Sammy's 100: My Workout Challenge (Update!)

Picture got from Charitable-Bonds.Allia.org.uk

Hey!

So, in case you didn't know this, I am doing this challenge with you and I'm here to talk about my results thus far.

I added some weight over the past month because I wasn't working out as often and I was usually in a sitting position and....yeah..... from checking out my body today, I have lost most, if not all the weight I added as my body looks awesome and pretty in shape (although I'm still working on flattening out those lower abs some more).

I started off this challenge doing a hundred of each move before switching moves, but some day I decided to HIITify it (made up that word hehe) and decided to do 20 reps of each move before switching moves and doing a total of 5 rounds of 20 reps of each move with no breaks, pushing myself hard and pushing myself even harder by going faster especially with the high knees and jumping jacks from the 4th round. Guess what! I broke a sweat!

I don't know if you guys were experiencing this too, but doing just a hundred of each move before switching moves, I was even breaking a tiny smidge of a sweat. Now, I'm actually sweating which is awesome and yet, not awesome at the same time because I hate being sweaty although it makes me feel like I'm actually doing something.

Besides doing this challenge, I do a plank, 10-20 pushups and 10-20 tricep dips with me hands up on a table (I hate tricep dips especially using a raised surface) and then some toning moves with 1.5kg dumbbells. I just hold a dumbbell in a hand and bend to the side till my hand's by my knee and do 10-15 reps of that on both sides (and then to the front and back), raise an arm holding a dumbbell up and bring it down to my knees while raising my leg up sideways. I do 10-15 reps of these too and to the front and back as well and then some times, I do one or two other standing oblique crunches and 5 reps of each of those. Nothing big, nothing to break a sweat.

And yeah, I have been having awesome results and I can't wait to get to day 30 of this challenge! My first challenge! I am so happy with how this is turning out and who knows, maybe I'll come up with a whole new 30 days workout challenge in May/June or a 1-2 days detox challenge or something!

Another thing, I'm interested in going to the UK Fruit Fest this year as it's just an hour away from the city I live in and mum, if you're reading this, I plan on calling you and dad some day soon to let you know about this and give you guys more information about it and seek your approval. If I end up going to the fruit festival, I'm going to do my annual detox there despite the 1-2 days detox challenge I might do with you guys.

Anyways, keep working out! Keeping eating right! Keep caring for and loving your body!

~Sammy :)

Sammy's 100: My Workout Challenge

Picture got from Charitable-Bonds.Allia.org.uk

Hey!

So, you all know that I've taken up quite a number of workout challenges. Today, I have decided that I am going to create my own challenge.

From the title of this post, you already know what this challenge is going to be called. However, you do not know why it is called, 'Sammy's 100.' Let me break it down for you:

• In this challenge, we are going to do 100 reps of a few workouts
• We are going to do 100 high knees (50 on each leg), 100 squats, 100 crunches/sit ups and 100 jumping jacks (you can do 50 squat jacks and 50 regular jumping jacks, 100 regular jumping jacks or 100 squat jacks)
• We are going to do this for 30 days

This challenge is not only going to increase your level of fitness, but also tone your body and burn fat.

If you can not do 100 reps without taking a break, do about 20 reps, take a 10 second break and do another 20 reps till you do 100 reps and increase how many reps you do before taking a break every day.

It will be awesome to see your results after this challenge!

~Sammy

p.s remember to drink water and eat clean as much as possible and please do stretch no matter how little daily. If you hurt after the first day, keep stretching (and stretch even more and deeper) and don't give up.

Update

Hey!

So, here's an update on.....me:

Okay! So, I completed Cassey's challenge. Y'all knew I had taken it on. HOWEVER, what you didn't know was that I also took on a 30 day 6-pack abs workout. It lasted for 32 days instead of 30, so yeah, they lied to me, just like Insanity did :(. ANYWAYS! I completed that 30 day hoohaa, but not with a faint 6-pack. I didn't really expect to have it in 30 days, but it would have been awesome to. My arms, legs and core did become much stronger and toned during the days I did Cassey's challenge and these 6-pack workouts which is awesome so, yeah.
I slacked for about a week and a half after completing the 30 day 6-pack abs workout series. However, I'm back to working out. I've taken on the P4P abs workout in the 'how to get a six pack' series and it's going okay so far. Well, I just started it today. It doesn't take up much of my time, which is awesome because I have other things to do like draw and study besides keeping fit, healthy and getting that faint 6-pack.

FOOD! Now, now, so I was craving a whole pineapple, honeydew melon, papaya or watermelon so, this girl, on her way to the train station to pick up her ticket (after running some other errand in town), stopped by Morrisons and bought a pineapple. I like cut that pineapple down the middle, got a spoon and ate right out out of the pineapple. No need for plates and other hoohaas. It was yummy and satisfied my cravings.
Also, Morrisons delivers to my school now, which is awesome. However, it means that I would be a bit more lazy as walking down to Morrisons and walking back with heavy bags in both arms was my weekly long walk, exercise thing. I do have to admit that it is easier and less time-consuming for me to just order now as I am getting busier, but to compensate for losing that long walk, whenever, I have the chance to walk anywhere, I do. For example, I visited Musgrove hospital (I wasn't ill, in need of a checkup or anything like that) and I called a taxi because I wasn't sure of how to get there. So, a taxi dropped me off over there. When it was time to leave, I didn't call a taxi, I decided I was going to walk as I had recognised an area we drove by on our way to the hospital so, I found that area and then, because I thought I might get lost and the way we drove down there wasn't the safest for walking, I took a much longer route back to school. It was a nice walk that led me over a river (pedestrian bridge) and through a park and it was refreshing. Another example is when I need to run errands in town like to go to the bank or pick up emergency items and stuff like that, I would rather quick walk than call a taxi and lastly, when I have the chance to run from place to place in school (usually in the evening), I RUN.

Back to talking about food, I'm still eating a lot of fruits and veggies and whenever I check my inner eyelids, I see that I am far from being anaemic again. I love my fruits and veggies and thanks to them and God, I have been healthy and I did not catch the bug that had been going round in school and in case you didn't know this, I share bottles, spoons, forks and cups with people.

So, yeah! That's the update! :)

Getting back in shape

Hey everyone,

So, the Christmas and New Year holiday is a horrible time to stay in shape, right? And if you have work to do during the holiday....yep!.....and if your family doesn't eat like you......heck yeah! Staying in shape is pretty much impossible.

I haven't checked how much I currently weigh. However, from looking at my body, especially from side-view, I knew I had gained a couple of pounds. This holiday, I have had quite a bit of dairy (and yes! I have suffered from my milk allergy, boohoo), I haven't had as much fruits and vegetables as I would normally buy back at school as I haven't done my own grocery shopping since I got home and I have just been forced to eat things I normally wouldn't eat. Yeah, so the weight gain was a pretty unhealthy one.

Guess what! If you're not happy with what you see when you look in the mirror or how you feel, you need to work on it. So, 6 days ago, I started working on getting back in shape and I am seeing the results already. I took on Casey Ho's 30 days Flat Abs challenge (I'm on day 6 now), I have done some belly dancing, pilates (I usually would do the a day of the challenge followed by some pilates then some cardio), a latin inspired dance workout.... I feel good after working out and that's awesome.

I'm also drinking more and more water and in large mugs. I have a mug that takes up to 3 cups of water and I drink all that at once and prefer to use that mug whenever I'm drinking water to ensure that I drink a lot of water during the day. As a snack, I have come to love eating circular slices of apple with either cayenne pepper or cinnamon sprinkled on them. When there are clementines around, though.....oh my.....I run out of count with how much I am eating. I LOVE CLEMENTINES!

Another thing I did (before I actually fully got back to working out daily) is to drink a lemon and cayenne pepper tea. Basically, I just squeezed out the juice and every thing inside (apart from the seeds) of an entire lemon followed by a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, then another teaspoon, then....you can tell I love my pepper :) and then poured some hot water over it, stirred it all up and drank it. I started drinking this before actually reading up on it because I knew of its detoxifying properties (and I had heard about it, the word, 'pepper' stuck out to me so I wanted to try the drink), but here's something I read up on it to summarise what it does:

Lemon is a natural detoxifier as vitamin C transforms toxins into digestible material. In addition to vitamin C, lemons are also packed with antioxidants and electrolytes including potassium, calcium and magnesium. Lemon is also known to stimulate the liver’s natural enzymes by helping to oxygenate the body.
Cayenne pepper stimulates the circulatory system by opening the capillaries, aids digestion, and helps regulate blood sugar. Furthermore, and very importantly, it increases the temperature of your body and kick-starts your metabolism, which, yes, can help you to lose weight over time. ~ By Nadia of Body Unburdened

So, yeah, I stopped drinking the lemon and cayenne pepper mixture (I ran out of lemons, boohoo), but I am still working out and drinking a lot of water to flush out nasties that get into my body and I am seeing some pretty good results.

~Sammy

p.s Heading back to the west country soon. Can't wait to go grocery shopping on Saturday and get all my fruits and veggies (and lovely lovely Medjool dates! :) )

I'm Baaaaaack

Hi,

So, I'm sorry I took this blog down. I was just pissed and stressed out and.....anyways, I'm back and I'm the healthiest I have ever been! :)

Here's a quick update on my life thus far:

• I have overcome one of my allergies! Yay! Isn't that wonderful? :)
• My weight is good and I am actually not worried about my weight right now. I like my body and I like where I'm at right now. Like even when for some reason, I feel bloated, I know by morning, I won't neither would I look bloated.
• I am full of energy and like no matter how late at night it is or how tired I am, I can drop and give you 20 pushups or 100 squats or sit ups!
• I haven't worked out as much as I used to because of stress and school and performances. However, I have started ensuring I do at least 100 squats and 50 pulses in squat position without breaks in between at least once everyday and also, some push ups. I seem to love pushups now and for a while, I was working out only my arms because I just like working them out. However, I was forced to remember that I need to workout my entire body especially my thighs and abs which aren't as toned as I'd like them to be right now. My arms look awesome flexed. Those biceps are on point! I can also balance on just my hands a little longer than I've ever been able to without spraining my wrists. That's amazing! Now, I'm just working on toning up everywhere and getting a faint 4-6pack :)
• I eat 4-6 times a day now. Yup! Not 2 or 3 anymore. Now, I eat 3 cooked meals and 1-3 raw vegan meals a day and I snack on raw fruits and vegetables and I seem to have a newfound love for Medjool dates so I love nibbling on them whenever! :) The raw fruits and vegetables help with digestion and bowel movements and it just cleanses me from the inside out.
• My skin looks awesome! I still get 1 or 2 lil zits towards that womanly month of the week, but once that week's ending, the zit(s) go and I'm left with awesome skin again. Mind you, I still have dry skin that peels in some areas if not moisturised after a few minutes out of the shower. It takes a bit longer before it starts peeling now and not all the places that peeled on my face are still peeling. I lock in moisture on my skin using just raw, extra virgin coconut oil now and as for my face, I use coconut oil on my lashes, lips and eye lids and organic shea butter (sent over from Nigeria by my grandmother. bless her) on the rest of my face. I use very little of the shea butter because I don't want a shiny face neither do I want to darken my face as my mum gets a dark film on her skin from shea butter and I've heard of some people darkening from it. So far, I haven't darkened. I don't use the coconut oil on the rest of my face because, as once mentioned on this blog, I seem to react to it on all other parts of my face (same with my cousin).
• Also, I'm going to end here as this is getting very long, I am no longer anaemic, I don't get dizzy, daily/frequent headaches or any of those things anymore! I am not excessively tired all the time. My immunity is up! Like the old me would get sick once someone coughed or sneezed around me, but now, people are getting sick at my school as a bug is going round and I feel just fine! I even went to the health centre to visit a friend who was very sick and I'm still fine! I haven't seen a doctor or nurse because I've been sick since the whole detox and lifestyle change! I haven't had any medications or supplements whatsoever! Even vitamins and paracetamol! Nada! I don't need them! I am healthy and I am happy and I'm glad my parents seem to be accepting my lifestyle and vegetarianism a little more now that I've been updating them on my health and everything. I wish I had learnt more and done more research on my diet and all that when I stopped eating meats as I could've reaped all these benefits a long time ago! It's terrible always being sick and now, I'm happy not to be anymore! It feels awesome being healthy for once! :)

See y'all later!

~Sammy :)

Rockin' Body

It's day 3 of my Rockin' Body workout. I'm not that crazy about this workout because it doesn't make me sweat as much as Insanity did and most of you know that I absolutely hate getting sweaty, but I need to sweat or at least feel some pain or restriction in my body to feel like I am doing something worthwhile. Today was better than yesterday and the day before that because I did sweat today and my tummy finally felt cold when I touched it (I tweeted about cold to-touch tummy's meaning that you're burning fat there).

I have a slight issue with the Hard Core Abs (one of the workouts I had to do today) and that's because I tend to have some weird feeling in my shoulders whenever I move them. I tried that particular workout some time ago and for a week, my shoulders were pretty messed up. Today, I started feeling that weird uncomfortable.....feeling in my shoulders, but it's gone now so that's good.

So far, I consider Rockin' Body to be reallyyyy..... cheesy? (is that the word?) It is fun at times, don't get me wrong. You just have to loosen up a bit to do it and overdo movements sometimes to feel like you're doing something. It also seems rather childish at times, but that can be ignored when trying to loosen up.

I prefer Insanity to Rockin' Body 100%, but I'm not going to stop Rockin' Body till I'm done with all 4 weeks and I'm not going back to doing Insanity (although I may do one or two of the workouts in it like I mentioned in a previous post).

Anyways, I've forgotten all else I was going to say so.....

3 days down!
25 to go!