 days a week. Whew–that’s a lot! This past week was much easier; I didn’t feel as “out of shape”. Remember, I have not done any cardio exercise since early December before I started training for this in January. So, I have been trying to get up early in the morning to get it in before my son gets up BUT after my first cup of coffee–I just can’t function or do anything without at least that first cup! It’s so nice to have it completed before I leave my house and not have it hanging over my head all day.

I have struggled mentally with having to do cardio for 40 minutes. Why does 40 minutes seem like such a long time when your doing cardio, and it never seems like very much time when your on the computer perusing Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, the Internet, etc.? So, to help, I break it down into two 20 minute segments. Then, once I complete the first 20 minutes, I take a short water break, stretch a little, and then get back at it. I then break the last 20 minutes down into two 10 minute segments. Many times, I take a really short break after the first 10 minutes of the last 20 minute segment. I am just trying to trick my brain into thinking that it’s not a whole 40 minutes. My philosophy may or may not work for others, but, for now, it seems to be working for me along with the results I’m getting. Results definitely help a lot too! Take a look below at some photos of my results…..