◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ My Body-for-LIFE Weekly Progress ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

6 March - 11 March 2006: Week 1: I kicked off my first week of the Body-for-LIFE Program with an upper body workout on Monday March 6th. The prescribed Body-for-LIFE upper body workout involves all major upper body muscle groups -- chest, shoulders, back, triceps and biceps (in that order). I love the simplicity of the Body-for-LIFE Program for the fact that they give you a template from which to work and the freedom to choose how you will tailor that template to suit your preference, personality and tastes. Wednesday and Friday of this first week were also weight-training days. Wednesday was focused on the lower body, while Friday was a near repeat of Monday's upper body workout (I switched up some of the exercises for variety).

Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday of this week (and every week) are Aerobic/Cardio Days. All that is required is to do a 20-minute aerobic workout which utilizes the 'chaos' created from consistently shifting the intensity of your workout on a minute-by-minute basis to maximize your take-home benefits. You spend the first two minutes of the exercise on a mid-level, warm-up intensity (Level 5), then for each minute thereafter you increase your intensity by one level until you reach almost your maximum endurance (Level 9). After maintaining near 'high-point' for a minute then you decrease your intensity back to Level 6 and complete the cycle all over again. You repeat said cycle four times and finish it off (at minute 19) at your maximum endurance level, with minute 20 of your aerobic exercise being devote to the 'cool-down' phase. I don't know about you, but as for me the less time spent on cardio the better. It's a bit mind-numbing.

The other two pieces of this workout puzzle are diet and rest. The latter being probably my most favorite component of my workout routine. The diet isn't too bad -- The Body-for-LIFE Program's Diet Plan requires that you ensure you each a balanced portion of both a complex carbohydrate and a protein with your meals, as well as vegetables with at least two of your six daily meals. Three of those six meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) will be food, while your two other meals (mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks) will be a nutrition shake and a nutrition bar of some sort. Your final meal of the day, the nightly, pre-bedtime 'meal/snack', will most likely be cottage cheese and fruit (if you follow the Body-for-LIFE book's suggested meal plan).

As I write this it is Friday March 10th. I've successfully completed each day's requirements thus far. Honestly, the most difficult part of this workout program has been the diet. I find it difficult to eat six meals in one day. These are six, smaller meals of approximately (for my body's needs and my goals) 200-300 calories each. It doesn't sound like much, but my body has adjusted quite nicely to these smaller, more frequent meals and I've found that my digestive system responds better to this form of diet. I used to have digestive/stomach problems, but now I don't. I've learned that our bodies will burn fat more efficiently and digest our food more completely when we feed them more often. When we do so our bodies don't react with a 'oh no! I'm enduring a famine' response (which it will if we eat only two or three meals a day). When our bodies react in this way it slows our metabolisms DOWN, thus causing our bodies to turn more of our food in to fat and store greater amounts of fat as a survival mechanism. Plus, when we eat only two or three meals a day we tend to overeat, flooding our systems with more food than it can handle at the time = greater fat storage. But back to my original point, that I have a hard time eating all six meals. I find this to be wonderful! I was worried that I might 'starve' while on this program. The opposite is occurring. Even though my meals are technically smaller (calorie wise -- actually I sometimes eat quite a bit of food -- whole foods that are nutrient-dense and not processed foods which are loaded with carbs and fat and are nutrient-deficient. Think potato chips), they are more frequent, so my body doesn't have time to feel hungry. This avoidance of hunger pains allows me to have greater control over my appetite and amount of food consumed. Long story short -- I feel pretty dang good!     ◊ Renée Lisonbee ◊ 10 March 2006

13 March - 18 March 2006: Week 2: What can I say? I just successfully completed my second week of my twelve week program, so I'm pretty stoked! This week I had two lower body workout days and one upper body workout day (as opposed to the first week, which had two upper body days). This program rotates with each week. My hamstrings are pretty sore but I'm surviving. In addition to the three days of weight training I did three days of cardio.

This week for my cardio days I decided to run, which is a feat of endurance, determination and sheer effort on my part -- I hate running! I must say that I can get a good sense of my progress when I run. Each week I get a little stronger and my endurance increases a bit more and it shows when I run. I can push myself a little harder each week. I can't remember which latter-day prophet said this (it seems it was Heber J. Grant) but he said, in reference to mastering new skills and talents, something to the effect of 'with time, effort and persistence you can increase your ability to DO to the point that it becomes easier for you -- not that the nature of the task has changed but rather that you, yourself, has changed and increased in ability.' I figure that as I continue to try I will be able to do as it is said. I look at my newfound fitness efforts as falling into step with this idea. I desire to master my body, with it's myriad appetites and weaknesses, subjecting it ever more to the will of my spirit. I also believe what is said about the purpose of this life, which is to gain a body and experience, and that the more effort we put in during this life and the more knowledge and experience we acquire, we will be all the better for it in the life to come. With that in mind, I seek to continue my push for physical excellence. Here goes nothing!     ◊ Renée Lisonbee ◊ 18 March 2006

20 March - 25 March 2006: Week 3: This week was a bit difficult in terms of committing to my cardio days. I think cardio is B-O-R-I-N-G!!!! I enjoy working with weights though. You're constantly moving and doing new exercises and the time flies by. Next thing you know you've spent forty-five minutes lifting weights and it seemed as if it were only fifteen minutes. Next week I'll do better on my cardio -- I want to increase my metabolism, cardiac endurance, and overall fitness level. The best way I know how (besides what I'm already doing) is to up my cardio! I just need to find something more interesting then running on a treadmill, which makes me feel like a caged rodent. . .     ◊ Renée Lisonbee ◊ 25 March 2006

27 March - 1 April 2006: Week 4: I have discovered a fun alternative to my cardio blues. Cycling class! On Monday morning, March 27th, while finishing my lower body routine I bumped in to Rochelle Lunt. Rochelle is the wife of my Bishop, Rick Lunt, and is also a cycling instructor with Gold's Gym here in Cedar City. Great lady and an awesome personality! She noted that I was doing Body-for-LIFE (thanks to my workout journal that I carry with me) and invited me to attend her cycling class on my cardio days. Luckily her classes (held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 7 AM) coincide with my cardio days (which are always Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with the Body-for-LIFE  Program). I was grateful for the invite and desperate for something new. I attended my first cycling class that next morning and it kicked my butt! Literally! (Just between you and me, if you want to work that troublesome area known as the inner thigh, just cycle!)     ◊ Renée Lisonbee ◊ 8 April 2006

3 April - 8 April 2006: Week 5A: Let me tell you -- this week was a doozy! Not on account of rigorous exercise in the gym, per ce, but rather from other items on my agenda. James and I returned from a weekend up north on Sunday night. During that three hour, late night (we got home at 1:30 AM) drive we decided it'd be a 'great' idea to completely reorganize my parent's three-car garage while they were still out of town. They stayed in Salt Lake through Wednesday of this week in order to take my sister, Rebecca, to the MTC in Provo (she was called to serve in the Iowa Des Moines Mission, Spanish speaking). The garage was a complete wreck and it took us two days to reorganize it, but we finished it before my parents returned. Boy were they please! The side of effect of our two day cleaning spree being that we were 1. really busy 2. dead tired. We decided to take the week off from the gym so as to be able to focus on other things. I did manage to attend my yoga class at the University on Thursday afternoon, and James and I did run a 5K race in St. George this morning (the 8th). As for the 5K, this was my first competitive race and I'm proud of my accomplishment. I ran the 3 miles in 37 min. 20 sec. (yippee!!!) and took 9th place for my age/gender group. I've never been a runner, so I felt the areas that needed conditioning the most. Namely my gut! My legs and joints held out great, which I'm pleased with. I guess that's just another benefit from my recent strength training. It was just that darn gut which was aching.... I'm interested to see how I can improve in this area of fitness. I think I'll make running a greater portion of my life. I may just need to adopt running out of doors verses running on a treadmill. You know, that whole 'caged rodent' thing. . . Well, next week it's back to the gym for me. I'll call it 'Week 5B' verses 'Week 6' and we'll go from there.  Renée Lisonbee ◊ 8 April 2006

10 April - 15 April 2006: Week 5B:    

17 April - 22 April 2006: Week 6:    

24 April - 29 April 2006: Week 7:    

1 May - 6 May 2006: Week 8:    

8 May - 13 May 2006: Week 9:    

15 May - 20 May 2006: Week 10:  

22 May - 27 May 2006: Week 11: