It’s been about 4 weeks since I let you in on my little training secret. Time for an update! Not only am I updating you on how the bikini fitness training is going, I’m also sharing a sample leg workout, what I’ve been eating and my recent stats and how they’ve improved. Lots to cover here. Oh, and a few updated pictures. #yikes So get comfy – might be a long post!

Not going to lie, the training isn’t as hard as the nutrition. Yes, there are days when my trainer almost brings me to tears (hello hamstrings that have never been worked). But the food situation – where everything matters – has definitely brought me to full-blown tears. It’s so fricking hard – like, so so hard – especially with 3 children living here. If you’re a mom, you can relate to nibbling on their leftovers. And occasionally I have a sweet tooth. That has been very very hard to resist!

Funny, but have to share this…it’s gotten to the point where I literally say “no!” out loud to myself. Call me crazy, but it works! Easter is fast approaching and I love to have little treats around the house for the kids. If I find myself grabbing for a couple pastel coated m&m’s, I say NO to myself. It’s like I’m training a puppy. haha!

MY TRAINER

I decided to move ahead with training with my trainer about 1x per week. Sometimes 2x. Sometimes 0x. Our schedule depends on my work schedule, the kids school schedule and carpool times. Life is crazy over here! It’s real life and I fit it in where and when I can. He works at the gym from 6am – 12pm M-F. If I’m not working with a client one day, I can meet him around 9am once carpool is complete.

However, if I work with someone, I can’t get to the gym until around 1:30 and he’s long gone by then. This last week I wasn’t able to train with him at all because I worked in LA for 3 days and then returned home to 2 days of work here in SF. Full work weeks are not the norm for me. In general I work with people about 3-4x per week than have office days where I’m designing, invoicing or doing virtual work.

Goals

Don’t even get me started on the sucky eating that happened while I was out of town, too. Really tough to eat well when you travel for work. Especially in LA where everything seems so far away. And the traffic? Forget about it!

We are trying to meet at least 1x per week and then he sets me up for the rest of the week / weekends during that appt.

When I work out with him, we do little to no talking and work through about 50-54 sets in 55-60 minutes. It’s fast-paced and focused.

Why I’m Working With a Trainer

I didn’t want to work with a trainer, but have to admit he has been worth the time and money for just 1x a week. He’s introduced me to new and different exercise methods I never tried. For example, the TRX bands are quickly becoming a favorite. They challenge you and you can do so much with them. And there are exercises I can’t do without someone to spot me – like plyobox jumps. They are brutal and afraid I’m going to trip over my own feet, but he’s there to catch me. And I haven’t fallen once…yet. Ha!

We end our sessions with a check-in so that is a helpful benefit to working out with him. If I have questions about food, pains, skin issues (I had a strange break out on my thighs), I can ask him and he almost always has an answer or suggestion. All that said, it’s been a great investment!

Most importantly, he’s honest. We all know those people who say, “you look great!”. Doesn’t matter how great you look, or how badly you think you look, the people who love you aren’t always going to be honest. They will make you feel better or convince you to stay just the way you are. I told him I’m open to his critical eye and he’s given it to me. Both negative and positive. Hearing the negative is a motivator, so I’m fine to hear it. He also happens to know my end goal and has made it his own personal end goal. His success shows in my results and he cares about that. He’s been great about the variety of areas we hit when working out together too.

Anyway, I’ve been having a lot of fun with him…and you may see a post from him in the near future. I told him I was sharing my journey here and that a few of you had questions and he is open to sharing nutrition info, workouts and more with you guys so keep sending me those questions!

WORKOUTS

The workouts are tough and intense but I’m beginning to see great progress! Not only me – people are commenting about it now. I happen to enjoy going to the gym. Honestly, if I don’t have a gym day, I’m in a real snappy mood. It’s become a part of my everyday for the last couple years and it’s more than the physical exertion…I need the mental break.

Here’s an example of a workout with my trainer:

5 minute treadmill warm-up – 15% incline at 3.5-3.8 speed

Squats on machine – 4 sets of 15

Side / front lunge combo – 4 sets of 15

Quad on machine – 4 sets of 15

Hamstrings on machine – 4 sets of 15

TRX Pikes – 4 sets of 15

Hamstrings on ball – 4 sets of 15

Dirty dogs – 4 sets of 20 (each leg)

Donkey kicks with bands – 4 sets of 20 (each leg)

Abs – minimal ab work. On this day he had me do 3 sets of 20 incline abs randomly throughout the workout.

We generally superset a few exercises or pick 4 exercises and do those in sets of 12-15 back to back. It’s fast paced. I’m sure this isn’t making sense. It’s hard to explain and hope to get better at doing that for you guys!

Today I worked out alone and put together my own crazy workout. It took me about 2 hours but I loved every minute and was so sweaty and gross!

8 minute treadmill warm-up – 2 minute jog, 2 minute lateral skips (both sides), 2 minute back-pedaling

Sumo squat – 4 sets of 15

Curtsy lunge – 4 sets of 15

Bulgarian split squat – 4 sets of 15 (each leg)…these were amazing!

Bent knee cable kick-back – 4 sets of 15 (each leg)

Straight leg cable kick-back – 4 sets of 15 (each leg)

Single leg leg press – 4 sets of 15

Single leg deadlift – 4 sets of 15

Glute bridge – 4 sets of 15

I ended my workout with sprints – 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. If you’re wondering what any of these exercises are, you can google them to see proper form.

FOOD

As I said, the most challenging part of this training is in the kitchen. What has saved me every time is having meals ready or having items to grab and snack on ready to go. I also keep certain things in the fridge and pantry at the ready. Things like cut up chicken breast, cut up veggies, almonds, and egg whites. Not everyday is perfect. Sometimes I don’t feel hungry, sometimes I feel starved and can’t get enough.

I’m also still sorting out the supplement part of this whole thing. And it’s been tough to figure out how much protein to take in. I’ll post again and share more on those topics when I have figured it out. What matters most is having healthy options here in the house that are available. This keeps will-power in check!

Here’s a typical eating day:

1: 1 cup steel cut oats + 1 cup of egg whites scrambled with spinach leaves

2: 1 cup of cottage cheese with cut up grapes

3: 2 cups spinach leaves with chopped chicken – light dressing

4: 1 slice Ezekiel bread with 1 tablespoon almond butter, apple

5: sliced turkey rolled with spinach, sweet potato cubes

6: 5 oz chicken, green beans or some veggies

STATS

Since I just talked about food, I thought I would follow up with my stats and progress. I am SO proud of myself during these last few weeks. It’s a mental struggle, for sure, but seeing these numbers motivates me to stay on point!

That’s his writing and not a whole lot of it makes sense to me either, haha! But basically he took my stats on January 31 and then again on March 9.

Here’s what happened:

Weight: Was 131.4….now 126.2 (lost 5 pounds)

Body Fat: Was 22.8…now 21.2 (lost over a point)

Pounds of fat: Was 30…now 26.8 (lost 4 pounds of fat)

Everything else is foreign to me, but I’m learning. It was great to see something change during all of this torture. Ha!

PHOTOS

I shared photos a month ago so I thought I’d share updates. I tried to take the same pose and position as I shared in this post so you can see the changes. When I’m further along I’ll do a few side x side comparisons. Not gonna lie, it’s hard for me to see any changes in these photos…but in real life, trust me…there is significant strength and tone.

I feel stronger and tighter. I’m seeing a big change in my arms and back and my abs are more defined and my butt is lifting. My hams and the area just below my butt are the real tough spots I’m struggling with. And most importantly, we are trying to work on my posture. There’s been a lot of lat / back / shoulder work and it hurts because my posture is all out of whack. I also see some slimming in my outer thighs / hips.

Compared to 4 weeks ago, you can see more hamstring and a higher butt…

I had a little muffin top which is definitely gone on the sides now…

I’m seeing so much tone in my arms…

So there’s that update! Just putting it all out there for you guys.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate. I might not have the answer, but my trainer will! Looking forward to updating you again in a few weeks and hope to have more positive improvements. Hope you’re having a great weekend!