Sunday Funday!

So I made big changes this week with my training program.  I finally stopped training with my online trainer.  While I learned a lot, and made a lot of progress (can be seen here) with him, I had been training with him for a year and a half and I felt I wasn't getting as much out of it anymore.  At least it's good to take a break and do something different for a while.  I am the kind of person that needs a plan in order to push myself.  That's partly why I stuck with him for so long.  I like his training program, and I like the biweekly check-ins with him so that I could hold myself more accountable.  I know that if I don't have a training program, I would just be lost at the gym.  At best, I would probably end up wandering around and not using my time effectively.  At worst, I wouldn't even feel like going to begin with.

So, this week I have started on the Get Glutes program with none other than the Glutes guy himself - Bret Contreras!  I've been subscribing to his blogs and videos for quite a while now, and I really like him.  I didn't know he had this program until my friend mentioned it to me.  Otherwise, I probably would have jumped on board sooner!  It's such a good deal too - it is $19 per month, or 18 months for $179 which is like $10 per month.  It's SO worth it!  He gives you a week's worth of strength and conditioning workouts each month.  You do the workouts for 4 weeks, then you get a revised workout plan for the next month.  For each exercise, there is a detailed video where him and his co-trainers show you how it should be done.  They also give you tons of other options if you are unable to do an exercise the way it is written, or don't have the equipment.  There is also a forum where you can ask the trainers and other members questions.

I've only done the first week's workouts, and I love it so far!  It's actually quite tough even though the number of sets/reps and frequency are lower than I was doing with my online coach.  For the first month, there are 3 strength workouts and 3 conditioning workouts.  You can workout anywhere from 1 or 2 times a week up to 6 times a week.  You can choose between the combination of strength and conditioning workouts.  I've opted to do 5 times a week so far, which would be strength 1, conditioning 1, strength 2, conditioning 2, and strength 3.  The strength workouts are full body workouts, although with emphasis on the glutes of course.  They take about an hour to complete, and the conditioning workouts take only 15-20 minutes.  So you could do the conditioning after strength, although it is not recommended.  They also don't really recommend that you do additional cardio on top of this program, since it is a strength building program.  I think I'll drop my 3 cardio sessions per week for now and see how it goes.  May add some back.  But I'm hoping the conditioning workouts are going to be enough.

This week I had a weird incident where I really strained my neck/shoulder muscle during chin-ups.  I don't even know how it happened.  I've been doing chin-ups and pull-ups for a long time, both negatives and assisted/unassisted versions.  So I don't know how I managed to strain my muscle this time during a regular unassisted chin-up.  It was pretty bad for about 2 days though.  I could barely turn my head without being in a lot of pain.  I did a lot of heat padding, and rolling the muscle out.  But it also took me out of commission for about 3 days.  Because of that, I didn't get back to the gym until this weekend and I combined strength and conditioning workouts on both days to make up for lost time.  I definitely don't plan to do that often!  I'm already very sore from yesterday's workout alone.

Monday 10/27 - Rest day

Tuesday 10/28
What I did:  The first strength workout.

What I wore:  Lululemon swiftly racerback in space dye fuel green with free to be bra in very green under.  Lululemon Mod Moves crop, and Nike Free 5.0 TR Fit 4 in venom/turbo green.

Splits59 Venus jacket as to and from:

Wednesday 10/29 - Rest day due to neck/shoulder strain

Thursday 10/30 - Rest day due to neck/shoulder strain.  It got way cooler here towards the end of the week (about time!) and I got to pull out my tights!  Lol.  I was excited, so here's what I wore to work:  Ann Taylor Mod Scarf print dress in river blue with Gabrielle Rossi cashmere one button blazer in navy over it, and Vince Camuto Dacoma pump in hurricane gray pearl patent.

Friday 10/31 - Rest day due to neck shoulder strain

Saturday 11/1

What I did:  Finally was able to get back to the gym!  I did my second strength workout, followed by the first conditioning workout.  Not gonna lie, but I was kind of done for the rest of the day.

What I wore:  Since it was so "cold" here, I pulled out my "winter tights" lol.  Lorna Jane Mosaic full length tight!  Worn with Lululemon Water Bound Singlet in bruised berry, and Lorna Jane Sunrise bra under it.  Nike Free 5.0 TR Fit 4 shoes in hyper cobalt/bright mango.

I liked that the laser cutout of the tank with the bra under it very much resembled the cut out details of the tights!

I wore my Nike Dri Fit Epic crew in deep night as to and from, but I actually kept it on for the first couple sets of my workout.  Then I got too hot.

I've been making good use of my Ann Taylor Drapey pants.  I wore them out on Saturday again after the gym, in full on fall mode!  With Gabrielle Rossi cashmere cross front sweater, as well as the Armani Exchange faux fur knit jacket and French Connection Maria wedge sneakers.  

I love this cooler weather!  We even got a little rain on Halloween.  But unfortunately, I think it will be in the high 80s next week again.  =(

Sunday 11/2

What I did:  Last strength workout + conditioning workout.

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in wee are from space white/barely pink, Lululemon free to be bra in power purple under.  Splits59 Nova Capris, and Nike Free Bionics in purple.

Lululemon Swiftly 1/2 Zip in power purple as to and from:

Well, combining workouts means less outfits for this week!  So this is a rather short one.  Looking forward to experimenting with my new training program again next week.  But since I worked so hard yesterday and today, I am most looking forward to tomorrow being a rest day.  =P

Have a good night everyone!