BodyRev Sitrep Reports

Every week Alden (the creator of the BodyRev) comes onto the BB to get a report from those who are actively exercising... eating better... general health improvement. For awhile I would post some weeks but not others. Usually the bad weeks were the ones that I avoided posting on. But after my lackluster peformance in January and my dismal output for December, I decided one way of holding myself accountable (to no one other than myself, might I add) is to post every week... good or bad... hopefully, with more good and less bad.

But the BB is a scrolling BB and I always write them directly to the post (not on Word and then copy and paste). I think that I will add them here to my blog so I will have a copy of them readily available for my review. I could keep them in a folder on my computer but honestly I have save so much stuff to folders and then forgotten that they were there. I think this might be easier...more visible. So for those of you on the BB who may have already seen them on the BB, feel free to skip over these.

Here was the Alden's Report request from FEB 5, 2007...

REEEEPORT!

REV Teammats - it's that time of week again - time to report on your journey.

as I have mentioned briefly in the past, and you'll hear more about it in the future - BODYREV benefits (from a physiological point of view) are what I call the three Bs - Burn, Build and Boost - that is Burn fat, build muscle, and Boost energy.

This week - please comment on the three Bs - tell me what you're feeling and how's it working for you - include (especially for our new shipmates) how you experience the three Bs during different stages of your journey - for instance, you may have experienced a Boost in energy after the first workout, but didn't notice the "burn" for a few weeks...shed light on your experiences for others.

Stay REVved UP!

ALDEN

And here was my Report in response...


Burn, Build and Boost...

Hey, Alden...

I finally feel for the first time in a month or two that I had an excellent week and ended the month of January so much better than how I started it.

Legs - 4X (2wts)
Abs - 5X (2wts)
Arms - 3X (2wts)
Cardio - 3X (1 wt) *** big HOO YAH to myself (if you don't mind)... this is the first week that I put in 3 cardios EVER!!! Feelin' froggy!!

1 Hr Walks - 3

*does trying to stay warm in subzero temps count as calorie burning??? High was -2 today! **

Here are my three B's...

BOOST ... I have been feeling very sluggish in January...it's that less light, cold temps...my body wants to hibernate. So for a few weeks it was easy to talk myself out of exercising evryday... I knew that I would have to work on that... So I forced myself to work out even if it was only 15 minutes (which I knew if I did 15...then I would end up doing more)... I just needed to start the first. After I am done, my energy levels fully BOOSTED and charged! I work overnight and I try to get my workouts in before I go in...helps to get me moving. Also, under this category is the BOOST my self-confidence is given. I can see results, I feel better about myself and just knowing that I am sticking to a program makes me feel great about myself.

BUILD... I can feel Building of muscles taking place but most notably in my arms. I have never had any muscle definition there at all. I still have a long ways to go but there is evidence that it is happening. Also, under BUILD is the legacy that I am BUILDING for my kids. They now see their mom getting fit and exercising. They are learning that in order to have results you have to work at it. They have noticed not only the change in my body but also in my emotional and mental self as well. Plus, they are all on the fitness kick as well. None of my kids are what I would call overweight but they understand (or at least are learning) that you can still be thin but not fit. Plus, it is fun to watch my son and daughter in the living room together working out...or one of my dd's working out with me. I don't feel like I am alone in this while we all BUILD our future together.

BURN... I am doing well during the programs, even CARDIO! I feel capable and competent, tired and exhausted sometimes but none of the Essentials programs over-exert me anymore. However, it is during the ARMS segment where I feel the most BURN still. During those first revving segments and especially when we go backwards... MY UPPER ARMS ARE ON FIRE!! I so badly want to stop short on those but I push myself thru knowing that it will only get better...right? ;) But also, on the BURN without going into the TMI area... is the added BURN that all the exercise has added to my extra curricular nighttime activities. I feel more energized, more confident in my body and myself... and the compliments from the husband, don't hurt either. Even just during cuddling, he will comment on how good it feels to hold me. Don't get me wrong...he was never a husband who commented on my weight or was turned off by it but his ways of noticing my improvements feel great.

So there you have it, Alden... probably more than you wanted to know but you did ask... :)

And that miserable Alden had to up the ante for us this week's homework, adding the keeping of a food/mood log, see below (with editing of the parts that reply back to individual questions that didn't really pertain to me)...


SITREP 07FEB07

REVmates – great posting turnout!

It’s time to discuss another important wellness/fitness principle that is paramount to getting most out of your journey – think of this in SEAL training terms as Phase 2 of BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training has three phases of training). When we began, I told you that one of the very first things you learn in SEAL training is the concept that your body obeys your brain, and it couldn’t be more true. You are in charge of your body – you tell it what to do and it will respond…within your body’s trained capabilities (i.e. telling your body to run a four minute mile when you haven’t ran in 20 years isn’t going to happen, but it could if you trained to it). As the captain of your ship, you give the orders, but how quickly they are followed depends on a few things – such as the morale of the crew, the maintenance of your ship, and the quality of the fuel your engines are burning. Getting underway is the first step toward taking control – you’ve motoring your way out of the harbor, you’re starting to feel confident – you’re gaining your sea-legs so-to-speak, now it’s time to fine tune the ship.

The next principle I want you to understand which builds off of the body obeys the brain, is that your body and your brain have symbiotic relationship – they are swim buddies and strive to live together in harmony. As you grow stronger and more confident – as many of you are – it’s time to strengthen the body and the brain relationship. Let me give you some examples – if you inject caffeine (coffee, coke, etc) and/or nicotine (smoking/tobacco) into your system, your body and your brain will go through euphoric highs and then daunting doldrums – your mood swings will be directly correlated with the amount of caffeine and nicotine consumed. Your brain tries to keep your ship on an even keel by ordering the creation of anti-depressant hormones to calm the crew down, but the brain doesn’t know how much more caffeine/nicotine is coming so it over produces the hormone, your body then responds to this anti-depressant hormone by going into reactionary mode and a roller coaster of cravings, energy levels and mood swings result…and worse still – a habit is formed that it’s addictive…(before I go further, I’m not telling you to stop consuming caffeine, one/two cups (8 ozs) of coffee or tea/day has proven to be beneficial – but 12 cups is NOT. Tobacco is a whole other story…). Okay, here’s the good news – your brain and your body are linked – huh? (he just told me that!) – what’s good for the goose is good for the gander – you see it can go both ways - this is good news because with just a little more training you can create addictions that help you take your brain and body to the next level. Here’s an easy one – the food you consume directly impacts the speed and efficiency of your ship. Eat too many flour based carbohydrates (like pasta or bread) and you’ll become tired, lose concentration, dehydrated – essentially your brain goes into hibernation as your body goes into storage mode…your ship is starting to change shape – literally – it’s learning how to cut through the waves faster, blow by the winds and navigate the currents – you’re now ready to fine tune your ship to go even faster…start to really monitor how your body responds to foods – everyone’s body responds differently so PLEASE keep a log for one week tracking your foods and your moods. Try this – trust me – the sooner you learn your brain/body relationship the sooner you can take advantage of it…find the foods and the portions that don’t make you crash 30 minutes later. Remember, “white” carbos are sugar – an they will spike your insulin levels – it’s the same roller coaster as drinking caffeine – it’s like putting gasoline on a fire without enough wood – you’ll just burnout. Protein takes longer to digest, but requires water – DRINK WATER. And you NEED Fat in order to operate at the optimal level – get it from nuts and olive oil – take it easy on dairy products….essentially – follow the BR plan to the letter for a week, but track your mood swings.

I can (and will over time) talk about this relationship for days, but one more quick point about your brain/body relationship – exercise literally triggers a hormone that many folks have copied and sell on the black market as an illegal drug – it’s called heroin, but you can get it for free (and it won’t hurt you!) if you’ve created a strong enough relationship between your brain/body. For the natural “high” your body’s systems need to be properly fueled – if there’s all kinds of caffeine/nicotine/sugars and low levels of water in your engine, your turbo jet systems (your hormone factories) won’t kick-in, they be clogged by dealing with the emergency orders from the brain to produce hormones to counter-balance the effects of caffeine/nicotine/sugar…I’ve rambled – we’ll fine tune this together over the next few weeks, but trust me, as you learn the finer points of captaining your ship, you’re going to enjoy the journey that much more – be excited, be very very excited that you’re progressing!

– feeling hungry at 3pm – same here, try a piece of fruit, some nuts and water – it’s okay to have a snack, and that snack will give you more energy for your workout…love your reward system!

- PPU Integration – while you wait for us to complete the editing of the BR ABS/ARMS video featuring Doug conducting the exercises – try this – when following Essential Abs, after you’ve complete three abs exercises – press pause, roll over and do a two-minute PPU drill – then skip the lower back routine on the ABS video and get back into it – repeat and repeat until you’ve completed all three 2 minute PPU drills! HOOYAH!

REV Burn – many of you fell the REV”burn” in the beginning, but not in the end – a couple of reason – one, your body figures out easier methods to absorb the load (make sure you force your body to be honest – is smarter than you think) and two, those muscles don’t normally get used like this, so in the beginning it’s a wake-up call – like running or swimming – in the beginning you’re out of breath, then you get your “pace” and into a rhythm.

Workouts remain the same – now start fine tuning your ship – get that food/mood log going this week – that’s a DIRECT ORDER!

CHARLIE MIKE

ALDEN