Archive for February 20, 2010

Corporate Shmorporate

LA Fitness, Gold’s Gym, Pure Fitness, Bally’s, Mountainside, 24 hour Fitness, the list goes on and on.

These are the most popular gyms in AZ. You can’t pass too many intersections without seeing at least one of these. I may piss off a lot of people with this post, but it’s my blog and my opinion. So there 🙂 (Note: this is just my opinion of corporate gyms. I’m exaggerating a lot of this, and it isn’t true in ALL cases, obviously. If your experience has been different then that is great and you are lucky. In that case, enjoy the laugh :))

I incorporate these gyms with fake smiles, women wearing no clothes, guys staring at women, guys wearing too many accessories, guys with too much gel in their hair, women with too much hairspray and makeup on, and a training staff that knows as much about fitness as Tiger Woods knows about staying faithful.

When I walk into one of these places, I am greeted by the fake smile, and see sales associates everywhere. It is much like walking into a car lot. You feel as though the salesmen are eyeing you and racing to catch the bait(aka new member.) So you sign up at one of these gyms, after they explain to you how wonderful of a deal you are going to get because they are SLASHING the processing fee in half!!! This only means that instead of paying an extra 100 dollars that is just going towards the sales associate, you are only paying 50 dollars of that. Phew, I thought I was going to get ripped off.

Next, you are set up with a COMPLIMENTARY FITNESS ASSESSMENT! How wonderful, a trainer that got his certification at Walmart is going to walk me through the gym and tell me that I am fat. He will know I am fat because he is going to use calipers and pretend like he knows what the numbers mean. Then, he will come up with a body fat percentage that is a little higher than the truth, that way, even if you make zero progress, you will think you made at least a little bit of progress and continue to workout at the gym. Gotta keep that monies comin’!!

So you finish your assessment and this “trainer” tells you that he will give you a special discount on a training package because he just likes you so much. Instead of the normal $75 an hour, you will only have to pay $65. Wow, I am a lucky son of a bitch.

Next, you will meet your trainer for your first appointment. He will walk you to the leg press, then the chest press, then the shoulder press and finally the ab machine. He will tell you to do 15 reps on each machine and he will probably be texting his girlfriend while pretending to listen to you babble. Truth: he has no idea what you are saying because the nudie his girlfriend just sent is probably a little more interesting. Just sayin.

You will finish the workout using your core, and then he will shoe you away to the cardio machines while he grabs his next victim client.

Meanwhile, I will be at my independently owned gym, studio, or community center. I am greeted by name at the door, put my game face on and train my ass off. I sign up for my membership when I want to without being pressured, I don’t pay very much for it. I also don’t get a complimentary towel with my workout, though, so there is a downside……

The trainers are usually people who are passionate about working out. There are still definitely some trainers that I wouldn’t trust to walk me down the street, but for the most part, these trainers are skilled and knowledgeable in at least some type of exercise/workout niche. They are nice, truly care about their clients because they realize they are putting food on their table, and since they don’t have to make sure corporate is happy, they are free to have a personality. Imagine that!

The other members in the gym are there to work out. They aren’t paying for a fancy membership so they can get the free towel and water bottle, they are just paying to be able to come in at their convenience, get in whatever type of workout they want, and leave feeling better.

Like I said before, this is just my take on the two different situations. Many of you have probably had completely different experiences, but that is just mine. At independently owned gyms, there is no pressure to meet sales minimums. At a studio, you are going to be with a group of people that you see very frequently and will become close to, since you are sharing a small space. It may be more expensive, but the quality will be there. At a community center, you are probably going to be using recycled equipment, but the people there are usually very friendly and appreciative. The staff is even better, as they aren’t getting paid much and likely just love the atmosphere, and that is why they are there. 

I’m not saying every single corporate gym is bad, but I have trained at a studio, two different community centers, an independently owned gym, and 2 corporate gyms and between my experiences and what I’ve heard from others, that is where my position stands. 

What is your opinion? Corporate or other? What is your worst gym experience?

Frites Day and Pro Show

I’m up early on a Saturday, not for boot camp, but for the Phoenix Pro Show!! I’m REALLY excited. I have never been to a pro show and it will be so cool to see so many accomplished athletes in the sport that I’m pursuing…all in one place! As I mentioned in another post, I have seen a few of the pros that will be competing this week at my gym, and it will be cool to see them up on stage with the other competitors. Not sure if I will make it back for the finals tonight(hopefully I will!) but I’m heading out to prejudging to watch.

Workout

Friday, I woke up extra early to head to yoga. My mind was totally somewhere else for the entire class until savasanah(chances are I butchered that word :)). That is one thing I really like about yoga is it’s one of those things that takes your mind to another  place and lets you focus on “fixing” yourself. Or at least, it does for me. But yesterday, my mind was going a million miles a minute! Oh well, I still got a great stretch. I would say there are two major reasons that I have continued going to yoga.

1- The stretch! Most people know I  am extremely inflexible. With all the time I spend in the gym, you would think that extra 10-15 minutes at the end to stretch would come easily, but for whatever reason, I just have a really hard time staying consistent with doing it every day. I’m working on it, though. I’ve been becoming better friends with the foam roller and making sure I stretch after my leg and sprint workouts. It’s a start, but I’ve got a long way to go.

2- Mental clarity. A good yoga class allows you to reflect on yourself. Your good choices, your bad choices, and your direction in life. It sounds kind of like therapy, right? In a way, it is. It’s getting in touch with your body and what it is capable of on its own. Then using those capabilities to strengthen other areas of your life. That is not the textbook definition, it’s just my take on it.

After yoga, I headed to the other gym for a half hour of cardio. I did incline walking with various inclines(10-15%) and speeds (3.3-3.5mph).  I was really not feeling like doing cardio, but after procrastinating for a few minutes I told myself to shut up and just do SOMETHING instead of standing around. Sometimes, you just gotta give yourself a little kick in the ass to get yourself started.

No lift, since I had lifted all body parts M-Th. Today I am resting because of the Pro show, and tomorrow will be doing a nice long track workout before work.

I’ll keep you posted with Pro Show details!! I’ll see if I can figure out how to do a post from my Blackberry…

The Switch

Living a healthy lifestyle is a choice. It is a wonderful way to live and those who haven’t experienced it, are truly missing out on the benefits. Although turning your life into a healthy one doesn’t happen over night, it does happen with practice and persistence. Even if you’re not quite there yet, you may still be incorporating some healthy life habits that will eventually stick.

So what is this switch I’m talking about? 

Day in and day out, most of us do one, many, or all things in the way of a healthy lifestyle. There is a difference between trying to live a healthy lifestyle, and actually living a healthy lifestyle. Both are the same on the exterior, but one of them takes effort, whereas the other is natural. Being a natural thing, doesn’t mean it was always that way, though.

I first started working out in August 2007. Prior to that, I was an athlete in high school, and then just plain lazy my freshman year of college. Since I was always in sports, I never had a gym schedule or even really knew what to do in the gym. I had an idea, but I laugh when I think about the workouts I used to do. Another story for another day. When I first began working out in 2007, I instantly LOVED it. I found myself having fun, getting stronger, seeing changes in my body, and of course, I had a new “sport”to be competitive about. I guess I can give credit to my trainer, Bret for bringing out that competitive side in the gym. It was a small studio, and there was a chart on the wall for all of the weight and rep records for various exercises. Obviously, I needed to work hard to beat those 😉

I loved ending my days with a session at Lifts(the name of the gym.) I looked forward to it everyday, not only because of the workout, but the people there as well. There were only a few trainers and I got along with them all. The other clients were really cool, too. Either way, I would workout and end up staying a few extra hours there just hanging out. I find myself doing that at any gym I go to. I become friends with people there and, since its my favorite place to be anyways, I end up spending most of my free time there. Exciting life, right? This also has a lot to do with NOT belonging to a corporate gym, and why I probably never will, but more on that in another post.

I remember about a year into my new-found love of the gym, I started to worry. If I got sick, I would force myself to go to the gym anyways. Why?? Well if I didn’t go for a few days, what if I never went back? That was something I seriously worried about. Although I knew I loved it, I have a tendency to love something and do it, over do it, and then some. Many times I get burnt out for a while and go back to it a few months later after I’ve had a break.(cough rock climbing cough) I knew if I missed more than a day or two, I might start to get that feeling of not wanting to go. I would fall out of the “routine” and find that I didn’t want that routine anymore. 

The Switch

It wasn’t until I began to prepare for my competition last year (December 2008) that I realized that the gym wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was I. In fact, I didn’t even need a gym. Exercise had become a part of my life. If I had to miss a week from working out(still hasn’t happened yet, thankfully) there is no doubt in my mind that I would be ITCHING to get in some sort of activity afterwards. Whether it was a weight session, a run, a hike, a long walk, boxing, a boot camp, ANYTHING, as long as I could get my exercise in, I’d be okay. You see, before that, I thought it was just a hobby, and it was something that was more of a chore for me to do. 

Now, going to the gym or working out in general is FAR from a chore. It is my lifestyle and it is something that I look forward to every single day. A day off is torturous to me. They are necessary at times, and sometimes taking a whole week off is necessary, depending on what your training is like, but it isn’t something that I like to particularly do. Sure, there are days where I wake up and head to the gym and want nothing more than to go home and lay in bed, but I always end up doing at least SOMETHING. I love being fit and can’t imagine my life without exercise. It is seriously the one thing that I can always rely on.

If my friends, family, teachers, bosses, etc are pissing me off, I always have exercise to turn to. It never fails and can be done ANYWHERE. I also can’t help but love that when I attend a new exercise class or work with a new trainer, they are impressed by my endurance. I almost always get a comment mentioning that I am in “great shape” and that my recovery time is so quick. I take so much pride in hearing things like that. I work my ASS off for it. It isn’t something that I was “gifted” with, it’s something that I work towards. It is achievable by anyone who has the desire to take their fitness to the next level. I’m not in the best shape of anyone, in fact, there are plenty of people in way better shape than me, but as long as I keep on working hard and taking it a step up each time, I will only get better and better.

Whether I’m show lean or not, I always have my fitness. The work in the gym is tough stuff, but getting there is effortless. Fitness has become my lifestyle. 

Launched!

Hola!!

Long time no talk eh?? I’ve been busy, and I thought I’d just let you guys see the “athlete” posts. I will update my workouts for this week if you scroll down!

I just wanted to put it out there that I am officially launched!  My website is www.fitlizzio.com so feel free to check it out 🙂 I’m pretty excited about it!

Workouts

Okay, let’s see if I can remember 🙂 I’m really sore this week and they’ve all been good!

Monday: 20 minute jog, 10 minute incline walk (15% 3.3mph), 30 minute elliptical sesh. For whatever reason after that cardio session I was shaking. Very bizarre, seeing as it wasn’t the hardest workout, but i’ll take it. Afterwards I hit up back/biceps. I did assisted pull ups, EZ bar curls, Neutral grip lat pulldowns, db hammer curls, t-rope, round house curls, t bar row, side arm curls and i think i did something else but i can’t remember what it was….(all sets were 20-25 reps)

Tuesday: 3.5 mile run through my neighborhood, followed by chest/triceps workout: DB bench, cable flys, rope pulldown, overhead extension, skull crushers, reverse pulldowns. Each set was superset with a variation of pushups, so a total of 130 pushups were done in that workout as well. I really dislike doing chest, but i love pushups (the difficulty of them and the mental push that comes with it, not to mention the great benefits) so I find that picking 2-3 weighted chest exercises and doing a ton of pushups is my favorite way to do it. Plus, i’m not really trying to build my chest up….or at least not in that way 😉

Wednesday: Leg day!!!!! I am super sore from this workout. I did: Deadlifts, full squats, jump squats, bulgarian squats, quadrupled hip extensions underneat the reverse hyper, and banded hip thrusts. The banded hip thrusts were awesome. My old trainer taught me this. Click here for a video link. That is actually him doing them too haha. But definitely the best glute exercise in my opinion! If you don’t have a skorcher(most gyms dont) you can put two flat benches a few feet apart and rig it. It’s kind of annoying, but worth it! I do it every wednesday 🙂 I finished the workout with 30 minutes on the elliptical. I keep cardio light on leg days for obvious reasons.

Thursday: I hit up cardio first today again(when i’m not trying to build muscle, i do cardio either before or after my weight training, depending on how i feel. when trying to build muscle, i always do cardio after my weight lifting to ensure my weight lifting sessions are as optimal as possible.) I did 40 minutes of various incline walking. I was a sweaty and tired mess by the end=success. I hit up shoulders and abs afterwards and shoulders are already feeling sore! I did: seated smith machine military press(explosive, so i was coming down slowly and exploding up, kind of like when your on ecstasy. im kidding i’ve never tried ecstasy, but i imagine it might be something like that haha), hanging leg raises in the captains chair, db lateral raises, med ball decline sit ups, seated rear delt raise, med ball russian twists, cable crossovers, and lying leg raises on the decline bench.

It’s been a really great week of workouts and food. I also watched Food, Inc. yesterday and it made me re-think EVERYTHING. I am still not sure what I am going to do as far as meat goes. I am going to try to buy as much egg/chicken and produce at the farmer’s market from now on, but I don’t make enough money to buy it ALL there. So, i’ll have to do my best. But if you haven’t seen the movie, i suggest you do. It is unbeLIEVABLE!!! Seroiusly eye opening and horrifying.

Tomorrow is yoga, some car-dio, boxing w/ J-dizzle and that’s it. I’ve lifted all my body parts for this week, and i’m sore pretty much everywehre, so that’s good 🙂

Oh, almost forgot! I’m going to the Phoenix Pro Show on Saturday so if anyone will be there drop me a line! 🙂 I met one of the top photographers today, Ralph Dehaan. He was at the gym shooting a few pros(2 that workout at my gym, and the other was Felicia Romero. She’s insanely pretty and much tinier than i would have thought! ) Good times!

Catch ya later.

What is an athlete? Part 3

Finding my inner athlete again was a God-send. It IS my identity, it is something that I will ALWAYS have, and it makes my life feel right. Lifting weights turned into getting in the best shape of my life which turned into competing. Competing is my new baseball.

I get a lot of comments from many of you wondering where I get the energy, the drive, and the motivation for my workouts. I’ve gotten several e-mails from readers asking me what it is that I do to make sure I wake up every morning ready for a workout.

The Truth: I am not ALWAYS in the mood to work out. Sometimes, I get to the gym and I want nothing to do with lifting. Sometimes I walk up to the treadmill, and seriously want to punch myself for making myself come to the gym.

But I rarely will miss a work out. Because even in those times where I want nothing more than to plop myself on the couch for a nap, I know I need to push myself through it. So this is where the definition of an athlete comes to play, in my opinion. An athlete is someone who is willing to dig deep inside and push themselves to the limits. When they get to the limits, they push farther. An athlete does NOT give up. An athlete will stop at NOTHING to get to where they want to be.

Being an athlete is somewhat physical, but much more mental. Yes, you need to have skills. These can be acquired and practiced, some are genetically gifted, but none are impossible. But even with the greatest skills, if you don’t have the persistence to drive through the difficulties and come out on top, then you are NOT an athlete. If someone tells you that you can’t do something, and you simply walk away, then no, you are not an athlete. If someone tells you that you can’t do something, and you not only do it, but you do it better than ever before, then you better believe you are an athlete. Even if it takes you 348902384032 tries, if you continue to work towards it, you ARE an athlete.

Being an athlete is much more than being good at something. You must be good at training your mind. Your mind is what will take you farther than you’ve ever been. Practice motivation, practice patience, and practice perseverance. Don’t take no for an answer, and put forth your best effort in everything that you do. Inside and outside of the gym.

This is not to say that athletes do not struggle. In fact, Athletes struggle with MANY things. Stay tuned for the mind struggles that athletes face. You may be surprised!!

To Be Continued…….

What is an athlete? Part 2

 

So I last left you with my last day of high school baseball tryouts…..

We got to the field, did our usual warm up, and got to work. I don’t remember the exact things we did, but fielding and hitting drills were definitely in the mix. I vividly remember them calling each of us into the office to tell us whether we did or didn’t make the team. When it came down to the end, there was me and one other guy, and only one spot left on the freshman team. They called me into the office, and I was told that I hadn’t made the team.

It took every ounce of energy in me to not burst into tears while I sat there. My cheeks were shaking, the tears were welling up, but I sucked it back and made sure to once again prove that I was as tough as all of these guys. They told me that I was the very last cut on the team and that it was a very hard decision for them to make. (Side note: I later found out that two of the guys who had made it, who both were NOT very good, had parents who had given $1000 sponsorship banners to the team….I also found out from one of the coaches a few years later that they simply didn’t know what to do with a girl when it came to locker rooms, showers, etc….kinda lame, but oh well.)

I walked out of the dugout, got into my mom’s car and balled my eyes out for the entire night. I wanted it so badly. I had never wanted something so badly in my life. I KNEW I wanted it more than anyone out there. Baseball was my life. I eventually ended up back on another club team for another year before I finally ended my baseball “career.”

I could go on and on about my other sports endeavors(my first experience playing on a team with other girls. Talk about a complete 180! Girls are so dramatic!; my attempt at high jump on the track and field team…etc.. ) but the point is, although I had finished playing sports after my senior year of high schoo, the athletic fire inside of me never went away. It is something that although was absent for about a year, I knew it was still there. In fact, my first year of college(the first year that I wasn’t playing any sports or working out) I thought I would never be an athlete again. I thought I was okay with it, and I was ready to focus on a business career. I ate fast food and take out almost every night. I even went through a 2 week period of eating gummy worms for breakfast, no joke.

The day I decided I was too fat(skinny-fat, not actually overweight) and stepped into a little studio called Lifts and met Bret Contreras, that fire lit up again and I found a new outlet for my inner athlete…….

To Be Continued….

What is an athlete? Part 1

Well, according to NASA, an ATHLETE (All-Terrain Hex-Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer) is a six-legged robotic lunar rover under development by NASA. (Google.)

But oddly enough, that isn’t exactly what I was talking about 😉

Definition for an Athlete from Freedictionary.com:  

1. a person trained to compete in sports or exercises involving physical strength, speed, or endurance

2. a person who has a natural aptitude for physical activities

How would you define an athlete?

Since I was a kid, I have always defined myself as an athlete. My grandpa(the only other athletically inclined person in my family, besides my grandma) started teaching me how to kick a soccer ball and throw a baseball when I was just 3 years old. At the same time, my mom and dad put me in ballet classes. Let’s just say there’s a reason I only lasted one recital…..

I played on various soccer, basketball and volleyball teams in elementary school, and was always the tom boy playing sports with the boys. I remember in 4th grade, the boys wouldn’t let me play football with them. I would ask every.single.day  and they always said no. Then one day, I was roaming the field ever so innocently(which happened to be right next to where they were playing their game at lunch) and I jumped in at the last second, intercepted a ball and ran a touchdown. I was allowed to play with them from that day forward.

I started playing flag football that same year. Again, an all boy team. The first practice was a little awkward. Not for me, because I was used to being the only girl, but the coaches and other teammates always gave the “ummm..what is she doing here?” look to me. I didn’t care, I just wanted to play. My dad was always my biggest supporter too, and came to almost every single practice and game that I had. The first practice with new teams was always the day where I had to prove myself. I had to ignore the awkward looks, and show them that I was just as good, if not better than they were. I ended up becoming the quarterback for the next 3 teams I was on and my 6th grade team took the state championship in flag football….with a girl as the quarterback J I was like the son my dad never had (even though he has two ;-)) I continued to play flag football until 8th grade. That was when all of the guys started playing tackle football, and I learned what makeup and flat irons were.

5th grade was also the year I picked up baseball. The first time I went to a baseball game when I was 9, was the very first Diamondbacks game. My dad got front row season tickets(that he still has 12 years later….) and I didn’t know a thing about the sport. I knew how to play catch, and that was it. This sparked my interest, and I went to as many games as I could with my dad. I asked him every game what something was, and eventually, I knew the game pretty damn well. After playing catch and hitting with my neighbor almost every day, I finally got the courage to try out for little league. Again, I would be the only girl on the team. I started out as a second basemen, and wasn’t very good. I was okay, but nothing crazy. The thing was, I LOVED the sport. I would BEG my dad to take me to more and more baseball games. I made him take me 2 hours early to every game we went to (talk about father of the year award!) so that I could watch them do batting practice.  Baseball was my first love. I started getting more serious about baseball, and since my favorite baseball player was Travis Lee(I swear, not just because I thought he was cute ;-)) I started learning how to play first base.

Fast forward to 8th grade and freshman year of high school. By that time, I had gotten the nickname “vacuum” at first base. It was rare that any ball could get past me. I could pick, jump, and stretch like the best of them. My hitting was okay, I got a lot of singles, but I didn’t have much power in my swing, so doubles and triples didn’t come often.(I was 5’1 and 98 pounds haha) My OBP(On Base Percentage) was very high though, so I usually sat about 5th in the lineup.

From then on, I was the starting first basemen on many club teams and again one of my teams made it to the regional championships. I can honestly say that those were some of the best times of my life. Playing on a club team is fun because for a few years, you play with the same group of people, so you all know each others strengths and weaknesses. My coach was a 2nd dad to me, and his son was a brother to me. Those were the days.

Freshman year of high school, after our fall season had ended,  High school baseball tryouts began. The fearless gut inside of me told me that I was going to try out. Up to this point, I was used to seeing 80 mph fast balls, and had no trouble with them. However, the guys were all hitting puberty and getting strong. Some of the guys were throwing 85 mph fast balls and 70 mph curve balls. I was facing guys that were a foot taller than me, a hell of a lot stronger than me, and most were older than me.

About 40 guys(+ me) were trying out that year for the team. Freshman could either make the freshman or varsity team. I will never forget that week of tryouts. I have never in my life pushed myself so hard then I did for that week. When the coach said to do 30 tricep pushups, you better believe that even though my wimpy arms could barely do 10, I pumped out those 30. I dug so deep inside of myself to make sure to keep up with all the guys. I already had the disadvantage of being a girl, and I was the first one to ever try out for the team. Our baseball team has won many state championships, so it wasn’t an easy roster to make. The last thing I wanted was to fall behind the other guys. If I didn’t make the team it would be for lack of skill, not lack of endurance and strength.

First cuts came, and they cut about 15 people. I was still going strong. It got me totally pumped, and I couldn’t wait for the next day of tryouts. It was the last day that we would practice, and then they would make final cuts………

To be continued…….

Just call me McGyver :)

Sunday Funday right?!

Today has been a pretty odd day so far. Bring it.

I did get surprised with a rose from my friend Brian, though. That was sweet of him. I have good friends and it’s something I’ll always be thankful for. (no, he doesn’t like me, i don’t like him,  we’ve just been good friends for years.)

Let’s start with last night….

It was my sister’s birthday so we went out to dinner and to a bar afterwards. I stuck with grilled chicken on lettuce with no dressing(the server was supposed to bring me vinegar but that never happened. It was good without it though.) And also had a side of grilled veggies: mushrooms, eggplant and red bell peppers. They were UN believably good! Nothing else on them, but grilling veggies just brings the flavor out so much! Our server was awesome too. I kept telling him I wanted the Swan Pizza served on a silver platter. He thought it was funny. I always try to make jokes with servers because I know when it comes  time for me to order I can be difficult with all of my requests. This usually helps them get it right the first time 🙂 Because if the salad comes on top of the spaghetti?? I send it back. (Office anyone?!)

Anyways, being the grandma that I am, I was home in bed by about midnight.

I woke up early this morning so that I could cook my food for the day. I ran out yesterday. I cooked up my chicken, asparagus, green beans and packed my meals up. I got to cleaning the kitchen, which resembled a World War II battlefield.  I scrubbed the countertops, kitchen floor, refrigerator from top to bottom and stove. I even vacuumed, too. Just call me Martha….oh wait, I’m McGyver today…more on that in a minute.

The Workout

I headed to the track for my workout this morning.

I did….

2 slow laps followed by some dynamic stretches

2 slow laps followed by some light plyo work(butt kickers, high knees, karaokes)

5 bleachers

sprinted 8 80’s

sprinted 4 40’s

Then tried to do suicides(shuttle runs? whatever you want to call them. I have a dark soul so I will call them suicides.(i kid, i kid….i don’t even have a soul…;-)))

Finished up by stretching out because I could tell my quads and hips were getting tight. I am sure I’ll be sore tomorrow!

McGyvah

I got to work after my workout, and was pleasantly surprised with a work computer full of viruses. (Virusi?) Let’s just say, I’ve watched more porn today than Charlie Sheen pre-rehab. It’s not my fault though! The windows just keep popping up. I tried running anti-virus software and it wouldn’t even open. The only thing that would open was Mozilla. So I found some free anti-virus software, downloaded it, ran the hour long virus check, deleted some cookies(computer ones, not real ones, that would be too painful :)), restarted the computer and OH YEAH. Computer is working fine(well, fine for a shitty computer that has a million problems.) I must be a genius or something 🙂

I also got to deal with some “brother drama” today. I love how his friends randomly get my phone number and ask ME to try to get their money back from him that they stupidly lent to him. Sorry, but if you lend money to a drug addict, you are an idiot. That’s all.

There are a whopping 3 people working out here today, and I am bored out of my mind.

Friday and Saturday

Grab some popcorn and put on your snuggie. This is a long one 🙂

Orange you glad it’s friday??? (I’m an idiot, it’s actually Saturday. My brain is a little fuzzy from boxing just now…fyi, just wrote “luttle” …this should be a good post……..)

Thursday night I got a whopping 4.5 hours of sleep. I should have gotten at least an extra hour, but since I am such a baby genius, when I woke up before my alarm, I assumed it would be going off shortly and proceeded to get ready. I got ready, started mixing up my protein shake (1 scoop protein, ice, water, 1/4 c. egg whites, and 1/4 tsp xanthan gum) and decided to look at the clock. 3:30am. Lovely.

Friday’s Workout

I headed to the gym for my Friday Yoga class. It was a really good class, and so far it hasn’t disappointed me. I’ve never been a huge fan of yoga, but I am starting to realize maybe I just hadn’t(how weird of a word is “hadn’t”?!) been going to good enough classes. I am really enjoying it. I also think doing it early in the morning when I’m still somewhat tired, helps to open me up and energize me for the day. I still want to try hot(bikram) yoga, but that post is for a different day.

After yoga, I hit up the cardio room for some, you guessed it: shmardio. I was feeling antsy and decided to try out a few of the new machines. Our gym got new free motion ellipticals. They are extremely…weird? Whatever motion you move, they move that motion and add resistance. If you want to mimic running, it does that. If you want to mimic stair stepping, it does that too. It is weird, and I think I like it, but I’m not sure. I’ll be honest, I think ellipticals are for light cardio. I am definitely not saying that you can’t get a good cardio sesh out of an elliptical, but I just think that more traditional forms of cardio challenge me more. Running, stair mill, sprints, boxing, and most things that mimic “real life” things seem to get my heart rate up much more. Maybe I just suck at ellipticizecycling. That’s very possible.I’m not knocking the elliptical, it’s just not for me. However, on days when I’m sore or just want to do a light session, ellipticals are a great thing for that for me. Remember, everyone is different and different things work better for different people. End rant haha.

So anyways, after I tried out the free motion machine, I hopped on the treadmill for some incline walking to finish out my 45 minutes. Shweaty mess success.

I headed to the other gym afterwards for a Chest workout. When I work my chest out, I try to keep my heart rate up and do high reps. I have no desire to build my chest muscles up, but they still need to be worked. If you want to be a conditioned person, you have to condition all of your muscles, even the ones you hate to work 😉

My Chest workout consisted of 4 sets of 3 compound sets(2 back to back exercises that challenge the same muscle groups):

-DB Incline Press/ Wide Grip Incline Pushups

-Close Grip EZ Bar Flat Bench Press/ CG Incline Pushups

-Cable Flys(neutral)/ Wide Grip Pushups on the floor

I totalled 108 pushups in that workout, and I’m feeling it today. I’m not sore, but my arms are fatigued.

Saturday

This morning, I woke up and headed to boot camp! I haven’ t been in a whole month. I have been out of town and working at various events, so I was excited to get back. We did 2 sets of a circuit:

-Bleacher steps(run up the steps, down, up down, and around the back of the bleachers)

-Parachute sprints

-Sled pulls

-Sand Bag Squats

-Kettle bell swings

-Suicides

-Frog Leaps

-Ladders

-Mini Hurdles

It was a quick workout(about 40 ish minutes) but definitely a good one. I was feeling it immediately afterwards.


I went to abs class afterwards because I had to work at the gym anyways, so why not? It was a tough one, and my abs were on fiyah! Not to mention, I rarely work my abs. Abs are made in the kitchen and through almost every other exercise you do. No reason to do overkill on the abs unless your looking to bring out a certain area more.

I finished my workouts for the day with a half hour of boxing with a trainer here. It was good and my arms are now shaky and I have that nauscious (i just spent a whole minute trying different ways to spell that word. I give up.)  feeling. It’s not a bad feeling, it’s the feeling of working out hard as hizzle. I dig.

Other bolog-na that you may/may not care about. I’ll guess the latter.

-Eating has been good, and I’m feeling that competition fire burning. Meaning, I WANT TO COMPETE BADLYYYY. That’s good, I need that fire to fuel me through this leaning out process. Here’s to keeping that feeling and not sabotaging myself(which I’ve been known to do. Who knows why?! But I’m kicking that negativity out the door.)

-Next Saturday is the first Pro Show in Arizona! I’m excited. A few people from my gym are competing in it, and I’ve never been to a pro show. It’s going to be really cool to see a show full of elite athletes. Can’t wait!

-I’ve had such a bad taste about bikini lately. Don’t get me wrong, I like competing in bikini and I want to stay in bikini. I thought I wanted to compete in figure, but I just don’t think I do anymore. I like to be small, long, lean and very toned. That is my ideal. However, I am so sick of people, pardon my french, but “slutting it up”on stage! Bikini division means that you are an athlete who has a symmetrical, toned physique, but you just aren’t “cut and striated” like a figure competitor. What is with all of these girls sticking their asses out, trying to flirt with the judges on stage, and basically acting like strippers?! That is NOT what this sport is about, and I don’t like the reputation that the bikini division is getting. I wish these girls would pretend they were doing a model walk for their dads. Then maybe, they wouldn’t come off as a sex kitten. Okay, I’m done. Just wanted to get that out there.

Tonight is my sisters birthday and we’re going out. I haven’t been out in a few weeks, so I’m looking forward to it. My good friend is also coming in town next weekend and I can’t wait! I haven’t seen him since he’s been home from Iraq. Good stuff coming up, I’m going to keep riding this high 🙂

« Older Entries Recent Entries »