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More Than Just Burning Calories!

Happy Monday!
Hope everyone had a great weekend! As sad as I am when the weekend is over, I really look forward to Monday's so I can train!

Here's what I did today:

 UPPER BODY:
1)Hang power cleans: 95x5/105x3/110x2/110x2 (+ one split jerk at the end of each set)
2)Military press: 65lbs x8-8-8-6 (finally got 3 sets of 8!)
3a)1 arm DB row: 55x8/8/8/55x15(Kroc rows-put your body into it!)
3b)DB incline chest press: 40x8/40x8/35x8/ Pushups- 1x12
4)Neutral grip pullups(one giant set to 20 reps-15-30seconds rest between sets)8-4-3-3-2
5)L-sit hold 4x10 seconds/ muscle ups x2 (just playing around since my gym finally got some rings!)
6)Farmer's walks 2x~45 seconds w/50lbs each hand
Handstand practice
 
Looking forward to leg day Wednesday to work my legs and glutes!
I'm workin on it! ;)
 
Since I *may* have a photoshoot coming up in a month, instead of cutting way back on my nutrition since it is already pretty good(and I don't like to "diet"), I am going to add in two short interval style workouts on Tuesday/Thursdays, which are normally rest days. They'll consist of bodyweight exercises, jumping rope, battle ropes, or sled pushes/drags. So my workout schedule will be 4 days of lifting and 2 HIIT/met-con workouts. I will start cutting back slightly on carbs as it gets a little closer, but for now I am not giving them up!
 
So just my random thought of the day: I was just thinking today about how many women go wrong when it comes to exercising by making the main goal of their workouts to burn as many calories as possible.
 
You know what?  I have absolutely NO clue how many calories I burn during a workout! That's not what's important to me. Especially when it comes to weight training or metabolic conditioning/interval type workouts-it's not really about how many calories you burn during the workout, it's that your body continues to burn calories AFTER the workout into the rest of the day! It's called exercise post oxygen consumption, or EPOC, and anaerobic exercise(weight training, interval training, sprinting, etc.) is the best type of exercise for increasing EPOC--much more so than just getting on an elliptical and going for an hour(just another reason to stay off the elliptical!).
 
The main thing to focus on with your workouts, like I always say, is on building muscle(because muscles are cool!), getting stronger, and becoming more athletic. Focus on pushing yourself harder and getting better over time, rather than just trying to burn 500 calories on the treadmill. Those things aren't really accurate anyway, and over time your body becomes efficient at doing the same thing over and over again. So instead of just adding more and more cardio.... maybe it's time to focus on something besides just the calorie burn.

"The reason exercise helps you lose weight has very little do do with burning calories. Exercise improves insulin and leptin sensitivity, affecting your body on a cellular level, improving metabolic function across the board. When your metabolic function improves, your body is better able to USE the food you eat for energy, rather than storing it as fat." (Go Kaleo Facebook page)
 

 

Comments

  1. Love your workouts! And I have to laugh about the calorie burn comment. Someone emailed me asking me how many calories my strongman training sessions burn... uh, I have no idea? I don't know if pulling a truck can be quantified as a calorie burn haha. I'm not in it for the calories, although I must be burning a lot given how much food I'm devouring! Can't wait to see the pics from the photoshoot, and I'm glad you're going about it in a sensible way - as always!

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    Replies
    1. I know, people always ask how many calories they burn in a session...and I just have no clue because that's not what I'm going for!
      The photoshoot is not for sure yet...but I want to be ready just in case! I am definitely not cut out for dieting... I've realized I hate almost everything that figure competitors eat when they're dieting.

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  2. I laughed out loud at this post because it perfectly describes the "old me" and my workout mentality! When I was in college, I would have calorie goals for being on the treadmill (dreadmill) and would say, "okay, I need to reach 400. When I reach 400, I'll be done." Then, I got a heartrate monitor and would wear it religiously at the gym... tracking how many I burned from session to session and getting bummed if it wasn't "high enough." About 6 months ago, it broke or ran out of batteries or something and I haven't gotten it replaced...and I don't intend to. It's kind of silly to me now since I am not trying to lose weight or anything... why should I be worried about a number? does that define my workout? NOPE. :)

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    Replies
    1. Exactly! The only numbers you should be concerned with are the weights on the bar! ;)

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  3. I love HIIT. I do little circuits in my backyard or deck of cards workouts. The only equipment I usually need is a towel, and jump rope!

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