Naomi
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Hi Kristin- I think the best alternative to lateral lunges would be curtsey lunges 😉
Hi Kelli- my recommendation is to stick to the macros as outlined in your meal plan for best results during this challenge. Good luck!
Brian- you can use the exchange list in the nutrition section here for the challenge to find food replacements with the equivalent macros. You need to log everything in My Fitness Pal to make sure you’re macros add up to what your daily totals should be as outlined in the program.
Aweee, thank you so much Kathy! I’m glad I could help, and I’m so glad you’re enjoying the Tip Me Tuesdays!!! 😀 xo~
Karine- you are lovely yourself! I’ve enjoyed folowing your journey and getting to know you as much as one is able to through social media! 😉
Yes, these movements shift weight to your upper body and the shoulders have to carry a lot of the weight in these exercises. If you feel anything unusual or painful or “just not quite right” then doing these movements on your knees will take some of the load off your upper body. It won’t be as effective as doing the exercises as-is because tranferring the weight to your knees will not only take much of it out of the upper body, but your core as well.
THat being said, it is not worth risking injury so I would suggest modifying it for sure. Another option would be to replace all of the side movements and up/downs with just a plank (as long as this doesn’t feel invasive on your shoulders). You will be doing quite a few planks but at least you’ll still be keeping most of the movements in your core instead of transferring the weight predominantly to your knees.
I hope all this makes sense, and I hope it helps! Good luck girl! 😀
Hi Kathy- It is actually for both of the reasons you stated: to make sure you have food in your system for energy and strength so that you can have a great heavy lifting session, and to make sure your body isn’t burning through the muscle you are trying to build during your weight-training session.
Another idea is to only eat the oat bran portion of Meal #1 plus drink a serving of BCAAs about 30 minutes prior to lifting – then have your post workout shake/apple right after, then about 2 hours after that have the rest of your Meal #1, the turkey bacon, eggs and spinach. If you do that, you should be golden! 😉
Sara- yes! That is enough time. As long as you are able to get a good meal in and your mind/body has a little recovery time so that you have energy and maybe a little motivation for your lifting session, that is all the time you need in between! 🙂
Patty and Jennifer- please don’t be discouraged! I know it’s hard not too, but as long as you are following the program you should start to see results. We are only 10 days in, and everyone is starting from a different place plus everyone’s body responds differently.
Just keep doing everything you’r doing, except maybe don’t weigh yourself too often. Your body is adjusting and different things may be coming into play, such as hormones, water weight, etc. Try to just focus on the process, the journey, getting all your workouts in and all of your food prepped, etc. Don’t focus on your weight ~ it’s kind of like how a watched pot never boils.
Keep up the awesome work ladies!!
Hi Kerry! 🙂 You know your body best, so if you feel like you need to bump up to the next meal plan in this challenge, that is the only advise I can give you but it is your call. This is a transformation challenge in a short amount of time, so the program is designed to give people drastic physical transformation changes in 45 days which can entail quite a caloric deficit than what you are use to – for some people, depending on where you were when you started this challenge.
I have been in a significant caloric deficit during this program than what I am use to, and my changes are showing it. But I also know this is short lived and it is kind of the idea of the challeneg – to see what kind of changes your body can make in 45 days with the workouts and meal plans provided 😉
It’s up to you, but I would suggest considering the next level meal plan if you feel you will still get the results you want by increasing your macros and overall calories 😉
Hi Patty- make sure you chose the correct meal plan based on your height, and make sure you are food journaling in My Fitness Pal every day and hitting yoru target macros within 5g up or down. Also make sure you are getting in all of your workouts, strength training and cardio. Are you doing all of these things and following the program to a T?
Stephanie- yes, you can combine meals. The most important thing is to try to get as close to your daily goal macros as possible 🙂
Hi Samantha- yes, you should eat, then do weights, then cardio after weights, then post-workout shake & fruit. I workout in the mornings and can’t make it to the gym to separate my cardio from weights too, so I eat my first meal at about 6-7 a.m., then drop my son off at school, then head to the gym. I do the strength-training workout followed by cardio, then drink my shake and eat my apple as soon as I get in the car (I pack it in a cooler and bring it with me to the gym so I can have it right after, I’m usually very ready to eat by then lol)!
I hope this helps! 😀
Hi Stephanie- any lean protein on the food exchange list will work as an alternative to eggs/egg whites.
Frozen veggies are fine, as long as it is just the veggies! Make sure to read the ingredients. I know that sounds crazy, but I have found additional oils, sugars and other flavorings on frozen veggies. Read all nutrition labels and ingredients, weigh/measure and food journal. As long as everything adds up in your macros, you are good! 🙂
The turkey bacon is considered a lean protein so just look under the lean proteins on the food exchange list for an alternate lean protein source.
No problem, glad I could help! Just keep your mind on your working muscle(s) 😉 Good luck!!
Hi Kelsey- make sure you aren’t going down too far in the lunge motion. Try going about half way, or stopping just short of when you feel the pain. Sometimes simply shortening your range of motion will prevent injury but still work the muscle you are aiming for.
You could also try doing static lunges (standing still) instead of walking lunges (or are you talking about the side lunges on day 5, not the 100 rep walking lunges?), still only lunging down about half way or just short of when you start feeling pain. I hope this is helpful!
Hi Lori- I am so glad you’re enjoying the challenge!! 😀
I recommend you only do the exercises outlined in the plan. Not doing as high volume of exercises as you’re use to might allow you to go heavier! 😉 If the workouts are challenging and you are sore (both of which you mentioned) then that should tell you that what you are doing is plenty! Keep up the great work Lori!! 😀
Hi Kristy- the best advice I can offer is to temporarily go up to the next meal plan with the higher calories if you feel you aren’t getting what you need with the current meal plan – at least until you complete your 1/2 marathon. Any adjustments outside of the suggested guidelines are your call, but you may find that keeping the foods and meals as-is and simply increasing your calories by bumping up to the next meal plan may help a bit may help. Good luck with your half! 😀
Hi Stephanie- the best way to try to move the ‘load’ from your quads to your glutes is to keep your mind on your glutes. This will help strengthen your mind-muscle connection. For example, when you’re doing a biceps curl, your mind should be focused on lifting with and squeezing your biceps. It is the same for your glutes. Instead of focusing on your heels or focusing on the movement, try to keep your mind on lifting with your glutes and squeezing your glutes at the top portion of both the squat and the lunge exercise.
Also, if your quads are stronger than your glutes and you are lifting too heavy, your quads will take over no matter what. Try lightening the weights a little until you can strengthen that mind-muscle connection to your glutes and really start to feel your glutes activating. Once you are confident that your glutes are doing the work they should be doing, then you can increase the weights. I hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Theresa- you should chose the meal plan that correlates with your height. If you are 5’4 and 1/2, you would chose the meal plan for over 5’4″
Just curious, we are 6 days into the challenge. What meal plan have you been following since the challenge started last Monday?
Hi Stephanie- if you aren’t use to training like this (frequency, duration, body part splits, weights, reps sets, etc), then you just need to give your body some time (sometimes two weeks, sometimes longer) to adjust to the intensity level. This program is designed for anyone, you just need to go at the intensity, weights, reps, sets, etc., you are capable of doing. Everyone is starting from a different place, and while some may be able to do all of the workouts as written out, some people may not be able to because their body isn’t there yet. If you find you physically aren’t capable of doing 20 reps of something or 4 sets of something, just do as much as your body is capable of doing. We just want you to do your best. Yes, these workouts are hard and designed to give you the best physical transformation possible in 45 days, but that’s what makes it a “challenge” 😉
Keep up the awesome work!
Hi Lorena- there is no right or wrong way to do this. If you feel super sore and fatigued, taking a serving of BCAAs on your rest days is perfectly fine to help with recovery, however it is not necessary. BCAAs are branched chain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein which help re-build muscle after it is torn down, if that helps you make a decision on if you want to take BCAAs on rest days or not. Good luck 🙂
Yes, you are doing it correctly. No matter what time you workout, have your post workout meal after you workout for recovery.
Hi Maria- yes, you can continue taking any other supplements you are already taking. You can take the EFA and multivitamin any time of day.
Hi Karen- I would consult your doctor about what options you have for cardio. We do have alternative exercises listed under the video demos but even these may not be good for you to do if you are a candidate for double knee surgery.
Because of your fragile knee conditions, I highly advise that you print out the workouts and take the print outs to your doctor, then consult with your doctor on what alternative exercises you can do given your specific case. I don’t know enough details about what is going on with your knees to confidently recommend any safe alternatives for you, but your doctor will.
I want you to have a good experience with this challenge and don’t want you to do anything that would cause you further injury. Only your doctor would be able to tell you what exercises you can do that wouldn’t cause further damage, or cause injury somewhere else because of compensation or muscular imbalances. He/she may tell you that you shouldn’t be doing any lower body exercises at all, and to only stick to upper body cardio, such as a punching bag or battle ropes.
I hope you can meet with your doctor soon about the exercises included in this challenge. Best of luck!