–>  IT’S OVER!  <–

The 12 week competition for the Kansas City Fitness Magazine is OVER!  Still hard to believe that 12 weeks has come and gone.  I finished the competition at 195.2 lbs and I couldn’t be happier.  I lost weight EACH and EVERY week.  It might not have been much but I lost…I NEVER gained weight.  I worked really hard and the hard work is paying off.  I’m very happy with my new look and I’m looking FORWARD!  Forward is how I will reach my future fitness goals.

Stay tuned to read more about my workout regiments and goals as I move forward.  Thanks for all your continued support and THANK YOU for reading this

Kevin and I hit the Kettlebells hard today!  It was a full body workout and very functional for my body.  I really pushed myself to do everything I could and as fast as I could.  I want a good loss on the scale tomorrow.  I know its possible if I work hard enough!

–>  The first set was JUMP ROPING and alternating Kettlebell swings.  I put jump roping in capital letters because I am not really good at it.  I know we learned how to jump in Kindergarten but for some reason I can’t do it.  You are supposed to jump every time the rope comes around but instead I have little tiny bunny hops.  I jump all the time and the rope only goes under my feet every other jump.  I think its mental.  Its a mental block that is keeping me from being able to jump correctly.  I will get it eventually…and its getting easier but I still can’t really do it.

I did a minute of jump roping followed by 30 alternating swings with the 20 lb Kettlebell.  The hand swap happened on the fly.  I did 3 rounds.

–>  Kettlebell curls with arm raises – front and side.  I stood on Kevin’s Longboard while I did curls and arm raises.  The Longboard forced me to balance my body during the exercises.  I did a curl between every arm raise.  It was curl, front arm raise, curl, side arm raises, curl…etc.

After each set of Kettlebell curls and arm raises, I ran a lap to and from the curb.  It really kept my heart rate up and made it tough to catch my breath.  Wow, its been a long time since I had such a hard time catching my breath!

–>  20 lb Kettlebell squats and jump squats.  I did 10 deep squats while holding a 20 lb Kettlebell.  Then I dropped the Kettlebell and did 10 deep squats with a jump.  It really burned my inner thighs and that makes me happy!  After the 20 squats I ran to the curb and back to round it out.  I did 3 sets!

–>  20 alternating snatches with the two – 10 lb Kettlebells.  I had one hand up and the other down…with each snatch, the other bell came down.

Lastly I ran from Kevin’s apartment to the fitness center!  It was a great way to end a great mid-morning workout.  I LOVE this new Nicole!  She loves to workout and get healthy

Today was another great workout with Kevin.  I finally achieved my run at a speed of 6.0 for 10 minutes or 1 mile.  It was a great accomplishment and I really pushed through to finish.  There were several points where I thought I was going to need a break but I tried to focus on the goal.  SUCCESS!  Now I just have to keep working to achieve this goal…master it, if you will.  I’ve done it once, can I do it again?  And again?

After a tough run, I did heavy weights…my favorite workout.  The *hurt* is a great feeling.  “No pain, no gain”….right?  That’s my philosophy when the scale doesn’t cooperate and go DOWN after lots of crazy workouts.

• Leg presses at 180 lbs!  I did 3 sets of 12.
• Dumbbell presses with two – 25 lb dumbbells.  I did 3 sets of 10.
• Heavy squats – 50 lbs on my back.  I did 3 sets of 10.  It was a great challenge to keep the weight in my heels!
• Arm presses with 20 lb dumbbells – angled back position.  I did 3 sets of 10.
• Alternating dumbbell lunges with one – 20 lb dumbbell.  At the bottom of my lunge I did a press with the dumbbell.  Otherwise the dumbbell was held securely at chest level.  I did 3 rounds of 20 alternating lunges!

I LOVE my time with Kettlebells and today was one of those great days.  It was slightly rainy and wet today so the routine was done on the patio but under the overhang roof.

50 Jumping Jacks was a heart rate raising warm-up.

Then it was a Kettlebell circuit with two – 20 lb Kettlebells.  I had 3 sets to get through in 1 minute.  Any left over time was mine to use as a break.  The faster I got through the exercises, the more rest I got.  Of course, as I got more tired doing the exercises, I had less time to rest before my 1 minute was up.  I did TEN rounds at 1 minute each.

• 10 squats with Kettlebells on the outside of my legs – legs somewhat close together as compared to wide stance for Sumo Squats.
• 10 Kettlebell cleans
• 10 Kettlebell presses – focused on using legs to throw the Kettlebell up

After 10 rounds of Kettlebells it was time for some Boxing moves.  Kevin held the jump rope out level, with the other end tied to the railing.  My goal was to  squat and duck under the rope – - on each side I stood up and gave a jab/punch combination.  It was three sets of 30 duck-unders with a jab/cross combination.  It really got your heart rate pumping!  I did get a 1 minute break between sets.

Kettlebell windmills were up next!  I had the set of 10 lb bells…one in each hand.  Windmills really target the obliques and I was really feeling them burn during my sets.  It was a total of 20 alternating windmills – - 3 sets.

Last, but certainly not least…Kevin and I went on a RUN!  We ran the outside path around the complex.  It was HARD!  Running at the end of my workout, when I’m tired, is really super hard.  I wanted to stop every time it got hard.  Kevin had to really push me!  Literally, his hand was on my back and forcing me forward.  Wow, it was hard.  I was out of breathe before I even reached the first block.  I just kept thinking that there was NO WAY I could finish this crazy run.  But with Kevin’s continued support, I finished.  It wasn’t pretty but I finished!

Thanks for always encouraging me and believing in me!  You’ve really showed me that I can do ANYTHING…its a great feeling to finally succeed at something.

Here’s to a great day of eating and getting rested for tomorrow!

Today I weighed in at 196.4 lbs.  I was not really happy with the 0.6 lb loss but its a loss nonetheless.  My trend of constant weight loss continues…I’ve never gained!

With only 1 week left, I am excited to give my all for the next 7 days.  I’m ready to go out with a bang!

I did a quick warm up on the treadmill.  When I say quick, I mean quick!  I did 4 minutes at a speed of 6.0 before Kevin came in and said we were running outside.  Today’s run was like no other.  There is a long walking/bike trail that wraps around Kevin’s apartment complex.  Kevin has is long board with him – - also known as a skate board!  He rode while I ran.  We have no idea how long the trail actually is but the current guess is between 1.25 and 1.50 miles.  Kevin and Jill are going to walk it with Liam in the stroller and find out for sure.

Well, we took off running and I did it ALL!  I ran the ENTIRE time…never stopping.  The last stretch was up hill.  Overall, it was a good pace.  It wasn’t too fast and definitely not slow.  I was so HAPPY to complete this run today.  So proud!

Then we headed to the parking lot for a good ‘ol “NFL COMBINE WORKOUT”!  It was awesome and I had fun doing all the different activities.

There was agility runs, speed skating jumps, broad jump squats and 40 yard dash.  I got a small break between each round but for the most part it was continual exercise.

I LOVE the new outside workouts.  I even ran from the clubhouse to Kevin’s apartment and back.  These 2 runs were more of a long sprint.  It was fast paced

I know that these “last chance workouts” are great, before my Wednesday morning weigh-ins but do they really effect me by Wednesday at 5am?!  I think not.  But, its still some good motivation to get a tough workout completed.

Its off to bed for this girl.  The alarm is set for 4:15am and that’s super early   Stay tuned for the results of Week 11…

I am still struggling to complete a 10 minute run at a speed of 6.0.  Its super fast and I get worn out before 5 minutes are up.  UGH!  I really want to be able to do it in one piece.  I’ll just keep working on it and hope it happens soon.  Lets just keep our fingers crossed that it takes LESS time than it took me to perfect my 5 minute run at a speed of 5.0.  Otherwise, I might be struggling with this for over 3 months…lol.

Well, I started the run with my mind made up that I was going to complete all 10 minutes but as hard as I tried, that didn’t happen!

I got through the first 5 minutes when I needed a quick break.  I breathed deeply for 1 minute and started up again.  I only got through 2 minutes before I was “dying” again and needed another break.  Well, Kevin had a good idea…lets break it down and do it in intervals…  it was a GREAT idea!  I did ten 1 minute intervals with 30 seconds in-between.  It was much more do-able.

Today was heavy weights and I look forward to these days.  It has been a while since we did heavy weights so I was very excited.

• Heavy leg presses
• Heavy lat pulls
• Heavy bench presses

Then it was back on the treadmill for more intervals.  I did 5 more 1 minute intervals at a speed of 6.0 with a 30 second break in-between.  It was a struggle to finish but I made it through.

I started my workout with the Tracy Anderson Mat Workout DVD.  It was good legs and arms – - it was nice to do something different and target the minor muscles.

Then we headed outside for some sprints!  I thought I was going to fall over when I heard the word “sprints”…doesn’t Kevin know that I DON’T run?  All I could think of is, “please don’t die”!

Well, I’m happy to report that I did NOT die.  It was hard and I pushed myself very hard.  I ran the first sprint in 45 seconds.  That was my pace setting sprint.  After that my goal was to run the sprint in under 35 seconds.  I ran the sprint, in under 35 seconds, a total of 5 times.  By the last sprint I was exhausted but I gave it my all and got close to 30 seconds.  It might have been the fastest that I ran all day

I love all the changes to my workout routine.  I’m hoping it all pays off next Wednesday!

Then I hit the Lat Pull Downs for 10, Tricep Pulls for 10 and 10 jump squats.  3 times each

10 Bosu Burpees, 10 dumbbell presses with 20 lbs in each hand and 20 jumping lunges.  3 times each

Jump Rope was next.  I am getting better at it but sometimes I feel uncoordinated.  It was 30 jumps, 20 step-ups using a picnic bench and 20 Kettlebell Windmills.  I used the 10 lb Kettlebells – 1 in each hand.  Yes, these too were done 3 times each!

My cool down was a nice walk for about 10 minutes   Thanks Kevin!

___________________________

Reformer Pilates was tonight.  I LOVE my time on that silly Reformer   It makes me very happy and puts my mind in a happy place.  Getting a core workout and using my muscles is just an added benefit!  If you’ve never tried it before, you should   Its wonderful-

I did 3, down and backs, across the field as a warm up.  Then it was the agility ladder – 2 lengths – followed by another down and back across the field.  I did this 3 times.  I started to hate the high grass that was filled with dandelions.  Thank goodness that I took my allergy medicine BEFORE my workout.  The pollen is pretty thick right now…everything is blooming.

Then it was 10 Kettlebell clean and presses with the 2 – 20 lb bells.  My legs were on fire trying to throw those bells up.  I did this 3 times.

Kevin found a HUGE open lot near an Elementary School for us to run around.  It had a sidewalk which was nice.  I was getting sick of running in the tall grass.  We ran it together but I had to stay in front of him.  My little legs were flying.  I looked like a midget running from the giant.  I only stopped for 15 seconds about half way through.  I was really proud of myself.  I later learned it was about 8 minutes but it felt more like 20 minutes.  It might have been a combination of the wind and sun and incline changing!

I lost 3.0 lbs this week for a new weight of 197.0 lbs.  Thank goodness the 200’s are GONE.  They are not invited back…ever!  I am very happy and I know that all my hard work has paid off.  I will continue to work hard and keep pushing on.  This is one of many milestones and I’m not looking back.

Thanks to everyone who reads this and who has believed in me.  This IS possible but its not easy.  I’m off to the gym for another awesome workout…

Today I ran for 15 minutes at a speed of 5.0.  That’s about 1.25 miles of solid running.  Not too shabby for the girl who HATES to run.  I have come SO far

KETTLEBELLS…they make me one happy girl!  I headed outside with the 20 lb Kettlebell for some authentic butt kicking.

• Stairs – 2 at a time
• 20 Kettlebell swings
• Stairs – 2 at a time
• 10 Kettlebell squats
• Stairs – 2 at a time
• 20 Kettlebell lunges – - passing the Kettlebell between my legs during the deep lunge.

I did these 3 times with a 1 minute break at the end of the circuit.  It was about 78 degrees and sunny outside.  I was in a black t-shirt and I was dripping sweat.  Gosh it felt good

Then I hit the Hand Bike for some high resistance “cycling”.  It burned my arms out after a good 5 mins.

Keep your fingers crossed…5am weigh-in tomorrow