Monday, May 9, 2011

The 28 Day Pre-Training Plan

The know-it-all (in a good way) Jacki posted this on FB the other day.  After reading it, I thought - well, there's something I need to try!  I have been *trying* to follow a 1200 calories diet for a while now, but I haven't been seeing a big difference really.  Hopefully this plan will push me over the plateau I'm on!

Since I know I can't possible be the only lazy person who hates to click on links, I'll summarize the plan (then you can click on it 'cause, really, you should read it!).  This is only good if you aren't currently training for a race of some sort.  There are 5 "steps" for losing weight before you start training for your next race.
1 - cut calories by 300-500.  My body requires a little over 1500, so 1200 is where I'm sticking.
2 - do 3 full-body strength training workouts a week.  I will do these M/W/F mornings, devoting around 1 hour to weights & finishing with 30 minutes of cardio.
3 - increase protein to 30% of your caloric intake.  Honestly, I'm not positive that's where I'll hit, but I'm definitely planning on adding more [lean] protein to my diet for the next 28 days.
4 - aerobic exercises need to be sprint intervals, not endurance.  For me, that means the 30 minutes of cardio on M/W/F mornings will be sprint intervals on the elliptical.
5 - do 1 long & easy fasting aerobic workout per week (no food intake before or during).  I'll be doing this one day during the weekend.  I did my first yesterday, 25 miles on the bike w/no fuel...  my butt was kicked!

After my workout yesterday, I sat down to figure out our menu so I could buy groceries.  That's when I stumbled upon this!  A [free] menu planning site with specific caloric needs?  Yes please!  I surely can't screw this up, huh?  ;)  I get sick of eating the same stuff & I get sick of using my app to count every morsel I put in my mouth.  With this, all the work is done for me!  I'm making a few changes, to fit my needs & taste.  (Okay, to be honest, it's to fit the fact that my birthday AND anniversary happen in the next 28 days & you better believe I plan on eating something sweet & fattening for at least one of those days!)

So, let's see how this 28 day plan goes.  Once it's over I want to start training...  for a race...

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