It all started with a little segment I did for CBS on a hot new fitness program called Orange Theory Fitness. I went to the shoot feeling slightly hungover with a kink in my lower back after crashing on a girlfriend's couch after a particularly rowdy bachelorette party. I know, shocker, right?
So here I am, my fake eyelashes barely stuck on, hobbling in with the intention of doing some semi-cute on-camera stand up with me holding a 3 pound weight telling viewers to check out the new OTF studio. Yeah, not so much. The trainer du jour was like, "You. On the treadmill. NOW."
Um, Yes, sir?????
1 hour and 571 calories later, I had sweat out the Cosmos I'd thrown back (and then some) and had by far, the best workout I'd done in years. It was intense. It was hard. It was freaking awesome. Orange Theory's philosophy is heart rate based interval training. You wear a heart rate monitor and everyone's stats are splashed up on a big screen. As I say in my TV preview, that translates to NO SLACKING. The trainer can totally call you out if you're uh, under-performing!
You want to be in the "orange" (the sweet spot in fat burning capacity) for between 12-25 minutes of the hour long class....that guarantees you stay in "Orange Zone"-- the after-burn effect, where your metabolism is boosted so much that you continue to burn calories for up to 36 hours after the workout! Here's more about the science behind Orange Theory.
The class alternates between 25-30 minutes on the treadmill, doing cardio intervals: For example, you'll start out for 3 minutes at your "base pace" when your heart rate should be around 70-79% shown in green on the screen. Then you amp it up to 3 minutes at a "push pace" and then 30 seconds in an "all out sprint" which should push you into the orange and sometimes into the red. The trainer is telling you what incline and what speed to be at, so there's very little thinking that goes with it, which I loved. I'm so focused on
After pounding it out on the treadmill, the next phase of the workout goes back and forth between the weight room and the rowers. In the weight room, there are those bad ass TRX ropes which are used for suspension training, with free weights, Bosu balance thingies and medicine balls. YES, you are asked to lift more than 3 pounds-- sometimes up to 20 pounds. But the exercises are spread out into 4-8 minute interals, so you never feel like you're really lifting heavy for too long.
A week and a half in and my core is feeling stronger and my abs look more defined.
So, ORANGE ya still curious about how one workout turned into me deciding to get into a bikini on TV? Yeah, well, about that. I was so inspired by the workout, I decided to put myself to the ultimate challenge. Me + Bikini + TV = Total Commitment.
I needed something hardcore y'all. It was that simple. You know from reading this blog, that if I don't have a plan and a challenge, I don't have a workout. So, here's the plan:
5x weekly workouts at OTF. That's a 60 minute sweat fest 5x a week, killing between 500-700 calories a session. (I think the most I burned in one class last week was 671 calories. KILLER workout!)
I'm a littler nervous about veering away from TAM and dance cardio, but to appease those concerns, I'm still going to be working in some mat sessions each week. Goal is 4 mat workouts. And, to add even more of a challenge, I just registered for a half-marathon which I'll be running over Memorial Day weekend. Crazy, right?
Do you expect anything less from the Mistress? Go hard or go home, bee-atches!!!
Oh, I almost forgot the best part. I'll be doing the dreaded before and after pics which will be broadcast on TV in addition to the bikini reveal. Yup. Thank God my "before" (now) looks sooo much better than it did a year ago. I did pack on a few pounds (like 8) after all that crazy snow coverage, wine guzzling and cheese nibbling, but I'm back down 4 after a week of workouts, so only have 4 left to lose to get back to where I was when I was doing bootcamp about 6 weeks ago. Considering the amount of cardio I'm going to be doing, I think they'll fall off by the end of next week.
As far as diet goes, I'm definitely hungrier and need more fuel for this workout. I only had breakfast yesterday and slammed a power bar before the workout and I felt like I had no gas in my tank. I've got to plan my daily meals better for sure. I'm not amping up the carbs necessarily, but I am continuing to track my intake on MyFitnessPal (hungryroadwarrior). I am still sticking to the low carb high fat style of eating, but realize I do not process sodium well at all and dairy stalls me if I have too much. One handful of olives can cause me to jump 2 pounds on the scale the next day--- and it's all sodium! So, here's a typical day:
Upon waking around 6:30/7am: 2 cups espresso with heavy cream (I'm just not hungry when I wake up)
Snack around 10am: 1 whole avocado with kosher salt
Lunch around 1pm: 8 oz chicken, ground turkey, roast beef with 2oz of cheese, asparagus or salad
Snack (late afternoon): Atkins snack bar or a hunk of parmesan or fresh mozzarella (trying to cut down on my cheese a little!)
Dinner: 8oz of steak, fish, or chicken with veggies
I occasionally make these low carb peanut butter chocolate bombs (usually without the peanut butter) for a sweet snack. Or if I'm craving ice cream, I whip heavy whipping cream with some truvia and vanilla extract and then pop it into the freezer for an hour. Delish.
As of today, I'm wrapping up Week 2 and have one month to go till the bikini reveal!!! This the 2 piece I think I'm going to splurge on-- it's expensive, but I think would be worth it. It's from LSpace. I want it to be a somewhat athletic cut, but still feminine. I love Victoria's Secret, but sometimes their suits are so....well, Victoria's Secret. I think the key is going to be a good wax (yes, I went there) and a bad ass spray tan!
Check out my on-camera preview of Orange Theory Fitness for CBS-- and, yeah, I'm wearing clothes in this one, LOL!
*above OTF pics from www.orangetheoryfitness.com
CBS46 News
Love, love, love it!!
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