Because you asked Part 1.

I've already had a few friends on here, and on fb ask me to share my "plan"... My workout routine and diet that I chose to use to obtain the results I've seen so far. Let me first just say that everyone is different, I sort of took bits and pieces of this and that and threw it all together and somehow it worked for me.

When I first started working out summer '09 it was so different than where I am now. I did the elliptical everyday that I actually made it to the gym, roughly 30 minutes, and I busted butt to eek out 3 miles in that time. I sort of did core work, and lots of leg weights (for some reason legs always have come easy to me, maybe because the machines that you use are kind of idiot proof) I didn't really change my diet, other than mixing in more salads with dinner... I've always been a major fruit and veggie person so that wasn't hard, but giving up my fats and my sweets was just not in the plan for a long time.

Then I took a break and everything went out the window; when I went back to the gym with my neighbor Traci it took me a bit but I got back into the groove. Pretty soon I was doing 4 miles in 30 minutes - then I added in the hill setting and had to work at it again. I got pretty good at going 5 days a week, alternating my core days, with my leg weight days... Usually core was 2x's a week, while legs wound up being 3x's a week.

I wish I could tell you exact time tables, but I didn't keep a good record at all - I might have time here in a day or two to go back through my "dailymile" postings and see when things started bumping up again... I don't even remember when I started doing those postings in relation to my workouts.

I got to the point where I was easily running 6+ miles in 30 minutes everyday, 5 days a week, I think the farthest I did was just over 7 miles in 30 minutes - this was of course after an awesome Deep Tissue massage by Miss Opal Moore in class. I was still alternating core, and legs - sometimes switching up the order and changing which days for them so that some weeks I did 3 days of core and others 3 days of legs.

Then one day all the ellipticals were full - and it looked like everyone was in for the long haul. So I decided "what the heck" I'll run on the treadmill... :/ I barely eeked out 3 miles in 30 minutes, and I thought I was going to fall over and pass out! I figured it was the Universes way of telling me that I wasn't in nearly as good of shape as I liked to think. That week I ran on the treadmill 3 days in a row, and by the 3rd day I could barely walk. I realized at that point that I really needed to change up my plan. So I decided running on the treadmill Monday, Wednesday, and Friday would be good and I'd do the elliptical on Tuesday, and Thursday.

Recently I started working with a guy at the gym, he's a personal trainer and we've been swapping personal training tips for massages - pretty much a win win in my book. I needed help with my upper body, its always been my weak point. On top of that I'm now running 6 days a week at the gym Monday-Saturday you can find me there. The run down of my current workout routine is this:

Monday:

• 30 minute run on the treadmill, flat, no hills. Starting at a 7 mph pace, bumping up to 7.2 at a mile and 7.5 mph at 2 miles and finishing it out from there.
• Stretches
• Core work, which is crunches with a 4 kg medicine ball, hip raises, side V crunches, Roman-sit chair, and leg drops.
• Weighted squats with the 4 kg medicine ball
• Some arms, concentrating on Biceps, Triceps, Traps, and Lats usually

Tuesday:

• 30 minute run on the treadmill, hill setting. Usually at a 6.5 mph pace (I'm hoping to bump it up to 7 here soon)
• Stretches
• Leg weights, which includes calf press, quad raise, hip adductors and abductors, hamstring curl, glute lift, and squat press.
• Weighted squats
• And core work if I have time/energy.

Wednesday:

• 30 minute run on the treadmill, flat, no hills. Starting at a 7 mph pace, bumping up to 7.2 at a mile and 7.5 mph at 2 miles and finishing it out from there.
• Stretches
• Core work, which is crunches with a 4 kg medicine ball, hip raises, side V crunches, Roman-sit chair, and leg drops.
• Weighted squats with the 4 kg medicine ball
• Some arms, concentrating on Biceps, Triceps, Traps, and Lats usually

Thursday:

• 30 minute run on the treadmill, hill setting. Usually at a 6.5 mph pace (I'm hoping to bump it up to 7 here soon)
• Stretches
• Leg weights, which includes calf press, quad raise, hip adductors and abductors, hamstring curl, glute lift, and squat press.
• Weighted squats
• And core work if I have time/energy.

Friday:

• 30 minute run on the treadmill, flat, no hills. Starting at a 7 mph pace, bumping up to 7.2 at a mile and 7.5 mph at 2 miles and finishing it out from there.
• Stretches
• Core work, which is crunches with a 4 kg medicine ball, hip raises, side V crunches, Roman-sit chair, and leg drops.
• Weighted squats with the 4 kg medicine ball
• Some arms, concentrating on Biceps, Triceps, Traps, and Lats usually

Saturday:

• A run/squat interval which takes a bit over 20 minutes. Its new, and kicked my butt last Saturday. Basically it breaks down like this. Run 1/2 mile at a 7 mph pace, jump off the treadmill and do 40 squats. Repeat for a total of 5 times for each. Equals 2.5 mile run, and 200 squats.
• Stretch, a lot.
• Core work.
• Legs
• Some arms.

So thats a basic week for me at this point. Occasionally I'll do Two-a-day's with Ernesto. Usually that winds up being on Tues and/or Thurs nights... And tends to focus on upper body, all arms and back. He even has me doing pull-ups to prep for this ridiculous race I've decided to sign up for.

I'll make another post, probably tomorrow that breaks down my current eating habits. Which have been drastically revamped a couple of times at this point throughout this whole process. Night all.