Tricks & Tools

Troy was meticulous, particularly with his health. He created this routine for me in 1999 and it helped me go from a size 10 to a size 6 and shed half of my body weight within one year. Of course, a strict diet went along with that success, but I still allowed myself one weekly “cheat day” when I pigged out on pizza or french fries. 

This routine is not for the faint of heart. Week A and Week B each cover all the muscle groups, and each day combines muscle groups that naturally work together (like chest/triceps and back/biceps). Most muscles groups should only gets worked once a week, except abs is twice. Because the intensity of the workouts shifts from week to week (normal one week, then hard the next week), it allows allows proper recovery time and helps you keep things interesting in the gym with lots of variety! 5 workout days per week, with 30-min cardio after weights on all days, and rest 2 days. For added benefit, split up your days off. You choose your schedule.

Note: When doing normal or light weight, I typically aim for 2-3 sets per exercise, each with 15-20 reps per set. On “heavy” days, I aim for 3 sets, each with 12-16 reps. (More information I learned from Troy.)

Week A

Back:

  • High-rack barbell deadlifts
  • Seated wide-grip pulldowns (machine)
  • Seated cable rows

Biceps:

  • Standing concentration curls (free weights or barbell)
  • Dumbell preacher curls (free weights)

Be lazy, foxy! You’ve earned it!

Abs:

  • Hanging leg raises or crunches
  • Cable crunches (rope, kneeling)

Hamstrings:

  • Seated leg curls (light)

Quads:

  • Dumbell lunges (with platform)
  • Seated leg extensions (light)
  • Leg press (light, 15-20 reps)

Calves:

  • Standing or seated calf-raises
  • Military press (dumbells or Smith Mchn.)
  • Side-lateral dumbell raises
  • Reverse pack-deck flys (machine)
  • Barbell or free weight shoulder shrugs (challenging weight)

Be lazy, foxy! You’ve earned it!

Abs:

  • Leg raises (flat bench, lying on back)
  • Decline bench sit-ups (or crunches)

Chest:

  • Incline bench press (machine)
  • Cable cross-overs
  • Seated pack-deck flys

Triceps:

  • Dumbell kickbacks
  • Rope cable pushdowns (light)

Time to get in that hike or bike ride! Treat yourself to a healthy snack at the end!

Week B

Abs:

  • Hanging leg raises or chunches
  • Cable pulldown crunches (rope, kneeling)

Back:

  • Standing/kneeling wide-grip pullups (machine)
  • Hyper-extensions (torso raises)
  • Seated cable rows

Biceps:

  • Straightbar curls
  • Seated preacher curls
  • Rope pullups (light)

Be lazy, foxy! You’ve earned it!

Hamstrings:

  • Seated leg curls (challenging weight)

Quads:

  • Seated leg extensions (light)
  • Barbell squats (challenging weight)

Calves:

  • Standing or seated calf-raises

Abs:

  • Leg raises (flat bench, lying on back)
  • Decline bench sit-ups (or crunches)

Delts:

  • Front-lateral dumbell raises
  • Cable side-lateral raises (individually)
  • Reverse pack-deck flys (machine)
  • Cable shoulder shrugs or face pulls (light)

Be lazy, foxy! You’ve earned it!

Chest:

  • Flat bench press (free weights)
  • Incline bench press (free weights)

Triceps:

  • Lying straightbar skull-crushers
  • Standing dumbell flys

Time to get in that hike or bike ride! Treat yourself to a healthy snack at the end!

It’s also good to continuously change things up! You can swap-out any of the exercises on this list with something similarly challenging. Also, if you haven’t used some of these muscles in a while, start with 1-2 light sets for a few weeks, while you get your groove.

Fitness

Julie Tips  

Naomi Tips will be from the viewpoint of someone who lost a LOT of weight 10 years ago with the coaching of a fitness & nutritional trainer. I kept it off and was my healthiest self for several years, even helping some loved ones get healthier. Then it started to creep back in like something out of a horror movie… No. No sir and no ma’am. Not again.

I know what works for me, I just had to start doing it. Look for advice from me that includes balanced meals, an actual enjoyment of strength training and a goal of enjoying a good run again.

Naomi Tip #1: I am a big advocate a really good 15 min warm-up on a fast stair-stepper or elliptical, depending on your plan for the day.

If I’m doing strength training, I’ll start with the elliptical to get a good mini-cardio bump before switching to weights. 

If my focus of the day is cardio, the stair-stepper calls! This gives me some good leg toning action while getting my heart rate up to a good starting level to crush my cardio.

Eats ‘n Treats

Delicious recipes to satisfy those cravings!

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce rhoncus arcu ligula, nec iaculis diam ullamcorper ut. Vestibulum pharetra aliquam pharetra. Integer ac facilisis eros, et feugiat urna. Vivamus nulla mauris, tristique at ligula posuere, varius placerat massa. Donec non erat elementum, tincidunt augue vel, tristique ipsum.

Ingredients:

  • Thing
  • Thing
  • Thing
  • Thing
  • Thing
  1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce rhoncus arcu ligula, nec iaculis diam ullamcorper ut. Vestibulum pharetra aliquam pharetra. Integer ac facilisis eros, et feugiat urna. Vivamus nulla mauris, tristique at ligula posuere, varius placerat massa. Donec non erat elementum, tincidunt augue vel, tristique ipsum. Cras sit amet dui mi.
  2. Donec aliquam odio et sem egestas, id sollicitudin nisl faucibus. Sed nec gravida arcu. Etiam pellentesque eros vitae nulla commodo convallis.
  3. Pellentesque porttitor vulputate nisl, vitae blandit lectus eleifend vel. Quisque vel dui nec ipsum placerat eleifend quis ac augue.
  4. Nam commodo metus vitae metus commodo aliquam quis id nunc. Maecenas vel egestas tortor, in iaculis leo.

Mmmmm cheese, tortilla and more cheese. What could be wrong with a good quesadilla? About 1,000 empty calories, that’s what. Here’s a great way to get all the deliciousness with a better nutritional profile! All in, this comes out to: 

Calories: 508
Carbs: 39g
Fat: 22g
Sodium: 910mg
Sugar: 7g 

It’s still a treat, but one you can have weekly or so!

Ingredients:

  •  2 Tblsp cream cheese (I like a good jalapeño flavor for this) 
  • 1/8 c shredded mozzarella
  • 1/8 c shredded cheddar
  • 1 large tortilla
  • Thinly sliced raw squash (I love zucchini for this; it’ll cook up enough in the making)
  • 2 tblsp fresh corn kernels
  • 2 Tblsp black beans

 

  1. Slather the cream cheese over half of the tortilla
  2. Sprinkle mozzarella
  3. Layer on the veggies!
  4. Sprinkle cheddar
  5. Fold it over and tuck it all in
  6. Pop it in your favorite pan and flip it after a few minutes

Serve with salsa for an extra kick. Done!

Fat Jar

money jar

Add $5.00 every time you skip one of your weekly workouts and every time you exceed your personal weekly allotment of alcoholic beverages (or other vices). No take-backs. Once you hit $50, donate it to charity!

Naomi

Oopsie! 10%

Offenses:

  • One
  • Two
  • Three

Julie

Oopsie! 50%

Offenses:

  • Extra glass of wine Aug. 26
  • Hot toddy Aug. 31 (sick)
  • Two hot toddies Sep. 1 (sick)
  • Extra glass of wine Sep. 8

10 offenses at $5 each = 100% ($50) • each offense = “10%” on this scale

For Shits & Giggles

happy fox

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