At the beginning of January, I asked my husband to join me in completing a fitness program together, Hammer & Chisel. It was the first one in just over 5 years that I've actually done at home with him. When we were engaged, we did P90X, I think I made it until the 2nd to last week, and he finished...I know I know, I had 2 weeks left, I could have finished, but the past is in the past.
Before we began, I knew I wanted to gain more muscle tone. I did not want to lose weight.
Weeks 1-5 were AWESOME! I meal prepped like nobody's business, and stayed very focused with the workouts.
Weeks 6-8 were a little harder. That always seems to be the case for me. I got 'busy' and stopped meal prepping, and my stomach was showing for it, so I had to do a mini pause and do a 3 Day Refresh to help get my nutrition back on track. That sorta helped, but I still couldn't quite pick up motivation like I had the first 5 weeks.
While I KNOW I could have done better about food, especially in the last week (hello pizza, burgers, and a few beers), but I am still SO proud of my results. I wanted to gain muscle tone in my arms, and I truly did. My biceps, shoulders, and lats all grew :) And I went up with heavier weights a LOT more than I thought I would have.
Over all, I ended up:
+ 2 inches in my shoulders
+ 0.75 inches in my chest
+ 0.5 inches in my left bicep
+ 0.5 inches in my right bicep
+ 0.25 inches in my waist - hehe I think that's some pizza, beer, and burgers ;)
+ 0.75 inches in my booty!!!
- 0.25 inches right around my belly button
My calves stayed the same
My thighs stayed the same
I gained almost 2 lbs, I hope that's muscle, but it could totally be pizza, beer, and burgers that I couldn't resist in the last week. Yep even though I'm helping other people with their own health and fitness, I still have hiccups of my own :)
And here's my hubby's results (photo's only) I can't find his measurements - wah wah...but I am so proud of him for doing most of this program with me too!
Here's a pinterest board where I pinned some of the places where I got my meal prep ideas: CLICK HERE :)
Here's some of my favorite meal preps with links back to the original Instagram post :)
...and again, towards the end of this, there was pizza, burgers and beer....so I didn't go 100% with the full program, but I am so glad I did the program, I totally loved the variety of the workouts, and that I could do them at home and at the gym.
The workouts included a lot of strength training with lighter or heavier weights. There are cardio days, with and without weights.
I will certainly do many of these workouts again! I loved doing them especially with my husband, and we could bring the sheets to the gym, which was really helpful too!
What's the last workout you did with someone you loved?
I like to think of myself as a pretty clean eater.
Sure, I love pizza, cookies and the occasional Taco Bell, but for the most part, I make my meals and I eat foods from the outer sections of the grocery store aka fruits, veggies, and meats.
But again...I like pizza, cookies and the occasional Taco Bell. I'm human.
Well after a little too much of those extra cheats in my life, I had started to feel really nauseous. It was just a little here and there, truly not much, but my stomach was truly upset with me. "YAY, I'm pregnant again!" was my initial thought, but 4 tests proved me wrong :( So then I thought, oh nausea, here come my cycle, but nope, that wasn't it!
I realized it really was my little cheats here and there creeping in that left me feeling sick. I had let my 90/10 rule of eat clean 90% of the time, indulge 10% move more towards a 70/30 and that's just not something my body can handle.
So I decided to give the 3 Day Refresh a try.
I actually didn't do this to lose weight, although it's a great tool for helping with that. I just did the 3 Day Refresh to feel better. All in all, I lost 1.5 lbs and 1.5 inches in my bloated belly.
Here's a video breakdown of my thoughts and feelings of this 3 Day Refresh - cleaning up my body - process.
If you are interested in giving this a try, let's chat, see if this is right for you, or find something that may work even better for your goals. Helping people is what I do, I share what I'm doing, my experiences, and my knowledge to help you find something that could work for you. It may be a Beachbody program, it may not. I've tried a lot of programs within Beachbody and lots of them outside of Beachbody. I'll recommend to you what could be best, and have helped may people find the perfect one for them. From those that want to join our accountability groups, to those that just want a little information to get them going solo, it's what I love doing and I'm here to help :)
The easiest way to catch me is on Facebook
Next would be email - tamara.lee.bratton@gmail.com
Next after that would be here via the blog at the Contact Me section
Here's my breakdown day by day
DAY 1
Thoughts
HOLY S**T THIS F***ING SUCKS!!!!
I'M SO HUNGRY
I hate today
Hey, I'm not nauseous
Hmm, it's now 7pm and I actually feel okay
Alright, that wasn't so bad...I'm just a bit of a baby
Meals
***Lots of water - I mean like over 100 oz***
Cafe Latte Shakeology, 10oz Water, 2/3 C frozen blueberries
Chai tea to hold me over
Fiber Sweep with cinnamon added - mixed just enough water for pudding consistency (LOVED IT!)
Vanilla Fresh, 10oz water, 1/2 C frozen grapes
2 carrots cut up (it called for 1/2 a large but screw that), 1.5 t almond butter
1 G containers (1cup) Spaghetti squash with 1 t coconut oil
Chai tea
Coconut steamed veggies - broccoli, carrots, cale and coconut oil + salt free seasonings
Vanilla Fresh with cinnamon made into pudding consistency = dessert YUM
1/2 C Beef Broth, it calls for veggie broth, but we had beef so that's just what I went with
Workout
Walking around the mall with 2 of my mom friends and our kiddos - we did 2 or 3 laps, can't remember
DAY 2
Thoughts
I feel amazing this morning
I have energy
I mean A LOT of energy
I'm a freaking rockstar, this is awesome!
I'm not even crazy hungry
Meals
***Lots of water - I mean like over 100 oz***
Vegan Chocolat Shakeology, 10oz Water, 1 drop mint extract
1/2 banana
Chai tea
Fiber Sweep with cinnamon added - mixed just enough water for pudding consistency
2 carrots cut up, 1.5 t almond butter
Vanilla Fresh, 10oz water, 1/2 C frozen grapes, PB2
1 cup cucumbers and 2 T hummus
Chai tea
Coconut steamed veggies - broccoli, carrots, cale and coconut oil + salt free seasonings
Vanilla Fresh with cinnamon made into pudding consistency
1/2 C Beef Broth
Workout
Body pump with a friend - I had 1/2 my carrots before and 1/2 after class followed by my Vanilla Fresh AM meal
4 Mile Hike with the Hike it Baby group
note, I was not going to workout, but had been asked to do these events and I was feeling good, so I did them....I do not recommend this. I think if I had done one, not the other, I would have been better off :)
DAY 3
Thoughts
I feel pretty great this morning
I have good energy, but not as much as yesterday
I totally over did it yesterday
I'm a little bit hungrier today
Meals
***Lots of water - I mean like over 100 oz***
Exact same as Day 2 only an apple instead of a banana in the morning
I may have cheated and had part of my daughters PB, Banana Tortilla Wrap Up ;)
Workout
Walking around the park and from store to store in an outdoor shopping area with the little one
All in all, would I do it again? Absolutely. If I'm feeling as nauseous as I had been, then I know I need to make a clean and quick break of the extra trigger foods.
Having the fiber sweep to help clear out my digestive system and help get my intestines healthier along with my loved Shakeology full of superfoods to nourish my body, and the Vanilla Fresh protein to help stabilize me throughout the day, these tools were fantastic at getting me back on track.
I have some friends that do it once a month as a 'tune' up, others that do it seasonally to help cleanse when needed, and some that just need it at the beginning of their journey.
If you want to know if this is right for you, then think about what I've said. Check the video I'm posting here that goes in more depth, and let's chat. I want to work with you and help keep you accountable through this and your new healthy lifestyle.
The easiest way to catch me is on Facebook
Next would be email - tamara.lee.bratton@gmail.com
Next after that would be here via the blog at the Contact Me section
Backtrack to April On April 6th, I ran the Southern Indiana Classic Half Marathon in 1:45:36 (yes, that's 1 hour and 45 min!). I did amazing in the race and took home 1st place in my age group! At first, we thought I had gotten 2nd in my age group, but the woman who beat me actually placed 3rd overall, so that bumped me to first! Woot woot!
After the 1/2 marathon, my knees were sore, but I felt pretty freaking awesome. I iced them and had already planned on taking the week off.
I was supposed to run the USI Spring into Fitness10K the next Saturday, one week after the race, but when I went to do a test jog after taking the week off on Friday night, my foot screamed in pain. Or maybe that was me screaming that my foot was in pain? :) I knew something was wrong and I shouldn't risk running in the race the next day. Needless to say, I went and picked up my t-shirt anyways. Yes, I am obsessed with race shirts and awards. It still makes me sad that I didn't run, because I really think I could have placed if I was 100%, and that would mean I would have placed in all 3 USI Running Series Races. My foot continued to be in pain, so I finally called my family doctor to ask if I needed to be seen. He scheduled me an appointment. At that appointment (18 days after the race), he told me that he believed I had a 5th metatarsal stress fracture and that we would first have to take an X-ray, which he didn't think would show results. He said we had to do the x-ray first for insurance purposes and just in case it did show something more serious. After an x-ray, he said we could do an MRI. I am too practical. If it feels like a stress fracture, then it probably is a stress fracture. The x-ray results, like he suspected, didn't show anything, and I wasn't about to pay for an MRI. My doctor said that was fine and put me in a walking shoe.
For the last 6 days of April, I didn't work out much. I had my craft fair where I stood for long periods of time, and that was about it, until the TIU Bikini Series came along!
Monday, April 29
Biker Babes, I did a mini version of this outdoor with my hubby!
Tuesday, April 30
3 rounds of the Sun Seeker Workout, and my foot start to hurt badly again.
Onto May May 1-5
My foot hasn't been feeling so great.
We have been painting our new rental home every day after work, so that's my exercise
Monday, May 6th
AM Workout = Itty Bitty from TIU, one of Karena's arm workouts, and some of Katrina's deadlifts to work on that booty
Deadlifts throughout the day when I passed by the weights (about 5 total sets!)
PM Workout = Painting the rental house!
Tuesday, May 7th
Painting the house again
PM Workout = at the gym with Neal doing some back and bicep weight training moves
Wide Grip Front Pull Ups, 3 sets
Regular Pull Ups, 3 sets
Weighted Row, 3 sets
Some back machine I hadn't used before that targeted all the muscles back there! 3 sets
Machine bicep curls, 2 sets
Cohen bicep curls, 1 set
Incline bicep curls, 1 set
Wednesday, May 8th
AM Workout = 3 rounds of TIU Surfers Paradise Workout (some foot modifications still), an 8ish minute walk with the dogs, and deadlifts.
Thursday, May 9th
PM Biker Babes workout - so fun!
Saturday, May 11
Grab a Friend and Go Workout from Tone it Up! I was at my dad's house for the weekend, so he got to be my workout buddy!
Wednesday, May 15th
BCWO was 3 Tone It Up routines! 2xs Sunkiss Abs, the new Bridal Babe workout, & Surfer Girl from TIU Beach Babe DVD
Thursday, May 16th
BCWO = 3 Rounds of Surfer's Paradise and 2 Rounds of Cowabunga!
Monday, May 17th
Morning walk with the puppies - 30 mins. 1st day of the Beach Babe 5 Day Slimdown! I didn't do my HIIT this morning b/c I really just wanted to walk the dogs.
Took the day off for traveling & finishing Etsy orders
Saturday, February 2nd
All 4 Love Your Body Series Workouts 2 x's through & 2 mile run
Sadly my heart rate monitor seems to be broken...
Sunday, February 3rd
SUPERBOWL SUNDAY! I finished a 5 mile run in under 40 minutes & made it back home just in time for the 2nd quarter. I enjoyed a refreshing Shocktop after my killer run!
Monday, February 4th
Cupid cardio for 4.3 miles - I now have less than 4.5 miles to meet my #100byVday!
Tuesday, February 5th
AM: 2 Tara Stiles Yoga Workouts and 3 times through of the Jump Start Workout
Secret Admirer Cardio. 1.56 miles on the treadmill, 2.05 miles on the elliptical & 100 stairs, or 2.08 miles on the StairMaster for a total of 5.69 miles. That brings me to 101.98 miles this year!!!
Thursday, February 7th
During work today, I took two 7 minute breaks to clear my mind and complete Sunkissed Abs, I did one final set (that makes 3) after I was finished working.
Tone it Up Stair Workout, only I used the hill in my side yard to get it done! Then I took the puppies on a nice little walk.
Worked out in the AM with my Speed Run 400m x 6, 90 second rest between intervals.
My times are 8.5 speed on treadmill for a pace of 7:03 mile, my rest interval was a 4.0 speed on the treadmill for a pace of 15:00 mile. I did the rest for 0.1 miles or 90 seconds.
Total of 2.12 miles, 20 min
Stretched after!
From my house to the gym & back in less than 50 minutes!
Wenesday, February 20th
Power Yoga = AMAZING!
Thursday, February 21st
6 mile run at tempo pace of 8:05. I did this first thing in the morning without any food to fuel me through the run. That was a bad call! A snack is a must for a long cardio AM workout!
Friday, February 22nd
P90X Chest, Shoulders & Tricepts. The DVD kept skipping 1/2 way through, so I listened to Pandora and followed a printed version of the workout. P90X is as long as my other workouts, coming in at an hour, but I feel like it just goes on & on & on sometimes!
Saturday, February 23rd
6 mile long run at an 8:50 mile pace. Then some leg strengthening because my knee started to hurt!
Sunday, February 24th
Walk with Erica & the puppies in Downtown Newburg Riverfront. Maybe 1.5 miles
Monday, February 25th
Tone it Up Sunkiss Abs & Juilian Michael's workout from Shape Magazine
This month I am focusing on following the Tone It Up Love Your Body Series. You can find all their information directly here or follow along what I do below.
Wed Jan. 2 Morning workout - Did the following 3 times
PM Workout - Cupid Cardio - Total of 4.5 Miles in 43 minutes. That includes the workout as shown below, a 1 min walk in between the 1st and 2nd set, and a 5 minute cool down!
Thursday, Jan 3rd
Today with the series the girls want us to try something new. I went to Hulu and found this workout video: "Xtend Barre: Lean & Chiseled" by Dance & Be Fit on Hulu: http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/388613
I also walked .75 miles with the dogs
Total of 5.25 miles toward the #100ByVday challenge
Friday, Jan 4th
BootyCall: Secret Admirer Workout! LOVED IT!
15 Chaturangas on the hour every hour during the workday
I totally forgot to do my happy hour workout from tone it up (a move every hour on the hour). Oops. I did take a nice two mile run/walk/sprint with Walden! He's the perfect interval partner: Walk, walk walk, SQUIRREL!!! Walk, jog, walk, BIRD!!! Pee. Repeat. :)
Try it Thursday! I tried a new Stress Release Yoga at home, it was very appreciated by my mind and body! I also tried a new hairstyle, BLOND! Still not 100% for it, but I don't hate it!
Friday, Jan 18th
I worked out bright and early and got 30 minutes on the elliptical somehow going a distance of 4.4 miles! Then I didSweet & Sexy VDay Workout(scroll down to Friday on the link)
Saturday, Jan 19th
Run/walk/pull mom into random people...the puppies and I went to the Newburg riverfront and got in 4.6 miles!
Sunday, Jan 20th
5k day! I did 2.39 miles with my cooldown included
Monday, Jan 21st
AM Workout - Wild Child and Sea Shells 3xs from Tone It Up
PM Workout - supposed to be 30 minutes walk, but I only made it 20 before I thought my fingers were going to fall off due to the cold weather! Another 1/2 mile down for my #100ByVDay!
1st, Thursday: Tone it Up 'Spooktacular Workout' I didn't do the runs, and I did all the moves 3 times through
2nd, Friday: off
3rd, Saturday: Workout with Neal, he is now doing 'Blood & Guts' designed by Dorian Yates and we did the Chest & Bicep Workout
10 Minute treadmill warm-up
Decline Dumbbell Press - I did 12 reps at 20 lbs., 25 lbs. and 30 lbs.
Incline Dumbbell Press - I did 12 reps at 25 lbs. and then 6 reps at 30 lbs.
Flat Bench Dumbbell Flyer - I did 12 reps at 17.5 lbs. and 9 reps at 22.5 lbs.
Dumbbell Concentration Curls - I did 10 reps at 15 lbs. and then 7 reps at 20 lbs. with 3 negatives
Barbell Curls - I did 10 reps at 40lbs. and then 2 negatives
This workout was fast and really got my blood pumping. I know most of you would see this as a "man's only" workout due to the trainer and the title, but every now and then I enjoy doing something more weight heavy so I can get my muscles moving differently and be able to enjoy a workout with Neal!
4th, Sunday: Walking all around Nashville for the Titan's vs. Bears Game!
5th, Monday: off
6th, Tuesday: off - I had the intention to workout...then we noticed Walden's eye was super red, so we took him to the Vet and found his eye was poked/scratched...after that we watched the election news and made dinner.
7th, Wednesday: I plan on doing yesterday's Tone it Up Malibooty Workout 3 times through as well as their suggested follow up of 3 sets of 12 pushups and 3 sets of 20 crunches! Can't wait for the work day to be over to fit this in!
1st, Saturday: Hiking for about 2 hours. Covered 4-5 miles :) it was really fun!
2nd, Sunday: Triceps, biceps, and abs with Neal. This was a killer. We only did 5 different moves, but did each 5 times. Increasing the weights or resistance. First we did Bicep Cable Curls superseted with Overhead Cable Extensions. Each move 5 times: 40 reps, 30 reps, 20 reps, 10 reps, & 10 reps again, increasing the weight/resistance as we went. Then we did Barbell Curls superseted with Skull Crushers. Each move 5 times: 10 reps, 10 reps, 20 reps, 30 reps, 40 reps. decreasing the weight each time. We finished with Hanging Leg Raises and did 5 sets each time until failure. Let me tell you now, this was an AMAZING workout. I was happy, rejuvenated, tired, and sore (a few days) afterward.
3rd, Monday: off
4th, Tuesday: P90X yoga
5th, Wednesday: 2 walks with the dogs, one in the morning and one in the evening
6th, Thursday: off
7th, Friday: 30 plyo lunges on the hour while I worked I worked 10 hours, so I did 300 lunges!
8th, Saturday: Off! (Unless you count walking in heels all day for a bachelorette party!)
September 9-15th
9th, Sunday: 25 Minute run followed by 2 sets of my powerhouse supersets of weighted side arm balance (12 each side), kettelbell squats (20), and tornado abs (kinda like when you are doing leg lifts only you don't move your legs up in down, you move them in a circular movement slowly up and slowly down - did them 2 times).
10th, Monday: Off
11th, Tuesday: Just a dog walk :)
12th, Wednesday: Push mowed part of the yard (40 mins)
13th, Thursday: Turbo Jam! Kick, Punch & Crunch workout followed by a dog walk!
14th, Friday: Off
15th, Saturday: 6ish mile hike with Meetup Group Lincoln State Park
September 16-22nd
16th, Sunday: Leg day! Supersets of Squats and Calf Raises (50 reps Squats, 40 Reps Calf Raises - then minus 10 and up the weight. After 10 reps of both, you go back up the number and lessen the weights). Finished off with 5 sets of decline sit ups. See the workouthere
17th, Monday: Off
18th, Tuesday: Tone it Up Fine Toning Arms found here.
19th, Wednesday: off
20th, Thursday: off
21st, Friday: off
22nd, Saturday: off
September 23-29th
23, Sunday: off
24, Monday: off
25, Tuesday: Kris Gethin, chest and back workout. See the original video here
Exercise
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
Set 4
Set 5
Superset 1
Incline Dumbell Press
30 reps
15 lbs
20 reps
15 lbs
10 reps
20 lbs
5 reps
35 lbs
5 reps
40 lbs
Bent over
Lat Row
30 reps
15 lbs
20 reps
15 lbs
10 reps
20 lbs
5 reps
25 lbs
5 reps
30 lbs
Superset 2
Flat Bench Dumbell Press
5 reps
40 lbs
10 reps
35 lbs
13 reps
35 lbs
20 reps
25 lbs
35 reps
20 lbs
Bent over
Trap Row
5 reps
25 lbs
6 reps
35 lbs
10 reps
35 lbs
20 reps
20 lbs
30 reps
15 lbs
*note in my flat bench dumbell press after I started I realized
that I didn't have high enough weights, so I did more reps
Kris Gethin has a DTP Program. I have
not done the DTP program, my husband and his friend are doing it, but I have
done a few of the workouts and I must say they are amazing. Kris' program
combines higher reps with lighter weights and lower reps with higher weights.
He does a pyramid, going either from high reps to the low rep on two superset moves.
Then he typically goes in the opposite, lower reps to higher reps with two
other superseted moves. Each combination, the first super set and the second
superset, are done 5 times through (at least on the workouts I have attempted).
This workout allows me to get in a mass amount of strength training in very
little time. He posts a different video for every day of the
program, and it's all FREE!
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