Archive for February 28, 2010

Great Conditioning Workout

So since it was raining like crazy here, I headed to the gym today. I wanted to do something different, so I put this little circuit together. It was HARD and I was a sweaty mess afterwards. I finished it off with 30 minutes of incline walking(10%, 3.5 mph – 15% 3.3.mph).

Edited to add: I also did some glute work. 3 sets each of Reverse hypers (30lbs), Quadruple Hip Extensions(30 lbs per leg), Band/Weighted Hip Thrusts(red band + 20 lbs)

This workout is a great conditioning/athletic workout:

-10 minute jog on the treadmill: 6.5mph 1% incline

-15 High Box Jumps(the height will vary from person to person, but i used about a 3 foot box…use whatever you are comfortable with, but make it hard enough that you really have to use a lot of force to jump on top. If you fall and break your skull, don’t blame me :))

-15 Pull ups to burpees(jump to pull up, and do a slow negative down, then perform a burpee. I was asked what a burpee is, and it is hard to explain, so here is a video to show you what the exercise looks like with the pull up) Maybe someday I can be hardcore and do 100 of them. I see a goal in the future 🙂

-50 pound sled drive up and back(i don’t know the distance that i do, but i would assume it’s 20-25 yds each way??)

-5 minute jog at 6.5mph 1% incline

 repeat the circuit 3 times. If you’re not sweating, you are in ridiculously good shape and need to start training on top of mount everest 😀

It was very good, and my legs were starting to give out on the last set of the high box jumps.

I will be doing this more often, you can be sure 🙂

Week 15 and Carbs!~

Week 16 went great. I depleted for 6 days (carbs were 50-75g, calories were roughly 1600 per day.) I did this to kick start my 16 week journey. From here on out I’ll probably only do 2-3 low carb days at a time, followed by a high carb day.

Bring on Week 15!! To kick it off, I got my carbs today!

So far I’ve had:

Protein Shake + Fruit bowl(blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, grapes)

1/2 sweet potato + 6  egg whites

Celery+Mustard

2 small Ezekiel tortillas topped with Justin’s Almond Butter(2 TBSP), 2 TBSP Sugar free jelly, and 1 medium banana.

I’m insanely full and I need to let this food digest so I can go get a workout in at the gym. The weather here is rainy, so I’m going to get a HIIT on the treadmill and do some plyo work. Not sure exactly what yet, but I’ll let ya know 😉

After my workout, I’m planning on the other half of my sweet potato and more egg whites.

It’s funny, all i’ve really wanted today are veggies, but I know I’ll regret not eating the carbs if I wait any longer.

Week 16

Week 15 begins today! This prep is going to fly by!

Viernes

I am insanely tired today, so sorry if this makes no sense!

First thank you Betty for this award 

and Jenny for for this blogger award!!

Thank you ladies!! 🙂

Today has been a rest day and such a good one. I woke up this morning and went to yoga. Good session, it really cleared my head(well..kinda..) and then I headed to the grocery store for a few things.(I was the only person shopping at 7am lol)

After I ate, I laid in bed to take a nap and had some whack-ass dreams. I could not for the life of me, pry myself out of bed. I tried 4 different times but I just wanted to sleep foreverrrrrrrr! Finally at 10am, I had to get up and shower and eat before heading to work at my newest job(supplement store.) I was still exhausted the whole time I was there, but luckily I know about the supplements so he just showed me around the store. It is a really cool, laid back place. I dig.

What cracks me up is the things that people say when they come in to buy supplements. These are just a few things I heard today(the 3 hours I was there…)

– “Hey, what kind of pill do you have that will get me in like, really good shape?”

-“I wanna get cut, do you have anything for that?”

Food for thought: A pill isn’t going to do the work for you 😉

Best Tasting Protein Shake

I have perfected my protein shakes!

Best Damn Protein Shake

-Ice (i fill my magic bullet about 1/3 of the way up)

-water (about 1/4-1/2 cup)

-Liquid egg whites (1/4 cup)

-Xanthan gum (1/4 tsp)

-Unsweetened cocoa powder(1/2-1 tsp)

-1 scoop Dymatize Elite Whey-Vanilla

-1 packet stevia

Blend and devour. 🙂

Can’t Sleep=Blog time

So I just realized I didn’t write a post today. It’s been a long day, and I was hoping to get to bed early tonight.

I woke up early today and hit the gym for Shoulders and Abs:

-DB Military Press/ Hanging Leg Raise

-Leaning Lateral Raise/Lying Leg Raise

-DB Lateral Raise/DB Front Raise/ Decline Sit Ups

-Cable Crossovers

I finished that up in 45 minutes, and then it was time to box with J-Dizzle! He kicked my ass yet again today, and I felt like I was going to puke by the end. Great success.

Afterwards I did 30 minutes of light cardio to shake my legs out. I am sore from head to toe from this weeks workouts, and tomorrow’s yoga/rest day is much needed.

Since I am doing boot camp on Saturday and a track workout on Sunday, I am taking tomorrow off. I am going to hit up yoga(as long as I wake up without being too tired) and then just relax. I start work at another job tomorrow(in addition to the gym) at a supplement store a.k.a. heaven 😀 I am assuming all the money I make there will go towards vitamins and supplements because they are my weakness, but oh well!

I’ve been low-carbing it for the last few days, and can’t wait until Sunday to have a good carb day! It hasn’t been too bad, but I’ve been getting really tired in the late afternoon/early evening. I just keep picturing myself on stage though and it gets me through it!

Week 16 is almost done, and week 15 will be starting. This time is going to fly by I can already tell! I’m so excited, words can’t even describe!

This weekend I’m working, doing boot camp, my track workout, and then Sunday afternoon hopefully playing some v-ball with the guys! It’s been a long time, but we’re finally all able to play again with our schedules. Spring is my favorite because it means that volleyball starts, and then before I know it LAKE TIME :):) Word on the street is first week of April is when we will start our lake season. That’s still over a month away, but it will go by quickly.

March is going to be madness. I will be in San Diego demoing Keiser Spin bikes at a health expo, two weddings to go to, and Fight Night mixed in. I also have a fitness model conference to attend at the end of the month. I’m pretty sure if I blink fast enough, March will be over. Oh yeah, and my birthday is on March 10th!! I will finally be 16 and can get my driver’s license! 22 and nothing cool will happen haha.

Okay, I’m going to try to go back to sleep, round 3. Wish me luck!

Leg Day!

It’s Wednesday. AKA Hump Day, but better known around here as LEG DAY! 🙂

I love leg days. The past few weeks I’ve been doing the workouts on my own, but decided to do them with Ernie today.

The workout was good, and he added in a pull up to burpee into the mix. New favorite exercise! Love it!!

I’m exhausted and sore. The sprints from yesterday fired up my hamstrings, and I’m already feeling the quad work from today.

On leg days, I only do 30 minutes of light cardio, so I did that and then decided to spend money at Ross buying things I don’t need. Lovely.

Can’t wait to go home, eat and go to sleep. I’m feeling a cold might be coming on but I’m determined to fight it off! I’ve been drinking tons of water, will be upping my vitamins and getting plenty of rest. That’s the best medicine in my opinion.

Have a good one!

Two’s day

Today has been awesome. I’m on cloud 9 and I’m loving it. I need to hit up facebook study for a test so let’s get right to it.

Workout

I skipped boxing this morning. I woke up in time to go, but I had other plans in my head. I grabbed my food, and headed to the gym early to get in 30 minutes of cardio before breakfast. Just a light session on the elliptical. I’m pretty sure I didn’t start sweating until the last 5 minutes of it. I really don’t think I am going to do that thing anymore.

Anyways, I finished that, ate my quinoa/wheat bran surprise(1/4 cup cooked quinoa, 1/4 cup wheat bran, 3 egg whites, 1 scoop protein powder) and then chilled for a while to let my food digest. Then it was time for chest/tri’s!

Chest/Triceps

-barbell flat bench/wide grip pushups

-pec deck/incline pushups/kettle bell swings

-kink bar pushdowns/bosu pushups/kettle bell swings

-reverse grip pulldowns/decline pushups/kettle bell swings

-overhead cable extension/bench dips

I threw the kettle bell swings into the mix last minute to get my heart rate up. It kinda worked but for whatever reason nothing was really getting my heart rate up this morning. I was pushing hard too, so not really sure what that was about.

After that workout, i hopped on the treadmill for 30 minutes of incline walking. Started at 3.5mph 10% and moved it up to 15 % incline. This got my heart rate up and made me a sweaty mess 🙂

Drank my protein shake, chilled a little, ate my food (chicken/green bell peppers/broccoli w/ cucumbers and walnuts) and headed to take a test on the  complete other side of town.

I finished my test, ate more food(ground turkey, more cucumbers and walnuts) and ran a few errands. Then I hit up the park to do a Sprint workout

I pushed myself hard today. I was just in the zone. The kind of mental place where you feel like a warrior ready to battle. I did 8 80 yard sprints, 8- 40 yard sprints, 4- 20 yard sprints, and finished off with 2 sets of suicides. By the time I got done I was shaking. Twas good 🙂

Now I’m just facebooking studying for another test and going to cook some food for the rest of the week when I get home. Then it’s bed time!

Lata!

Short post!

Just finishing up my shift at the gym. If every day was like today, I’d be insanely happy 🙂

Woke up, and tried to go for a run. It was raining, which oddly made me even more excited for the run. I started and about a mile into it my left shin started cramping up. I ignored it for another half mile or so and then had to walk. It was like it was being flexed the whole time. Not cool. I tried running again a few different times, but finally I gave up and started walking home. Fail!!! It was probably the awesome sidewalk surface I was running on. Note to self: stick to the canals next time. Noted.

Afterwards I headed to my little apartment gym and did 30 minutes on the rugged elliptical. It wasn’t that bad, but the way it’s positioned forces you to lean forward, which makes your knees constantly pushing past your toes. Awesome design Life Fitness, I can see why you don’t make them that way anymore 🙂 It also made a ton of noise, extra awesome with a side of awesome.

I finished up the 30 minutes and it was time to EATZA PIZZA.  I actually just had 6 egg whites with 1/2 TBSP coconut oil. Forgot how good this combo is. Sounds weird, but its gooood. Just ask April.

I took an energy mint sample that I had. It’s only 120mg caffiene, no big. HA. For someone that doesn’t drink caffeine, it might as well have been straight CRACK. I was talking 600mph, and was stoked for my back/biceps workout.

I did:

Lat pulldowns superset with Cable low rows

Straight Arm pulldowns superset with one arm rows

t-rope superset with ez bar curls

side arm cable curls

It was a good workout and I was already feeling it by the end. 4 sets of each and reps were 15 for most sets.

I finished off the workout with 30 minutes on the treadmill. 10% at 3.5mph – 15% at 3.3mph.

I made chicken with green bell peppers, broccoli, and onions the other night and have been eating that today. It’s mUY buenoooo 🙂 Fresh veggies are so much better than micro-juevos kind. I just am a lazy chick.

Now i’m at work, studying and playing around on facebook/twitter. I do about 1 minute of studying for every 10 minutes on facebook. Not too bad right?! Haha. 😀

Getting ready to head home and shower, cook, pack up my food, do a little more work, not study, and eat mo food. Yum Yum burgers.

Aloha.(Rainn wilson tweeted the other day that when he sings Hello, Goodbye by the Beatles he replaces hello and goodbye with the hawaiian langauge. Aloha, Aloha i dont know why i say aloha aloha) I thought it was funny 🙂

Living a Healthy Life: The First Step

The first step to living a healthy life is to eliminate the negative.

When negativity surrounds you, it is no wonder that you aren’t leading a happy, healthy life. If you eat a perfect diet and exercise daily, but are surrounded by negative things, you will not be healthy. Stress can really take a toll on the body.

There is, obviously, no way to eliminate all of the negative things out of your life. There are some circumstances that you just can’t control. You can’t control other people and you can’t control things that happen. You  have to take control of the things that you ARE able to take control of.

Today, for example, I was told this: “When you grow up, you’re going to regret all this working out shit and wish you did more in life” 

It’s funny how one person can perceive my life. This “working out shit” is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, so screw those who think otherwise 😀

Tips for Eliminating the Negativity and Attracting the Positivity

1. Surround yourself with positive people that support you.

2. Believe in what you are doing and do it with your heart.

3. Turn your negatives into a positive. If someone makes a rude remark to you, turn it into a way to fuel your fire to get better.

I can’t tell you how many people have done nothing but try to drag me down. Since I’ve gotten into competing and fitness in general, I’ve had to give up a lot of things. I turn down social events, and I put sleep and training as a priority. This might seem selfish or extreme, but it’s my CHOICE. I CHOOSE to live like this and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. This doesn’t mean that I have no social life. I still hang out with friends and go out on occasion. Last summer when I competed I went out almost every weekend, but lately I just don’t feel like it. Like I said, I’m living my life the way that I choose to and not allowing others to let me feel guilty for it. Why do I choose this? If I don’t get enough sleep, my training suffers. If my training suffers, I’m not working to my potential. It’s as simple as that, and this is my passion so I’m following it. Maybe someday it won’t be (doubt it) but if that’s the case, then I’ll switch gears and do what I want to do then.

I spent years doing what OTHER people wanted. I was a total pushover and put everyone else before me. I’ve changed gears and I try to live my life for ME. I still go out of my way for people I care about and would do anything to help people. Helping people is one of the greatest rewards in life and I find a lot of satisfaction in helping others. I just also know when to say no. Those who don’t accept me, aren’t worth having around. I have lost a lot of friends over the past years, but I have gained so many new ones that appreciate, support and understand me. I also still have those that have stuck by my side throughout my transformations in life and you better believe I appreciate the hell out of those people. THOSE are good friends. THOSE are the people that you want to keep around.

I used to live in a little box(not literally ;-)). I didn’t want to try new things, I just did what I was doing. I also had bad anxiety that kept me from doing things that seemed cool. I  just stuck to my routine. Now, I try new things. If i don’t like them, i don’t do them. Simple as that. People can criticize me for that, but I have experienced more things than most. Both good and bad, and I think it’s a great way to live. You have one life, why not try something new? If you hate it, then don’t do it. There are no contracts in trying something out! I wish more people would understand that.

In a nutshell: Learn who is there to support you in life and find out who is going to be against you and try to drag you down. As I posted on Facebook yesterday…..

There will always be people who support you and people who are against you. Instead of fighting those who are against you, use that effort to make time for those who support you. If you surround yourself with happiness and positivity, it is inevitable that your life will become just that.

The ups and downs that come along with the lifestyle I now lead are worth it. There are times in your life when you just know it’s the right thing to do. Since embarking on this journey 3 years ago, I’ve never been so sure that I am on the correct path in my life.

 

Phoenix Pro Show

So yesterday was awesome!! Talk about being in an inspiring environment. Every single one of those athletes on stage looked incredible. The work that they have put in to be where they are today definitely shows.

I was sitting in the audience wondering how the hell a judge could pick top 5 out of the 23 or so figure competitors. They all looked really good! There are definitely a good amount of politics at these shows. With everyone’s body being in such great condition, there kind of has to be. I won’t mention any names, but there were a few competitors that were in the top 5 of their division before the show even started. Everyone knew that.

The figure girl from our gym made top 15, so that was pretty good. It was a TOUGH competition, and like I said, it would have been really hard to judge.

I ran into a lot of familiar faces at the show. It’s funny how once you get swept into the world of bodybuilding/figure/fitness, you meet SO many new people, and then it is always those same people that you encounter at all of these types of events. Whether I’m here in town or out in LA, I feel like I see the same people. I’ve made such great connections and I’m thankful for all the wonderful people I’ve met. 

When I first got started in this, I only knew 1 or 2 people in the industry, but now that I’ve met so many more, it just shows me how many people have such  a similar mindset. The extreme lifestyle is tough both physically and mentally, and knowing others who do the same as you every day is really cool.

A few years ago I never would have expected to be going to bodybuilding shows, or competing, or anything even close to that, but now that I am in this world, I wouldn’t change it for a thing. 

The show yesterday lit a fire under my ass and I can’t wait to compete in June. 

Eat, train, sleep, repeat.

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