Total Body Heavy Lift

Today was my first day back in the gym with my trusty spotter AKA husband.  My husband is by far my favorite lifting partner.  (Well he's my favorite a lot of things!)  For the past 3 months he's had a different training schedule than me and I've been suffering from injuries.  We've both struggled with motivation and consistency.

Today though I felt our 'magic.'  It's amazing what having a great partner will do to reinvigorate a workout.  We chatted in the kitchen to develop our plan.  We had to compromise but it was a good one. We decided since we are going on vacation mid-week we would lift heavy today total body, then do boot camp style total body cardio rate workouts the rest of the week along with one cardio day.  (My argument is I didn't want to be sore on the plane.)

We finished our warm up and did a great program.  I'll include the program along with my weights below for those that are interested.  As always, these are my weights and I only lift this heavy with a spotter.  Make sure you're lifting safe and at your fitness level.

Warm up for 5 minutes on the elliptical then rhythmic limbering.

Chest press
Warm up with the bar 4 reps
1st set: 95#
2nd set: 105#
3rd set: 115#

I was ecstatic that I hit that 115 for my 3rd set.  That's where I ended 6 months ago and I've very proud that I haven't 'lost' any strength.  I can't wait to get some serious build on this month.

Seated Row
Warm up 4 push ups
3 sets: 180# 6 reps

I felt I could go up in weight here, I've done more than this as a previous max, but with my back injury I was going a bit easy on myself.  It was nice to have a spot watching my form.  No pain!  YAY!!

Straight Leg Dead Lift
3 sets: 135

Again, this is far from my max lift, but I'm still being aware of my lower back injury.  Again, no pain so I'm feeling confident!

Lat Pull Down
3 sets: 100# wide hand position

Again, I could have done more, but want to see how everything works with the back injury.  Right now I'm feeling confident and during next weeks total body heavy lift I'll go up in weight with confidence.

Bent Over Dumbbell Shoulder Fly
1st Set: 15#
2nd set 20#
3rd set 20#  (failed on the 5th rep, but took a 20 second recovery break and got my last rep.)

I've always struggled to develop my rear shoulders.  I have very strong delts but the are unbalanced. A goal for this training period is to equalize my front and rear delts.

I finished with a 15 minute HIIT style workout on the elliptical.  
3 minute warm up
2 minute RPE 7
3 minute RPE 5 
1 minute RPE 9
2 minute RPE 5
1 minute RPE 9
1 minute RPE 5
1 minute RPE 7
1 minute recovery cool down.

Stretch and plank


Overall it was a great day back in the gym with my favorite person.  We laughed a little and played a little.  It's nice to get a quick kiss or a high 5 after a good lift.  Likely others hate our little PDA moments but I could care less.  My husband and I are really lucky, we love each other, support each other, and have shared interests.  I'm totally proud to give him a quick peck after a good lift.  The weight room could use some love in it!!!

Much love to everyone and enjoy your holiday!

Super Set Workout

I've been focusing on total body strength training recently with super sets.  That's two exercises back to back with little to no rest in between.  Super sets are beneficial for fat loss and strength maintenance.  Here's my workout today.  I'll post my weights, but please be sure to choose the best weight for your level of fitness.

Warm up 5 minutes rhythmic movement

3 Sets 8 Reps little to no rest
Assisted Pull Up
Push Up

Smith Machine Squat 65# in plates
Assisted Chin Up

Leg Press 300#
Static lunge with 40# barbell on shoulders
(each leg)

Barbell Bench Press 85#
Dumbbell Bent Over Row 30#

Finished with Dead Lifts 135#

15 minute 2 mile run.
(This was on a treadmill.  I pushed myself up to as fast as I could go 8.5 MPH  for as long as I could go then down to 6.0 MPH to recover.  As soon as I was recovered usually less than one minute I'd push myself up again.)

No more sNOw!

I want to preface this blog by saying:  I grew up in Wyoming where we still have glaciers.  I know cold.  I know bone aching cold.  I don't like it.  It's one of the reasons I moved to Tucson Az after I graduated from college.  It's also why I moved to the Caribbean when I was 30.  I don't like cold.

(Jackson Hole Wyoming)

Living in Germany has been a challenge for my poor bones, my arthritic knees, and my sunny disposition.  It's dark here, it's cloudy here, and it's rainy and windy here.  A lot!  Recently though we've gotten snow.  Beautiful big piles of snow.  My dog, loves the snow.  Loves to run, dash, play, and roll in the snow.  I don't really mind the snow: so long as I'm curled up on the sofa under a blanket drinking a hot toddy.  In truth, I do enjoy outdoor activities that you can do in the snow: skiing, sledding, winter treks, and whatnot.  I do not enjoy driving in the snow, trying to park in the snow, scraping the ice off my car, or loading a ton of boot camp equipment in and out of the car in the snow. YUK!

A huge part of me wishes I could be a super cheery aerobics girl and shout about how wonderful it all is and wow, how many calories I burnt shoveling snow.  But guess what, I hate shoveling snow.

I sound like a grouch don't I?

Well, I am a grouch sometimes.  I don't always feel like getting up early and going to workout, or spin, or be positive.  Sometimes, a lot of times, I want to grouch and grump and feel sorry for myself.  I want to whine about missing the sunshine and remember good things like having a barbecue in February  or laying out by the pool in December.  I want to stick out my lip, stomp my feet, and feel sorry for myself.

And sometimes I do.

Then I talk myself out of it.  I look at myself in the mirror and say "Self, you have every reason not to.  You have every reason to give up, stop trying, and let yourself be comfortable.  Most people do just that.  You are not most people.  You are working on yourself.  You are a work in progress.  Get up, get out, leave your stinky whiny feeling sorry for yourself thoughts and move forward.  Don't let the old unhappy Jen win this.  Be strong, have faith in yourself, and lift something heavy."

You know what, usually it works.  Today, I did a hard hour in the gym.  It was just me, the weights, and a Glee soundtrack.  I worked back and biceps.  I lifted heavier then I did last week, and I liked the sweat running down the small of my back.  Maybe it was Rachel and Finn singing goofy upbeat love songs, maybe it was seeing those 2.5 pound plates on the barbell row.

Whatever it was.  It fed the strong confident part of me.  I'm closer to my goals now then I was a few hours ago.  I'm proud of me.

Take that snow!

Fitness Magazine

Fitness Magazine is looking for stories about people who qualify as both overweight and/or obese and also identify as a "Fitness Buff"  When I saw the call for stories, I thought to myself, Self, you need to tell YOUR story.  Then I read the 24 or so comments.  

Some of the comments were very positive and people identified themselves as both a fitness buff and overweight.  What?  They thought they were just like me!  I was so happy reading those posts.  

Then I saw several responses that accused "Overweight and Fitness Buffs" of 'stuffing their face' or challenging that you can't be both overweight and healthy.  I immediately felt embarrassed that I even thought I might be a fitness buff.... then I got angry.  

I as a person am important.  I may not be 100% but I am a work in progress. So I wrote my entry and sent it off!

Here is what a wrote:

My name is Jen Cherry and am both a Fitness Buff and overweight.  I qualify as overweight really easily.  I am 5 ft 8, 178 pounds.  I have a BMI of 27.1, solidly in the overweight category   My body fat percentage is 29.9% (nearly obese) and I have 54 pounds of fat on my body.  I wear a size 10-12 in the United States, but here in Germany where I am stationed with my Active Duty Military husband, I often cannot fit in to clothing that is sold in regular stores.  I find myself needing to go to the the "grossedammen" shops, or the large woman's store.  This can, at times, be disheartening.

Qualifying as a Fitness Buff is pretty easy too!  I am a certified personal trainer and small group instructor.  I teach a 2 popular programs on our military base: A Serious Weight Loss Clinic for women with more than 30 pounds to lose and a high intensity Boot Camp.  I'm also the aerobics manager at our facility, teach indoor cycling, and am occasionally invited to  appear as a guest on our local radio station during "Fitness Power Hour."  I work out regularly 3-5 times per week and am lifting at this time trying to increase my muscle mass.  I have personal fitness goals to do an unassisted pull up and bench press my body weight!  I eat healthy and use MyFitnessPal to count calories and model healthy choices for my clients who can all view my log.

I have been called, "The Fat Trainer."  I have at times felt humiliated and ashamed that I do not look "the part."  I have cried, doubted myself and my vision.  I almost quit more than once.

I have overcome illness and injury, separation from my family, friends, lost careers, and all the stress that comes with Military life.  I am independent, have created a strong positive community and developed programs for my clients that not only work; they are healthy programs that have long term lifestyle changing success.  I'm proud of my life and my body on a daily basis.  Though I still struggle with insecurity.  I didn't always look the way I do now.  I have been varying degrees of overweight my entire adult life.

I have had many struggles with my body and my feelings towards my body.  After college I began my career as a Mental Health Counselor, a desk job and started gaining weight.  When I turned 30 my struggles became harder and harder.  I was lucky to adopt a dog.  He made it necessary for me to take a walk every day, before I knew it, we were jogging together.  He was an older dog though, and he couldn't run in the summer heat in Arizona.  So I joined a Boot Camp Class.  Suddenly working out was fun.  I had a smile on my face every day at an ungodly hour of the morning and it stayed there all day.  I had energy and motivation.  I will always be grateful for Boot Camp, the instructor, and the women who cheered for and challenged me.  Boot camp changed my life.  Up to that point I had joined and quit dozens of gyms, rented and bought hundreds of DVD programs, and used just about every quick fix miracle diet cure sold.

After 3 years of Boot Camp workouts I had lost over 40 pounds.  I had tried spinning, I had jogged with friends, and I had started to play tennis and hike on the weekends.  I was happy, confident, and proud of my body for the first time.  I decided to take a giant leap with the support of all my friends. I earned my Personal Trainer Certification!  Life threw me a curve ball, as sometimes happens, and I ended up moving to Germany with my husband.  Now I've started Cherry Wellness, a place I can bring both my training as a mental health counselor and personal trainer together to help people.  I want to help people take the big steps both physically and emotionally to live a strong healthy long life and enjoy it!

I hope Fitness Magazine get's thousands of entries from women like me.  I hope this can be a start to understanding that health and thin do not go hand in hand.  I hope other people are inspired, challenged, and uplifted by this project even if they do not choose my story.

Affirmation

Personal Affirmations are one of the most powerful ways we can take care of ourselves.  An affirmation is a tool I've used with many counseling and training clients.  To develop your own affirmation think about what it is you are trying to achieve then create a short statement that sums up those goals.

For instance, I am struggling with a knee injury.  I injured my knee for the first time when I was 17 years old.  It was a horrible accident and I had to have surgery and a LOT of physical therapy to gain full range of motion in that knee.  My father was only able to come to one physical therapy session.  He couldn't watch me go through so much pain.  I've dealt with the injury for the past 18 years of my life and haven't let it hold me back.  I've climbed to 16,000 feet in the Andes, I've hiked the Grand Canyon, and I've made being fit a part of my life.

Unfortunately on January 2nd I hyper-extended my knee.  It's been a few weeks and I have not healed.  I've rested my knee.  I haven't done any lower body workouts, I haven't run and I haven't been to spin class.  I'm starting to feel frustrated and angry.  

I'm going to create an affirmation to help me refocus that frustration and anger.  I want to be healed up, strong, able to squat my big wheels (180 pounds of plates)!  I want to run with my friends and my dog.  I want to go to spin class and sweat it out while imagining I'm cycling through the sunshine!  My affirmation is:

"I will heal.  I give myself permission to rest until my body is ready to train!"

What are your goals?  What is your affirmation?  Are you working on your resolutions?  Have you gotten off track?  It's ok; I promise.  Take a moment re-evaluate and create an affirmation to use every morning when you wake up, every time you get off track, and every night before you go to bed.  Keeping your affirmation goal specific will help to motivate you to get back on track, keep working hard and change your life.

I believe in you!

Jen

Post Christmas Workout!

Well yesterday was the first day after Christmas and I got right back on the fitness horse!  I did a total body workout right in my garage!  I did a 6 station TABATA style workout.  A TABATA is an interval training method.  

Each TABATA station is one exercise and takes only 4 minutes.  You work as hard as you possibly can; giving 100% effort for 20 seconds then rest for 10 seconds.  That's one round.  Complete 8 rounds and I promise you'll be huffing and puffing.  

There are lots of free interval training apps you can download to your phone, ipad, or computer to help you keep track of your rounds.

My workout Dec 26, 2012
Warm up 2 mile brisk walk with my new Christmas Puppy Oskar!
Shoulder rolls, Hi Jacks/Hi Jills, leg swings forward/back and side to side!

• Station  One
• kettle bell swings

• Station Two
• push up with row

• Station Three
• jump rope

• Station Four
• alternating lunge w/ lateral raise

• Stations Five
• mt climbers

• Station six
• wall sit w/ Arnold press.

The whole workout only took about 24 minutes.

To cool down I did a slow half mile jog with the dog, stretched and added a 3 sets of 20 second planks.  

It felt GREAT!

New Year New Plan!

It's almost Christmas.  Usually this is the time of year when my choice making skills take a dive.  This year is no different.  I've been traveling and having a wonderful time eating, drinking, and making merry with so many wonderful friends and family.  Unfortunately this also means I get further from my goals and start feeling a poorly about myself.

I'm trying something new this year.  I'm allowing myself to eat and enjoy with my friends and family knowing that I have a workable strong plan that I will return too.  I may not be making all the right choices this week, but all year long I've been making good choices for me and it's paid off!  I feel good, I feel good about how I look, and I know I'm closer to my personal best than I was last year at this time.

This year has been about making good choices over and over.  It's been about regular workouts, positive attitude, and healthy whole foods.  This year it's been all about slow and steady wins the race.

No pills, no powders, no short cuts, and no false promises.  I just worked hard.  I entered my 35th year stronger than I've ever been and knowing more about my body than I ever have.  I'm proud of all I've accomplished this year.

Of course, I still have goals for next year!  Weight loss isn't magic.  It's science.  There is a reason bodies react the way they do to food, exercise, sleep, and positive attitude.  I have a strong plan to go into 2013 and I hope you'll go with me.  The hardest part is making a commitment to yourself and being strong enough to make a plan you CAN follow. 

To often we try to make huge changes that aren't sustainable.  Very few people can do "two-a-days" at the gym or eat only 1200 calories a day.  It's very very hard to enjoy life or be enjoyable when that is the plan.  

I have decided to break 2013 into 4 pieces.  I'll make a 12 week plan that is manageable and maintainable.  At the end of each 12 week period I'll look back, see what worked, what didn't, and be willing to tweek my program and my plan to help me reach my goals.  My overall goal is to be confident in pictures!  No number chasing this year for me.  This year it's all about a feeling.  I hope you'll join me.

Jen Cherry 

Boot Camp Homecoming!

I just want to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who has welcomed me home to Tucson.  I've  enjoyed so many laughs, hugs, and conversations with friends.  I'm always so grateful for all of the wonderful people in my life.  

I had an opportunity to workout with Cooper Boot Camp today.  This is the program that changed my life.  I lost 40 lbs and gained incredible friends, confidence, and a new passion; fitness.  It was so much fun to be outside and huffing and puffing with a group.  I can't wait to make MY Boot Campers do 4 minutes of 1 leg deadlifts!

Alternating 1 leg deadlifts are a great exercise to focus on lower body while still engaging your core AND improving balance.  You can do them with no weights at all.  To advance the exercise add weights in one hand to increase the balance challenge. 

From standing position hinge at your waist bringing one leg off the ground behind you slowly and evenly.  Keep your core engaged with a neutral back. Allow your arms to move comfortably.  Complete 30 seconds on each leg, 4 reps!

Jen Cherry & Kirsten Cooper 

January Offerings!

 
I'm so excited to offer my programs in January!  

Each one offers something special for people.

Boot Camp will continue to offer 3 workouts a week.  Each work out is a comprehensive total body workout that increases strength, endurance, and flexibility.  But for January the class will be 6 weeks long.  I have t-shirts to give to participants; I’m going to run an amazing competition with prizes!  There will be 3 winners the biggest loser, the greatest strength gainer, and MVP!  I can’t wait to work with people for this session. 

The Serious Weight Loss Clinic is a low impact workout for women who want to lose more than 30 lbs.  My own struggle with weight loss has inspired me to reach out and help others.  I want people to know that health is a process and fitness is a way of life.  I can’t wait to share my journey with 6 women and become part of their journey.  That program is going to even have a commissary trip for shopping tips, recipes, workouts together, and at home, and I’ll do food logs for all my women weekly.  I ran a proto-type program in November, and received really positive feedback.

Breakfast!

Ever since I found canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) at the commissary I've been obsessed with pumpkin!  You can find the pumpkin puree in the baking aisle.  Just be careful to pick up pumpkin puree and NOT the pie filling.  Pumpkin is low calorie, fiber rich, and delicious in so many different imaginations.  I shared a pumpkin smoothie recipe with my clients a few weeks ago and thought folks might like this too! 

It's easy to make up a big batch, and put them in individual containers for a quick zap and then add toppings for a fulfilling quick morning meal.  I usually hold the granola but love to use 100% natural maple syrup for that touch of sweetness!

Enjoy!

Coach Jen 

Pumpkin Oats with Maple Syrup & Granola

Ingredients:

 2/3 cup water

1/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/3 cup quick cook oats

2 teaspoons chia seeds

Dash of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice

 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 mashed banana

1/3 cup pumpkin

2 tablespoons granola

1 teaspoon maple syrup

Directions

 1. Bring water, milk, oats, chia seeds, spices, and vanilla extract to a boil.

2. Reduce heat, add banana and whip into oats. Cover and simmer on low, about 4-5 minutes. 

3. Stir in pumpkin. Top with granola and maple syrup

Recipe found in Fitness Magazine