Believe It! Challenge
Watch Believe It! Challenge on Shaw Express
Week 12 - Last But Not Final
Congratulations to Sarah. Her last workout revealed that she lost a total of 16.2 lbs and 4 ¼ inches off her waist measurement.
On the final session, Sarah reflected on the past 12 weeks, her successes and the challenges she’s overcome – and the ones she still faces.
The exercise part was easy. Sarah has found herself back in a regular routine and feeling the positive benefits from regular exercise…of course dropping pounds and inches each week is a great motivator!!
Sarah knows that her workouts bring her balance and make her back feel better. She has more energy and simply feels better.
The hardest part Sarah realizes is the diet component. “When I eat properly my weight drops” is what she has noticed. During the challenge Sarah managed a kitchen renovation, and had a 2 week holiday, so her life was a bit out of the ordinary and she found that it posed some challenges to have healthy foods available. When eat out you have more temptations, and more often than not your healthy choices are more limited. Sarah enjoyed her session with dietician Diana Steele and was able to receive some usable advice.
Well done Sarah, thanks for participating in the “Believe It” Challenge! Clearly you believed, and that’s the first place to start. We all wish you success in reaching your ultimate goals.
On Sarah’s final workout we did some of Sara’s favorite exercises. Two sets, 15 – 20 reps.
Leg press
Lat pulldown
Chest press
Trx squat
Trx low row
Abs – heel slide (that she learned with Fleur on Sessions 11)
Overhead tricep press
Bicep curl - ‘21s’
Ab crunches on ball
Foam roller myofascial release for IT bands, quads and gluts
Week 11 - Pilates with Fleur
This week, Sarah enjoyed a private pilates training session with Fleur Palliardi, our very own pilates extraordinaire!
They started by defining the natural curves in the spine specifically the cervical and lumbar, and then practicing a series of movements focusing on maintaining these curves with the use of breath.
Breathing in to stabilize and exhaling to draw the core muscles in and up as the diaphragm lifts.
- Heel slides, neutral spine, alternate right and left legs
- Hip Release (lying on back, heels under knees, releasing alternating leg to side, (30 degrees), without shifting pelvis)
- Lifting/lowering one leg to 90/90, progressing to two legs, neutral spine
- Hip rolls, rolling into a neutral spinal bridge, hold spine in position while alternating a small lift of the right and left leg. Sequentially roll spine down on to the floor and return to neutral spine
- Ab roll, lying on back, bent knees, hands by sides, nod chin and sequentially roll cervical and thoracic spine into a roll stabilizing at the sternum and the pubic bone.
- Ab roll on body ball, knees at 90 degrees, follow same procedure as in exercise 5.
- Lying face down, hands under forehead, pelvis in neutral lift upper body 2 cms off floor and breathe
- 4 point position, spine in neutral, lift hand off the floor while stabilizing 3 points. Alternate with other arm and knees.
Week 10 - Back on track
Sara just returned from her 2 week holiday and came right back to the gym to check in and have workout. As we all know, holidays can be a challenge. Sara says that she missed her routine while away, and although she walked close to 12 hours a day (and could out-walk all her family!) it just didn't feel the same. She found her back was acting up more too. Here's the impressive news...Sara did walk A LOT, she did her travel program a couple of times, she felt she made bettter choices when eating out, she drank lots of water, bought fruit and healthy foods to keep on hand. By eating dinner in most nights Sara was able to stay focused and not be tempted by the noticeably large portions sizes served in restaurants. She did well on holiday and lost another 6 lbs since week 8's weigh in. Way to go Sara!!
This trip made her realize how energizing regular workouts are. "It cascades into everything", when you workout out you eat properly, drink water and it is a mood enhancer. I just feel better.
With her first workout back we were careful to ease into it, starting with a circuit workout, 1 set - 20 reps of each exercise. We did 2 exercises followed by 2 minutes of easy-moderate cardio intervals. She followed the workout with the Johanna's Dancefit class!
warmup
5 minutes on the elliptical trainer followed by dynamic exercises
workout (20 reps each)
squat and press using a 5 lb dumbbell
shoulder lateral raise
treadmill 3.0 mph
split lunge
Eagle back row 50 lb
treadmill 3.0 mph
TRX squat
chest - pushups
2 min. treadmill
bridge with feet on BOSU
bicep barbell curls
cardio - step up/down on BOSU
HOIST leg press
tricep rope pressdown
cardio - side step on BOSU
squat and bicep curl
ab crunch on BOSU
cardio - agility drill on the step
superman
side plank
4 minutes easy walk on the treadmill, followed by a stretch.
Week 9 - Traveling Workouts
Sara’s progress continues to be impressive. She has almost doubled the number of push-ups and sit-ups that she can complete in one set (from 8 to 15 reps), and has also tripled the length of time she can hold a plank (from 30secs to 90secs!)
However, fitness progress can often be interrupted by summer travel. With a family holiday planned this month, Sara was concerned about how to keep up with her fitness program and how to continue moving towards her goals. This circumstance is indeed a classic reason for falling off the “fitness wagon”, but as the saying goes: if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!
Ingrid has prepared Sara for further success by creating a Travel Program that Sara can do in her hotel room or fitness facility. Sara already owns a resistive band – the perfect portable workout tool. She also plans on deflating her stability ball in order to pack and take along too. Check out the workout below (demonstrated by our Fitness Coordinator, Clare) and use it on your next trip to stay energized and fit!
Other travel tips that Sara will aim to incorporate are:
- Enjoy your holiday! But carve out a few minutes a day for something fitness related, such as extra walking, a bit of strength training, and a good stretch after soaking in the pool or hot tub.
- Make your workouts short and sweet – the idea is to just maintain your fitness and not lose all of the progress you’ve built up.
- Stay well hydrated and have lots of healthy snacks on hand. Choose restaurants with healthy options and ask for half portions or share meals.
- Try active tours such as walks, hikes and biking trips as opposed to tour buses.
- Stay sun safe: wear hats and long sleeves in breathable materials, and re-apply sunscreen regularly
Travel Workout:
10-15min. warm-up on cardio equipment (if available), or walk around resort or along beach, etc.
Perform 1 set of each exercise to fatigue (generally 15-20 reps). Set a target of trying to complete the entire strength workout within 30 minutes. If you don’t quite finish, start from where you left off the next day.
- Squats with resistive band (stand on tubing, handles at shoulders)
- Lat pulldown with resistive band (holding tubing overhead, pull arms out to side until tubing touches chest)
- Standing row with squat (anchor tubing to stable object at chest height)
- Standing pec flyes (anchor tubing to stable object at chest height)
- Seated shoulder press (loop tubing under chair or Step)
- Kneeling push-ups
- Ball ab curl-up
- Ball leg curl
- Bicep curls (anchor band under feet)
- Tricep extensions (anchor one end of band under feet)
- Plank (hold for as long as possible with good form, from toes or knees)
- Ball Superman
Week 8 - 10 pounds down!
Sara continues to experience the benefits of getting more fit. The pounds are shedding and her energy is increasing! Sara is down a total 10.6lbs. since starting her personal training sessions with Ingrid 7 weeks ago. Sara says she doesn’t necessarily love the tough workouts, but certainly loves the results!
On the nutrition front, Sara has incorporated a few strategies learnt in sessions with Diana Steele of Eating for Energy. She is finding the tips on meal planning and timing to be particularly helpful. For more information on Eating for Energy, click here.
In addition to her consistent routine of attending most DanceFit classes and performing the Women’s Only circuit twice per week, Sara’s personal training sessions have been getting progressively more versatile and functional. Check out this week’s workout that includes the stability ball, BOSU and medicine ball. Ingrid knows that Sara gets bored easily – incorporating “toys” into your workouts can make an enormous difference in terms of total energy expenditure, core activation, enjoyment and results!
Circuit with Fitness Toys
Warm-up on cardio equipment 10min.
1. BOSU side step squats (30-60 secs. cardio burst)
- Stand on BOSU and step down into squat position with one foot on floor. Alternate stepping into squat, transitioning on top of BOSU
2. Lateral arm raises (standing on BOSU), 8lbs. x15
3. Walking lunges with medicine ball
- Hold 8lbs. medicine ball, lift overhead on every step and drop towards back knee on every lunge
4. Ball ab curl-up w/ chest pass (6lb. Med ball)
5. Ball leg curl x 12
6. Kneeling push-ups x 12
7. Superset each pair of exercises (1/2, 3/4, 5/6) twice, then repeat 1 set of each exercise to finish off!
8. Stretch
Week 5 - Switching gears
This past week, Sara enjoyed free delivery of Liscious Living healthy meals three times a day (don't forget HF members get 10% off home meal delivery and 5% off meals at retail store!). Despite missing several workouts due to ‘life getting in the way’, Sara managed to drop another 3lbs., and lost 2.5 inches at her waist girth! Other progress has been achieved in Sara’s core strength, as she’s increased her plank hold from 30 secs. to 43 secs.
Sara is also shifting gears in terms of her personal training workouts, moving away from machines for increasingly functional fat burning exercises. Check out her Circuit Workout and give it a try this week!
Circuit Workout:
Warm-up:
10min. elliptical on level 10
Superset Circuit:
(2 sets of 12-15 reps, alternating pairs of exercises)
Ball Squat
Ball leg curl
Kneeling push-ups
Standing row w/ squat (tubing)
Lat pulldown w/ tubing
Shoulder press w/ tubing (anchored under step)
Walking lunge w/ medicine ball
Ball curl-up
Swing Squat w/ medicine ball
Plank/Superman
"The brand of protein powder is vanilla flavoured Whey Protein, which I bought at Costco. Each scoop is 25g of protein. I make my shakes with 2 scoops of protein, 1 cup of milk, 1 cup of frozen blueberries and then ice and water to get to a nice consistency." - Sara
Week 4 - The journey continues...
Sara continues to make progress, losing another 2lbs. this week! She has stayed on track in terms of consistent workouts and starting her days with a high protein shake.
Further on the nutrition front, Sara will be benefiting from receiving a week’s worth of healthy low fat meals from Liscious Living! Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be delivered to Sara’s home, providing convenience and appropriate calories.
This week Sara has been put to task on answering the question “How do you manage stress?” Sara admits to eating as a coping mechanism in the past, but is now choosing exercise as a more positive option. Her goal this week is to try one Yoga class (or other relaxation technique) to decompress and relax. When you’re body is under stress, it actually fights to hold onto fat! De-stressing is truly the magic bullet in the fight against fat.
Another component of relaxation is getting rid of muscle tension, and a terrific way to achieve that is through a solid stretch routine at the end of every workout. Follow Sara’s sequence below and stretch your way to a stress-free day!
Stretch:
• Chest stretch with tubing
• Spinal extension (holding barre, hinge at hips and extend shoulders and spine)
• Shoulder stretch (arm across chest)
• Tricep stretch (arm overhead, bend elbow, reach one hand down spine)
• Standing quad stretch (tilt pelvis forward for deeper stretch)
• Hamstring stretch with tubing under foot of extended leg
• Inner thigh stretch (inner thigh stretch by letting leg open out to side)
Week 3 - 2lbs & counting!
Sara has been diligent in her workouts over the past 2 weeks, and has lost 2lbs!
This week, Sara received a DEXA body composition scan courtesy of Citahealth located at 890 West Pender (7th floor). Sara’s health is at risk since her body fat percentage of 47% exceeds the recommended limit of 35% for her age group. More health relevant than a weight loss goal, Sara now has the goal of reducing her body fat by 5% by the end of the challenge.
Sara also tried something new this week – a Cardio Kickbox class! The strategy of challenging her system to tackle a new activity is excellent for expending extra calories and staying motivated!
On the nutrition front, it was learned that Sara never eats breakfast, which does her metabolism a disservice and obstructs weight loss. She has started drinking a protein shake for breakfast, which sets her up for better eating habits and consistent energy levels throughout the day.
You can join Sara at our Member Clinic “Breaking Through Barriers” with Alycia Hall taking place on the 4th floor June 29th, 5:15-6:15pm. Get tips and strategies for achieving your goals from our Wellness Coach!
For your own fitness boost, try Sara’s workout this week:
Cardio:
Sara’s interval cardio workout on the elliptical machine:
- 4min. warm-up at level 8 (5mph)
- 1min. high tension at level 15 (5mph)
- 2min. recovery at level 8 (5mph)
- Repeat high tension and recovery sequence 3 more times followed by 1-3min. cool down for a total 15-20min. workout. The bonus of interval training is that it’s short!
Strength:
In addition to the full circuit in the Women’s Only Area, Sara has added the following:
- Ball squats in parallel and wide foot positions (more functional and weight bearing means the exercise expends more calories per set!). 2 sets of 15 reps.
- Increase ball sit-ups to 2 sets of 12
- Add kneeling plank (2 sets of 30 secs.) and supermans (10 reps each side, then 10 reps alternating sides)
- Stretch all major muscle groups for 30 secs. at the end of the workout!
Congratulations to Sara Knappe!
Sara is the winner of our Believe It! Challenge, and is already well on her way to achieving her goal of losing 100lbs.
Sara's Story
A car accident 4 yrs. ago left Sara with a severe back injury and a sudden inability to live her active lifestyle that included jogging 3x/week. The injury led to weight gain, but Sara was able to successfully get through months of rehab and worked herself up to joining the YWCA Health + Fitness Centre, returning to regular exercise.
We will be sharing Sara's journey with you in weekly updates on this page, where you too can follow along with Sara's workouts!
This week, Sara's program is as follows:
- Cardio 4-5x/wk (DanceFit 3x/week, and Elliptical cardio machines 30min. Interval workout 1-2x/week)
- Strength training 2-3x/wk (Women's Only circuit)
Cardio Training:
Sara will need to focus on cardio intensity this week. She gets steady state cardio in DanceFit, but needs to monitor her heart rate to confirm that she is at about 75% of her HR Max. Sara's training zone is 111-158bpm. She will either wear a heart rate monitor or take a 10sec. count at the mid-point of class to ensure that she is at about 135bpm.
Sara also needs to maximize energy expenditure and teach her body how to tolerate higher intensity levels through interval training. After a 5min. Warm-up, Sara will start to pushing harder for 30secs. (by either increasing speed or resistance), followed by 1min. of recovery for a total 30 min. workout. Sara finds the machines somewhat boring in comparison to DanceFit, so these energy surges should help make it more interesting!
Strength Training:
Sara has just started the full strength circuit in the Women's Only area. A few tweaks to the traditional are to add single leg work on the leg press to identify her weaker side at half the weight she normally presses. She will also super-set all of the other exercises to keep her workouts time efficient and increase caloric expenditure by increasing the number of times she moves into and out of machines.
The goal is to achieve muscle fatigue in 2 sets of 15 reps. Sara knows that if she's not tired after 2 sets, it means she either tacks on another set or increases the weight!
