Background
Egad, it’s been WAY too long since I’ve had a regular fitness regime. I hate to admit it, but it’s been just over 2 years since I’ve made going to the gym a regular activity. At that time, I had a goal in mind (wanted to lose 25 lbs) and I had achieved it, but then got into some bad habits and started traveling more. I lost my momentum and, though I didn’t gain the 25 back (only about 5-10 depending on the day), I got terribly out of shape again.
I’ve actually been blessed with a very athletic body base. Sports and endurance came easy for me when I was younger (except for distance running – have always hated it). I could get away with very little exercise to stay in pretty decent shape. Saying that, I’ve never been a beanpole…not even as a child or a tween. I was born with strong, sturdy thighs (my brother called me ‘thunder thighs’ from the age of 6), tall and big-boned. A couple of years back, I had my bone density measured and I’m off the charts. Just recently I had my body composition analyzed and I have over 125lbs of muscle and bones alone! Which means I’ll never be a Kate Moss…even if I wanted to. Personally, I’m more into being a Venus Williams anyway. 
Ever since I moved to Montreal, I’ve been talking about getting back into that routine, but between travel and all the exhaustion that comes with it, that routine has been a big #FAIL. That was, until I met Jonas and David, behind the impending startup TrainingMobs, at a StartupDrinks in Montreal about 6 weeks back. We made a deal…we support one another in our startup woes/victories, I help them with community and they help me get in shape!
Not to mention it was about the time that I fell in love with P!nk’s new tattoo and the thighs that go with them:
Workout
So…here is my schedule thusfar (except I’ve mainly stuck with just getting to the gym whenever I can every day, there are some classes that I’ve fallen in love with):
If you can’t join me at the classes, it’s pretty simple: 45min-1hr/day/4-5x per week in cardio (getting the heart rate up) that is at fat-burning levels (65%). The rates on the machines are bullocks, I’ve found, because they make generalizations. So I found a really great calculation where you can actually figure out your target levels:
Target heart rate calculation:
220 – Your Age = __A___
A – Your Resting Heart Rate = ___B___
B * 65% = __C__ (low end of heart rate)
B * 85% = __D___ (high end)
C + Your Resting heart rate = ___E___ (fat-burning zone)
D + Resting heart rate = ____F____ (cardio zone)
The target heart rate zone would be E to F.
My Example:
220 – 36 (my age) = 184
184 – 110 (my resting heart rate – it’s high!) = 74
74 * 65% = 48.1 (low end of heart rate)
74 * 85% = 62.9 (high end)
48.1 + 110 = 158 (fat-burning zone)
62.9 + 110 = 173 (cardio zone)
My target heart rate zone is 158 to 173…WAY higher than most machines tell me.
So no matter what machine I’m on, I’m trying to stick to the 158-162 level of heart rate in order to burn fat (machines tell me 128 – which puts me in sleep zone). I also plan to get myself a heart rate monitor for my classes to make sure I’m sticking with that target.
And working out is boring for me, so I try to switch it up a lot. I move between classes and machines. I even found Dance Dance Revolution at my gym! As it gets nicer, I’ll move some of my workouts outside – get a bike and hit various trails, hiking, rollerblading, etc. As long as I get in that hour of cardio 4-5x per week, it doesn’t matter what I’m doing. Finding friends to share it with is also optimal to keep you interested and motivated.
A great workout mix is also helpful. Here is an example of mine:
1. Obsessed – Mariah Carey
2. According to You – Orianthi
3. Jumpin Jumpin – Destiny’s Child
4. Telephone – Lady Gaga
5. I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
6. Tik Tok – Kei$ha
7. Bulletproof – La Roux
8. Evacuate the Dancefloor – Cascada
9. Faster Kill Pussycat – Oakenfold
10. Me and My Imagination – Sophie Ellis Bextor
I am also finding it useful to aim for body part goals based on bodies I admire. I showed you P!nk’s legs/butt, but I’m also shooting for Michelle Obama’s arms (perfectly sculpted, strong, but still feminine):
And Gwen Stefani’s abs (they are more pronounced in this photo, but I do want to reveal a stomach that is shockingly six-packed for a woman – I used to have it and I think I can again):
But the biggest driver for me is my 37th birthday is coming up and I plan to be in Vegas with all of my friends hanging poolside at Mandalay Bay and I am bound and determined to have a bikini-ready body. So, set a date, some body goals, grab a few friends and have fun. 
Diet
My diet is simple: Stay under 1500 calories/day and stay away from processed sugars, wheat or anything that is difficult for my body to process. Snack on fruit (I bought a load of unsweetened dried fruit like apricots, apples and berries), peppers, carrots and other veggies that can be munched on raw. No pasta, bread or big starchy bases at meals. Keep meals light and focus on snacks. Stick with fish and chicken breast. No beer right now or drinks with sugar (fancy martinis). Limit to Gin or Vodka and soda water with lime (but keep that to a minimum). Wine is the only thing I’m allowing a little slack to, but only 1x per week (cheat day?).
My body burns about 1600 kcal/day without getting out of bed, so it’s pretty efficient (as per my body assessment). Many diets say to eat around 1200 calories/day for weight loss when you aren’t regularly active and 1500 calories/day if you are working out regularly. That doesn’t give you much room. I hate counting numbers on boxes, so I try to stick to the rule of thumb that if the food is natural and unprocessed, my body is more likely to use it as energy rather than store it as fat. I don’t count every red pepper and dried apricot.
Basically, eat when I’m hungry, but only food that is unprocessed, non-starchy and only has natural sugars. Drink loads of water. Don’t starve myself. Don’t binge. Instead of three round meals/day, I graze.
Conclusion
Know your body. I’ve never really jived with personal trainers because they use general principles on me. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know what my body responds to the best. What I’m doing above may not work for you at all. Maybe you need to do more weights (my muscle mass is quite big for a woman, so I have to stay away from weight training) and less cardio. Maybe you would be better off in a higher cardio zone. Perhaps you can’t survive without at least 3 steaks/week. Figure out what your body responds to through trial and error and go for it. Maybe the gym doesn’t work at all for you. A friend of mine lost significant weight by engaging in activities he loved like indoor climbing and dancing, but never hit a gym. To this day, he has a smokin physique.
But I do think what David and Jonas are working on at TrainingMobs is key for me anyways – having a fun, flexible, social routine works the best. In July I plan to post my ‘after’ photos (I guess I should take some before even though I’m a bit into it?) and be their first guinea pig. And I hope some of you join me.
Hi, there. I love the training mobs concept for social motivation! Comments about some of the information in your post – I did a lot of research when getting back into shape after working too much at a startup for a while.
First of all, I’m glad you figured out that 1200 calories doesn’t work for you. The 1200 calorie diet that is recommended in a lot of magazines is too low for most women. It just doesn’t work to restrict calories as much as you can – if you don’t eat enough food you get hungry and that drives binge eating. There are good calculators on sites like calorie-count.com and livestrong that will tell you how many calories are needed for your activity level, weight and age.
The target heart rate used for fat burning? Bogus. Those tables suggest that you burn more fat if you exercise at lower intensity. But when you exercise at higher intensity your body keeps burning energy after your workout is done, so it comes out the same!
Last, the idea that if a woman lifts weight she will look musclebound? Bogus for the vast majority of women. We just don’t have the levels of testosterone that allow for that kind of muscle building unless we take drugs! Unless a woman is genetically very unusual, women who lift weights will look strong and fit but will not build big-looking muscles. So don’t be afraid to lift – it’s healthy and good for bones and muscles.
Hope this isn’t too dorky – I did lots of homework, hopefully this will be useful for others.
I’d like to be back to doing more gym workouts and outside exercise – the training mobs app sounds like a good idea!
You can do it Tara. You’ll be kicking butt and taking names at the gym in no time. Have a fantastic day.
@Duane I hope I’ll be taking NUMBERS at the gym…some amazing eye candy there! Whoah!
@Adina I happen to be one of those genetically unusual women. Right now I have 125 lbs muscle/bone mass and 35 lbs fat. I need to lose a little of both in order to hit my target (losing 15 lbs of fat and no muscle may not work for my body). But yes, I agree that different workouts work for different people. My cardio zone (160 bpm) is perfect. I get up into the 180 range and I burn myself out. And the calories, I should probably look at them closer, but I don’t. I just aim for a range.
You will fail. If you didn’t have an active lifestyle (i.e., biking to work, never driving a car, various hobbies that are a workout that you pursue multiple times a week) for years, you will not all of a sudden change everything.
OK, this is VERY inspiring, lol. I’ve been suffering from blogger’s butt. It’s definitely flabbier than it used to be.
I like your plan (and the music; am going to cue that up). I don’t think I can shoot for that tummy but the rest is doable.
Thanks for a kick in the pants. I needed it. And good luck!
Tia
Hi Tara,
I’m right behind you! Come and lift weights with me anytime.
Just a few notes:
-If you track what you eat, you will lose more weight and keep it off.
http://www.dailyburn.com is a great site for tracking food, workouts, gym buddies and lots of great tips in the forums. http://www.fitday.com is also good.
-consider weight training–you will need to to get Michelle’s arms, and definitely Gwen’s abs (abs don’t come without a low fat percent though); also it will ensure that the calories you eat are used up but quick. Let me know if you want me to point you to some studies.
-watch those dried fruits, they are full of sugar and as many calories (each one!) as the raw fruit–so three dried apricots adds up fast.
-Don’t aim for a number of the scale. If you become more muscular, it either won’t go down or will even go up!! In a year and a half of weight training, I’ve lost 5 pounds (maybe less) and have dropped from a size 12 to a size 6. Go by what your clothes are telling you, stay off the scale.
-Recognize that it will be HARD. And that it will never be easy (or you’re doing something wrong). Once I internalized that, it was easier in my head.
One more site, that’s really, truly amazing. (but down right now)
http://www.stumptuous.com
More than a fitness plan this looks like a change in lifestyle.When I was a kid I used to be fat and then decided to change my lifestyle which was pretty cool…even became a spinning instructor. One thing I can tell you is that going alwaaaaaaaaaaays on the aerobic zone isn’t that good. You need to sometimes push the aerobic exercise a big further to make your body endure greater loads of work, so you’ll be prepared and don’t get stuck in progress.
This post is very inspiring as I stopped training a year ago and gained some weight again. I’ve been putting away working out again for long but this has just made me decide to start going to the gym on Monday. Let’s see how our progress go …and I also don’t like before pictures but my goal is to make my progress so good that my after pics will make me laugh and just publish my old image. Let’s hit the cardio then!
agree, stumptuous.com is awesomenessful
try crossfit training. based on your description of your body physique, goals and not being able to stay with the routine, it should be perfect – no fuss, short, core body training.
Tara,
I think it’s awesome that you are so committed to getting back into top shape. There is no doubt in my mind that you will have the “bikini-ready body” you are aiming for by your b-day.
The fact that you are mixing up your workouts will help keep you motivated. There is nothing more blah than doing the same workout over and over again. If you are looking to mix it up even more, don’t shy away from pushing weights. Building a little more muscle will result in a higher basal metabolic rate which will help you lose body fat, albeit indirectly.
Looking forward to seeing your before & after pics.
Thanks everyone for the great links and resources! Believe me, I’ve tried just about everything over the years (although I may have given up too easily on crossfit stuff – I found it confusing) and this routine works well for me.
@David Thank you and Jonas for being inspirations. You two were that last push I needed to move this forward and your support has been awesome. I’ll definitely do some weights (I have been) after Yoga gets me to a point where I’m stronger again.
I won’t even ADDRESS the anonymous poster here other than to say, I am and always have been an active person. I hope I didn’t give the impression in the post I’ve been lying around eating bonbons for 2 years! I walk my dog for 1 hour everyday (playing with him in the park), I got rid of my car 5 years ago and walk everywhere I possibly can, I try to work out whenever and on the road as I’m traveling, I’ve hit the hotel gyms *fairly* regularly (though not 3-4x per week like a routine would suggest) and I like going dancing, biking, hiking whenever I can. Besides…I’ve never failed at anything I set my mind to.
I’m stubborn!
@Jen When my strength gets a little better, I’m totally joining you. I want to be able to keep up!
Here’s another supporter of yours, Tara! I love it that you are committed to getting back in shape.
Your dedication inspires me as well – I’m a martial artist (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission wrestling) and not out of shape by any standards… but that doesn’t mean I’ve got a perfect body for what I do. I want to be a better grappler and I’d need to do a bit more workouts and training. Simply by knowing that you are working hard on your goal of getting back in shape I get a kick for moving towards my destination. Thanks
I’m sure you’ll have the “bikini-ready” body and knock out men and women in Vegas with it!
Hey Tara,
NO worries about keeping up. I seriously do 5 exercises every time I go to the gym, no more (and sometimes less, I’m fundamentally lazy). Just cause I lift heavy doesn’t mean that you have to too!! I will meet you where ever you are. (See, weightlifting is better than yoga!). And FYI, I eat 1800 to 2200 calories per day, including 2 eggs + 1 egg white for breakfast. Look to the ‘primal diet’ people for GREAT info.
Oh and please please please have a doctor look at your resting heart rate–it’s kinds CRAZY high and you should be DEAD (well, ok, at least in serious trouble). Methinks there might have been some small error there. Mine was 72 (measured digitally, after a coffee and arriving at work) the other morning. 110 is like NUTS.
xoxox
j
Great post, very inspiring! Good luck.
Saw this design — sadly not a real product — would make eating better a lot easier: http://www.rui-pereira.com/index.php?/news1/wheel-of-nutrition/
I think it’s fantastic that you have a plan that you know works for you, but I think others reading this should keep a couple of things in mind:
- The “fat burning zone” has no scientific basis. In numerous experiments, high intensity exercise over short durations has been shown to burn more fat than long periods of moderate intensity.
- Most people, especially women, will see great benefit from strength training without getting bulky. The best indicator of longevity is actually grip strength, which is probably a proxy for overall health, but one I always thought was very interesting.
I think the best thing to do is actually a wide variety of athletic activities which work parts of your body in different ways. There’s probably nothing better than gymnastics, but it’s hard to pick up as adult.
Good luck with your training!
Great post. Glad to have company. Love your wildly sensible plan that is mindfully in tune with what you know your body needs and food that is not terribly processed (except maybe the vodka–grin). For me, I need to track what I’m eating or I nosh myself over the top. Signed up for http://www.dailyburn.com — to keep track. It tracks workouts as well. Use a rebounder, dumbells, resistance bands, stability ball and walks up the hills around Pac Heights for the workout with a little Tai Chi for calm.