Hey, sorry to post twice today, but I tried to mix the workout with the booksigning and it didn't flow. So, you get double the fun today.
The intervals about killed me this morning. I'm running next to this teeny girl and she's flying on the treadmill. Then there's me, gasping for air and aching to hit the stop button. I'm alternating between 6.5 or 7.0 and 9.0 on the speed and she's at a consistent 8.5. Seriously, that's like a six-minute mile. Who runs that for over an hour? Not me, obviously!

Here's tomorrow's workout.
I know I keep reminding you of this, but it's crucial that you concentrate on each rep and contract at normal speed, then release for 4-6 counts.
Warm-up and cardio - 5-45 minutes
Walking Lunges (okay, we're going to do more than six of these, we'll kind of use them as a warm-up and a bit more cardio) - 24-30 reps on each leg
Lunge with back leg on bench or ball - 3 sets of 6 reps
Glute press - 3 sets of 6 reps - bend forward and balance on front leg, press all the way up an down (not just little presses)
Single-arm row - 3 sets of 6 - rest right hand and knee on bench, row weight back and up, complete set then repeat on other side.
Reverse fly - with band or hand weights (with weights you have to lean forward) 3 sets of 6
Incline biceps curls - 3 sets of 6
Outward biceps curls - 3 sets of 6

If you need descriptions of the exercises, go to my website http://www.camichecketts.com. It's on the links page - Cami's Strength Training Guide.

Have a great day - Cami

If any of you live in the Salt Lake area, come see me Saturday at the Sugarhouse Barnes & Noble. Here's a little newspaper article on the event.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Jordan will join
other Utah romance authors for a special Valentine's Day booksigning
from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Sugarhouse Barnes & Noble
Booksellers, 1104 E. 2100 South (McIntyre Center) in Salt Lake City.

"What better time to curl up with a good romance novel than Valentine's
Day?" said Jordan, who will sign copies of TO PLEASURE A LADY, the
first book in her exciting new trilogy, THE COURTSHP WARS. When a newly
titled earl develops an unexpected passion for his beautiful ward, he wagers
he can persuade her into accepting his proposal of marriage ­ a wager she's
just as determined he won't win.

Other authors signing releases include Phyllis Campbell, Cami
Checketts, Victoria Dahl and RaeAnne Thayne.

Thayne is the award-winning author of more than two dozen novels for
Silhouette Books. More than 500,000 copies of her books are in print
and her books have been translated into fifteen languages and sold in more than
thirty countries. She will sign copies of her book HIS SECOND-CHANCE
FAMILY, the second in her popular series THE WOMEN OF BRAMBLEBERRY HOUSE.

Victoria Dahl's debut novel TO TEMPT A SCOTSMAN was released in 2007
from Zebra Book. Tthe book has been nominated the Romantic Times Reviewers'
Choice award for best first historical.

Phyllis Campbell is an award-winning, multipublished and bestselling
author. Her books have been described as intense, full of thrills and
chills, and absolutly, hands down delightful. Her books are published
with Champagne Books, Vintage Publishing and Highland Press.

Cami Checketts writes for Wild Rose Press. She will sign copies of her
books THE FOURTH OF JULY and THE BROKEN PATH. THE BROKEN PATH has been a bestseller for her company and received rave reviews.

For more information, contact Utah RWA.

http://www.nicolejordanauthor.com/
http://www.raeannethayne.com
http://www.victoriadahl.com/
http://www.phyllismariecampbell.com
http://www.camichecketts.com
http://www.utahrwa.com/index.html

Tomorrow is our interval cardio day. I'm scared. It's always so hard to really push yourself and on interval day I try to do intervals of sprints and hills and it kills me. I'd better actually get some sleep tonight!

If any of you haven't e-mailed me your points from last month's contest, please send them in today. I'm hoping to get it all wrapped up soon and let you know who won what. Even if you didn't get a very high score, you may still win a prize.

I found this article on freeweightloss.com. They had a 100 ways to cut 100 calories, but I only pasted 25, didn't want a forever long post. The site is a good one, if you want to check it out.

"Losing weight can be as simple as cutting out a meatball here and an egg roll there." ~~Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D.

REACHING YOUR FAT-LOSS GOALS may be easier than you think. To lose a pound of fat a month, all you need to do is cut 100 calories a day from your diet, assuming the intake and expenditure of all other calories remains the same. That's because a pound of body fat is equivalent to about 3,500 calories. So if you cut 100 calories a day for 31 days, you're cutting 3,100 calories--or about a pound.

Wait...a pound a month? Isn't that a little slow? Well, mounds of research indicate that you're more likely to keep weight off if you lose it slowly. Besides, losing a pound a month doesn't require drastic changes in your eating habits. It can be as simple as eating two egg rolls with your Chinese stir-fry instead of three. Here are painless ways to cut 100 or more calories a day. As a bonus, they all reduce fat or sugar, which means, calorie for calorie, you're getting more vitamins and minerals.

1. Spread 1 tablespoon of all-fruit jam on your toast rather than 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter.

2. Replace 1 cup of whole milk with 1/2 cup of nonfat milk.

3. Eat 2 poached eggs instead of 2 fried eggs.

4. Replace 1/2 cup of granola with 2 cups of Cheerios.

5. Instead of using whole milk and eggs to prepare 2 slices of French toast, use nonfat milk and egg whites.

6. Snack on an orange and a banana instead of a Snickers candy bar.

7. Munch on 35 pretzel sticks instead of 1 ounce of dry-roasted peanuts.

8. Replace 1 cup of sweetened applesauce with 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce.

9. On your lamb-and-vegetable kabob, replace 2 of the 4 chunks of meat with fresh whole mushrooms.

10. Dip an artichoke in 1 tablespoon of low-fat mayonnaise instead of 1 1/2 tablespoons of regular mayonnaise.

11. Steam your asparagus rather than sauté it in 1 tablespoon of butter or oil.

12. Instead of a 5-ounce glass of wine, opt for cherry-flavored sparkling water.

13. For a chewy snack, have 1/2 cup of dried fruit rather than 9 caramels.

14. Replace 3 slices of bacon with 3 slices of Light & Lean Canadian bacon.

15. Eat a Lender's egg bagel instead of a Sara Lee egg bagel.

16. Select 1 cup of home-style baked beans instead of an equal serving of baked beans with franks.

17. Replace 2 biscuits with 2 dinner rolls.

18. When making a sandwich, use 2 slices of Roman Light 7-grain bread instead of Pepperidge Farm wheat bread.

19. Eat 1/2 cup of steamed fresh broccoli instead of 1/2 cup of frozen broccoli in cheese sauce.

20. Make a burrito with 1/2 cup of fat-free refried beans and 1 ounce of nonfat cheese instead of the same amount of traditional refried beans and cheese.

21. Replace an apple muffin with a high-fiber English muffin.

22. Reduce a typical serving of chocolate cake (1/8 of a two-layer cake) by one-third.

23. Switch from 1 cup of whole-milk hot chocolate to 1 cup of steamed 1% milk flavored with a dash of almond extract.

24. Replace 1 cup of caramel-coated popcorn with 2 1/2 cups of air-popped popcorn.

25. Switch from 1/2 cup of yogurt-covered raisins to 1/2 cup of plain raisins.

My baby, Stockton, pooped on my desk yesterday. I lifted him out of the tub, but was a few steps behind, obviously. He ran into my office, climbed from the chair to the desk, then trailed poop along my desk. How do you explain to a twenty-month old that you can't do that to Mommy's happy place? I've scrubbed and sterilized, but I swear I am still catching an aura of it every once in a while!
My five-year old, Memphis, wondered what we would do when Santa didn't bring Stockton any toys because he's so naughty. I said, "Well, sweetie, he doesn't mean to be naughty." But sometimes I wonder.

I slept in this morning. Three days without exercise. My husband thinks I'm sick. I'm not sure if I'm fighting off a cold or just plain lazy. Tomorrow I have to force my lazy carcass out of bed.

Here's tomorrow's workout. Don't forget to go up for two and down for four-six counts. If you need exercise descriptions, go to my website - http://www.camichecketts.com, it's under the links page.
Unless I say otherwise, do three sets of six reps.
Warm-up and cardio - 5-45 minutes
Lat Pull-down
Upright Row
Seated row
Frontal raise
Chest Fly (laying on bench or standing with band)
Biceps Curl
Triceps Dip
Outward Biceps Curl
Triceps pulldown (with cable) or triceps kickback
Cool-down and stretch

If you're short on time, it's okay to just choose one exercise for each major muscle group instead of the two I have listed.

Cami Checketts

Not that I want to think about Monday already, but I thought I'd better post the workout and then I could enjoy the rest of my weekend.
I had a girl's night with some high school/college friends last night. We had a great time, but stayed up until after one, then the baby was up at six. I need a nap. I was so tired this morning I didn't even run. I figure you need to give your body constant change, so the next couple of days I'll throw some laziness at mine and see how it responds (justification at its best).
I'm getting ready to send out the contest prizes so if I haven't heard from you, please e-mail me. You may surprise yourself and win something fun! So far the top scores have been Nicolle Clay - 79 points and Stacey Buffaloe - 76 points. Unbelievable. They both lost pounds and inches and said their pants are falling off. Looks like they need a shopping trip. Don't you love that?
How did you like the six reps on Friday? I found that I focused on each rep rather than just trying to get through the set. Let's keep trying it for a few weeks and see if its effective. If you don't want to be in on our mini-research study you can do the same exercises and just do 1-3 sets of 10-12 reps.

Here's Monday's workout.
Don't forget to go lift or shorten the muscle (concentric) for one-two counts and lower (lengthening or concentric) for four-six counts.
Narrow Squat - 3 sets of 6
Wide Squat - 3 sets of 6
Glute Press (standing, lean forward with a flat back) - 3 sets of 6 on each side
Lunge with back leg on bench - 3 sets of 6
Side lunge - 3 sets of 6
Forward lunge onto step - 3 sets of 6
Lunge with glute raise and hamstring curl - lunge down, then lean forward until hands touch floor by front foot while raising leg behind you, squeeze glute, then slowly curl leg up, slowly straighten back to lunge position - 12-16 reps on each leg
Cool-down and stretch

Cami Checketts
www.camichecketts.com