Work out for that Wonderwoman feeling

With 3 weeks out of the last 7 being on travel adventure of one form or another, my usual fitness routine has been a mix of eclectic alternatives.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.

Central to my fitness dream is to have an exercise and eating lifestyle that WORKS no matter what kind of wild and woolly adventure I’m on.

So that I can have heaps of fun, eat freely, without any of the ravages of OCD (that’s obsessive compulsive dieting, in the event you don’t know) from the old days.

Happy to say it all went splendidly this time as well.  Starting with our Oaxaca trekking followed closely by scuba adventure in the Dutch Antilles, I returned right in the weight range per usual.  Eating foods I enjoy, and staying active, yes.

But without the structured workouts.

Or fretting about every morsel on my plate.

I enjoy theses forays from the usual workout routine for many reasons.

1)  It gives a great mental break

2) It gives the body a chance to regroup.

3)  When I return, I’m refreshed and motivated to get back to that good feeling that comes from a workout well done.

You know, where the muscles have been worked to the max and you feel like Superwoman?

Sure, I was plenty active on our travels.   Mostly walking, hiking, and schlepping scuba tanks.  For now, I”ll keep up the walking and re-up on targeting muscle work and overall conditioning.

Targeted muscle work cinches in the muscles and gives you the girdle effect from nose to knees.  I love the feeling.

My Summer Super-Shaper Plan

First, I swear on a stack of legwarmers (I hear they’re back in)  that I can get all the “workout” I need to stay in primo shape in under four hours a week.

Not including my walk time, which is more like an amble to the lake.  That’s just fun time.  Daily.

Plus, I like to keep it simple.  Like this:

Workout Plan:

2x/week: T-Tapp Total Workout variations

2x/week: Bar Method – for the dancer and leg woman in me – under an hour each, including extended stretching, which is one reason I like it so much PLUS I have made it a goal to specifically include more stretching so 2 mints in one.

2x/week: extra strength training – for upper body coupled with a splash of high intensity interval training

Dietary Plan:

Easy. Mountains of veggies and fruits with whole grains and breads, nuts and seeds, with room for red wine and chocolate to sweeten the deal.

Mini-fasts: intermittent mini-fasting (IMF) is less doable for me on the road;  usually I can manage 1 day every couple of weeks or so.  I miss the many joys of IMF and starting back in with my 2x -a -week schedule for now.   Eat Stop Eat is my favorite and recommended approach to this.

Results of my exercise and dietary plan?

Been home with this plan in place for a week and did a quick meaure this morning.  Notes:  down a shave in hips and stomach and feeling tightened up again already.

What’s YOUR summer shape-up plan?

Take a stand and tell  about it in comments below!

© Lani Muelrath, M.A. All Rights Reserved