Sunday, January 5, 2014

Week 62: Fit and Happy


                  I know, I know, I have been bad. Somehow I have managed to neglect the blog for an ungodly amount of time that I would rather not cite. In the last couple weeks I have gone through some major life changes; not only have I been off of horses since December 19th, I have also had my jaw broken and screwed back together! I must say, the first 48 hours were pretty hellish but it seems that I am on my way to looking almost normal. With the swelling down and my spirits up I can’t help but obsess over every aspect of my horse's training. It is hard to be the observer. It is hard to relinquish my grip on the reins. It is hard, but it is necessary. I have been proud of my training with Finn. I also recognize that there comes a time when someone else might be able to find some buttons that you just can’t find. When I went in for my TMJ surgery I knew that the dynamic between Finn and I was about to change. I knew that I was going to have to trust the professionals and accept the fact that he might grow more quickly than he had in my hands.

                Most of the focus in Finn’s training as of late has been on elevating and balancing his canter. Finn has a great canter, and always has, but like some horses he has struggled with truly engaging behind. While I have been able to get some pretty impressive trot work out of Finn, I really believe that Megan (trainer at Bit’ O’ Woods farm www.bitowoods.com) can get much better canter work out of him than I can. Finn is currently only in three days of work a week because I am poor and applying to college because of some constraints, but he seems to be doing pretty well. However, it does seem that he is a litttttlllleeeeee too perky outside. Some things thoroughbreds never change.

                Now that I am feeling better I have started to think about what to do with the next eight seemingly useless weeks of my life. I mean, come on, what even is life without horses? I have decided that it is time to get fit. After reading some great posts from upper level event rider Meg Kep I have come to the conclusion that my horse really does deserve a healthy rider! We ask our horses to be fit, we tell them they need to workout and we manage what they eat. If you asked any person in the barn what their horse eats they could tell you, so why should we treat ourselves any differently? I have decided to come up with a workout plan for myself and become as fit as my horse. I will be combining a ‘Couch to 5k’ workout with a weight training regime as well as a diet plan. I have decided to include both in this post but before you read further I feel the need to also say that fitness and weight loss are very different. My goal is actually to gain weight:muscle weight. Becoming fit isn't about getting skinny or looking good in leggings, it is about being the best you possible. Below are some stats and the diet plans that I am looking to follow.

 

Starting Stats

Age: 17

Height: 5 foot 3

Weight: 98 lbs.

Goal Weight: 115 lbs.

Goals: 5k Tough Mudder Run, Novice 3 day event, American Eventing Championships, Dressage @ Devon

 

 

 

Work Out!

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
 
~push-ups 3 sets of 12
 
~ Military press 3 sets of 12 @ 40 lbs.
 
~frontal raise 3 sets of 10 @ 25 lbs.
 
~ Upright row 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
 
~Lat. pull-down 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
 
~bicep curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
 
~hammer curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
 
~kickbacks 3 sets of 12
 
~dips 3 sets of 12
 
~swimmers 3 sets of 50
 
~crunches 3 sets of 50
 
~oblique crunches 3 sets of 50
~leg extensions 3 sets of 20 @ 80 lbs.
 
~squats 3 sets of 20 (with bar) @ 100 lbs.
 
~leg curl 3 sets of 20 @100 lbs.
 
~lunges 3 sets of 20
 
~leg press 3 sets of 20 @ 100 lbs.
 
~swimmers 3 sets of 50
 
~crunches 3 sets of 50
 
~oblique crunches 3 sets of 50
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
 
~swimmers 5 sets of 30
 
~crunches 5 sets of 30
 
~oblique crunches 5 sets of 30
 
~push-ups 3 sets of 12
 
~lunges 3 sets of 20
 
~push-ups 3 sets of 12
 
~ Military press 3 sets of 12 @ 40 lbs.
 
~frontal raise 3 sets of 10 @ 25 lbs.
 
~ Upright row 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
 
~Lat. pull-down 3 sets of 12 @ 45 lbs.
 
~bicep curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
 
~hammer curl 3 sets of 12 @ 25 lbs.
 
~kickbacks 3 sets of 12
 
~dips 3 sets of 12
 
~swimmers 3 sets of 50
 
~crunches 3 sets of 50
 
~oblique crunches 3 sets of 50
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
 
~leg extensions 3 sets of 20 @ 80 lbs.
 
~squats 3 sets of 20 (with bar) @ 100 lbs.
 
~leg curl 3 sets of 20 @100 lbs.
 
~lunges 3 sets of 20
 
~leg press 3 sets of 20 @ 100 lbs.
 
~swimmers 3 sets of 50
 
~crunches 3 sets of 50
 
~oblique crunches 3 sets of 50
Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then run 1 mile for time.
 
~swimmers 5 sets of 30
 
~crunches 5 sets of 30
 
~oblique crunches 5 sets of 30
 
~push-ups 3 sets of 12
 
~lunges 3 sets of 20
 
REST

  

 

Meal Plan! (General-you can cheat a little bit!)

 

 
 

I will also be pulling some recipe ideas from http://www.paleoplan.com/recipes


 
More to come next week with some updates on Finn and me! Happy New Year to all.