Wow, it appears that I have not written since Saturday. Here is a brief catchup on my training: Sunday I chose to rollerbnlade around Coronado with Brady. This was a nice change and I loved being able to have together time with Brady. Monday was Memorial Day so I had to get my workout in in the morning so I could show off my body at the beach. Monday's workout consisted of heavy legs (some drop sets) and a mix of cardio. Tuesday we worked upper body lifting a bit heavy (bicep curls at 20lbs) and then I went to spin for an hour (which I really pushed). That catches us up to today...All cardio, I did a nice run outside and really wish my hamstrings and and knees felt like the rest of my body.
For the first time since dieting I added a fat burner into my diet. I chose, Ignite by Next Level Nutrition. The serving size is 2 pills but I have been taking one prior to my morning workout and I feel like I'm on crack. Good news, I made 2 lasagnas (one with pasta and one with eggplant), shaved the dog, cleaned the house,; including all the pots and pans involved with making lasagna and sauce from scratch. Now its time to relax before instructing boot camp!

Beautiful Day

Today is one of those picture perfect days in San Diego. I was able to work on my tan as well as the rest of my body. I ran stairs today, 3 rounds of single step, 3 rounds of double steps , and one round each of side walk ups. Beach Physique workout went really well, we had a bunch of new faces all of different ability levels. I think the greatest thing about our workouts is that there are so many options everyone is able to work to their maximum ability. Today Vanessa and I are off to LA to watch a figure competition, this will be my first ever.

Rough week

This week has been a rough one to say the least. My body has been pretty achy this week, especially my lower back and knee. I don't know which has been giving me a harder time my head or my body. My body is easier to deal with, Exedrin, heat and maybe a little massage. My head is going to take a little more work.
On a positive note, our "boot camp" has been getting some good response and the participants have been motivated and great to work with.

Progress Pictures

So its been about 4 weeks since I posted my first pictures. Aside from incuding my head in these pictures, it is easy to see that I have more definition and have leaned down a bit. My weight has not changed which sometimes is tough to deal with considering my change in diet. However, looking at the pictures from April and the pictures from today, I am able to see change which ultimately is the goal.

Today's workout consisted of some heavier leg sets and swimming. It was really nice being in the pool and it gave my legs a chance to be a minor component of my cardio.

Did anyone get the license plate on that truck?

Wow, yesterday's workout was pretty good but afterward I felt like I got hit by a semi. We didn't lift heavy but my legs just felt like Jello.
Today took a lot to get over to the gym and basically I just went through the motions. I hate these type of days because I just feel angry at everything. I knocked out 15 minutes of cardio at the gym, so I only have 30 minutes left for today. Hopefully I start to feel better and can enjoy my last little it of cardio.

Glad I went.

Today was one of those days where I had to push myself to get moving. I wasn't very motivated to run but I am so glad that I went. First off today is an absolutly beautiful day outside, second my run felt really good. I didn't push any type of fast pace but it I felt good and the run was easy. I ran about 5.42 miles in 50 minutes. My route
Prior to my run I took the dog to the beach for 45 minutes, as he ran and chased the waves I walked in the sand.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was upper body day and 45 minutes of cardio. We split up our circuits with 3 minutes of cardio, which included 2 30 second sprints.

Beach Physique Boot Camp!

So I'm really excited. This Saturday Vanessa and I are kicking off our Beach Physique "Boot Camp".
Visit our blog page Beach Physique

So summer is literally around the corner, are you ready to hit the beach in a bathing suit?


There has been a lot of "Boot Camps" popping up all over the place and for good reason. They are effective and affordable. My name is Vanessa Van Overmeer and I have ran camps from here to LA and now I am back in San Diego and have teamed up with a former swimmer/triathlete/ lifeguard/ fire academy graduate turned figure competitor (Lauren Kafin) to give you the most effective workout to get you in shape for the summer and to show off your tanned and toned body!
Our "Boot Camp" is more of a fat burning/ body sculpting class so forget you fatigues and bring your tanks and short and lots of water because it's going to get hot. :)


Free Introductory* Beach Physique Workout:


Location: San Diego Convention Center Stairs (off Harbor dr. )
Time: 10:00 am Saturday morning, May 22nd
Price: First class is FREE


*This introductory class is to introduce you to our program so that you can get a head start on the summer crowd.


Email us to reserve a spot: beachphysiqueworkout@gmail.com

I'm glad I haven't been slacking on my diet and training as I have keeping up with my blog. This week has been a good week of training but has really been a struggle diet wise. Every week I think its going to get much easier, but its not. I will say my energy level has been better this week than last but still I get super hungry in the afternoon and want to eat everything in sight (I however stick to veggies, yum). Wednesday I wast for a beautiful run outside, its hard not to when San Diego gives you such great weather. Thursday was a leg day which we did as circuits broken up by 3 minute cardio. After legs I jumped on the bike and spun for 30 minutes.
Today, I am breaking up my carido a bit; this morning I ran with the dog for 20 minutes and the rest of the day I will be walking around the wild animal park (not hard cardio but a lot of it). Tomorrow will be stairs/Plyo and ab day. I will not be able to do the Aquafit class since we have guests in town and sites to see.

and we're off

Another week has gotten underway. Monday I started my morning off with a 30 minute run on the tredmill (a bit boring). I thought I was going to be able to get back to the gym later that day but ended up waorking late and never made it back. Today was upper body day. Rather than working strict sets, we did more of a burn out type routine. After weight training, I took spin for 45 minutes. I was a little more tired than I would have liked after training, so maybe Thursday I wont take an hour break inbetween weights and cardio. Tomorrow is a 30 minute cardio day. As long as the weather is beautiful out I am going to run outside.

Mixing it up at the pool

Today was a nice change up to the ususal Saturday routine. Brady and I took AquaFit over at the gym which consisted of a lot of dry land training as well as some in the pool relays. The class consisted of a bunch of pushups and push outs, ab work, squats (both in the water and out) and a killer shoulder routine. I really enjoyed spending the morning at the pool, I haven't smelled like chlorine in a while.
Tomorrow is my rest day so I am going to do just that. Monday will be a brief workout and about 30 minutes of cardio.

I've been pretty good about keeping to my new diet. Today I opted to go for a 45 minute run rather than a full body routine in the gym. According to my HR monitor I burned 405 cal, which I think may be a bit under the actual amount since it took me a while to get the chest strap to actually detect my HR. Overall, I feel pretty good.

with a little extra kick...

My workout today felt really good, I don't know if it was because of my day off yesterday or the shot of espresso I threw into my pre-workout protein shake.... Today I did a full body workout with moderate weight and 45 minutes of spinning. Next week I am dropping my rest days from 2 to 1 and increasing my cardio routine some. I think it will be fun to throw some running back into my workout routine. I feel like I'm getting a little too comfortable spinning twice a week.
While shopping the other day I picked up the June copy of Fitness Rx and I really have enjoyed reading it. There are a bunch of snipits of different case studies that have been done as well as some interesting training ideas. I really hope tomorrows workout goes as well as todays. I haven't yet decided if I want to lift or just do cardio??

My workout buddy is in Florida for the next couple of days so its up to me to push myself and be honest about how much weight I lift.
Today was a lower body day followed by some spinning. I would say overall I feel pretty good and was able to put up some good weight.

After a fun and relaxing weekend, it was back to the grind (in the gym).
After one week, I haven't had any weight change but hopefully will see some sort of drop by the end of the week. I need to stay strong this week and avoid the multiple cheat meals...
I sort of took my "cheat meal" and extended it into cheat meals. I probably should have brought my own food to the Padres game Friday but what is a baseball game without a hotdog?
Saturday I had a hamburger, it was organic beef which is fine for my diet except it had come with pepper jack cheese and the side salad I got (instead of chips) had a tasty vinegrette that I am sure had more calories than I was supposed to have. Prior to the burger Brady, Jake (my dog) and I went and ran the stairs at the convention center and than Brady and I played beach volleyball for 2 hours
Sunday was my total relaxation day, after walking on the beach with Brady as Jake chased the waves, we joined Vanessa over at Wavehouse for her birthday bash. I had one bloodymary and a chicken sandwich this time I chose the fries, which my body made me pay the price for.
So now its Monday and the cheating has to stop. Vanessa and I had a great upper body workout this morning targeting biceps, triceps, shoulders and a little bit of abs.
Tomorrow I think I'll do my leg day and follow it with a bit of spinning.

Ugh it's one of those days

Ugh today was one of those mentally and physically tough days. My body is searching for calories that are just not there. I put together a short arm and shoulder routine and follwed up with some abs. The real kicker was despite feeling like poo I decided to push myself though a spin class. I hope after lunch and a snack I start feeling a little less light headed and a little more peppy.

Working on leg and buns of steel...

My legs will thank me later, I am pretty sure of that. As for know they are recovering from an intense strength day follwed by an hour of spinning. Most of our training today consisted of drop sets (adding more weight while dropping reps). I think 10 reps of leg presses with 340lbs is what may do me in. Right now I feel a bit tired but still pretty good, I guess I'll see later tonight after I play softball.
I was very proud of myself last night. I had gone to a networking event throught the UF alumni Assn and despite all the bowls of chips and plates of quesadillas, I refrained from having any. To my surprise I didn't even want any of it. Score one point for me!

Day off

Ahh it feels so nice to just let my body rest for a day. Despite taking Glutamine and BCAA's to help my muscles recover, Wednesday is my day to fully allow my muscles to relax.

Good Training day

From the moment I woke up this morning I was feeling a pint low. My first thought was I NEED coffee, I should have gone with espresso. After running errands and getting my blood flowing I trotted over to the gym to meet up with Vanessa. Today we did an upper body workout, targeting some of the smaller muscle groups. Although I felt a bit blah my strength was good and I was able to keep form (except for keeping my elbows in during overhead tricep extension). After training I ate my starburst and took my glutamine (which I mixed with crystal light today, water was torture). After relaxing for an hour I went back to the gym to spin, sometimes its easier to do cardio with other people. I really needed some more exciting music but I pushed my way through the hour.
I am definitely going to need at least week to have my body adjust to this lower calorie diet.

Front View 4/26/10


Back view 4/26/10

And so it begins...

Today begins the first day of gearing up and cracking down to prepare for my first Figure Competition. I think the hardest part of this training is going to be the diet. Although I currently eat pretty healthily, I love greasy bar food and love sweets.

Why compete? I am always looking for something athletic to do. Since graduating college in 2004, I have competed with Fort Lauderdale Masters swim team, completed numerous triathlons including the Disney Half-Iron man and a handful of half marathons. Over the past couple of years I have been told by a couple different trainers that I should try and compete, it is only this year that I have agreed.

The competition I am gearing up for (with the help of Vanessa Van Overmeer) is July 24, 2010 (13 weeks away). Although the competition is not based on weight, I am still going to do a weekly weigh-in. My starting weight is 126.6, as soon as I download my starting pictures I will post them too.


This mornings' workout went well, it was my first day using BCAA while training and so far so good. I did a fully body weight session, using 4 circuits: utilizing free weights, kettle bells, Bosu and pull-up machine.