Archive for October 30, 2015

Things I’m not Great At

Gooood morning!

Hope your day is off to a fantastic start! It is Friday, after all. I started my morning with some yoga (more on that in a minute), training a client, and then started my work day. and of course, coffee. Duh.

My workouts have been awesome lately, and I’ve been having fun writing my own again. It’s nice to have a coach and not have to think about my workouts, but I also love my own programming. I do a great job of progressively kicking my own ass. I’m getting stronger, and especially in my upper body. I hit a 105×3 bench press last weekend and can’t wait to test my 1RM soon!

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Things I’m Not Great At: (including ending sentences with a preposition)

-Being consistent with dieting

-Stretching & Foam Rolling

-Being patient

-Saying no

-Stopping to smell the roses

While everyone is all like “be positive, think positive, throw away the negative feelings”, I think it’s important to talk about weaknesses too. I agree, focusing on the positives is helpful for overall well-being, but if you ignore the negatives and weaknesses, you likely won’t get better at them. You’ll just hide them away and focus on other things. I’m super aware of my weaknesses and I’m also super annoyed that they bog me down.

I am trying to face all of them and take an active role in working on them.

What I’m Doing to Combat my Weaknesses:

Being consistent with dieting: I’m writing down my goals, writing in a journal, and taking things day by day. I screw up a lot. But I don’t give up. People can roll their eyes or think “she’ll never move forward”, but truthfully, I don’t care. I’m happy with my body, but I do have goals I want to reach. Dieting is my nemesis and I’m working on changing that. I’ll likely fail 23423 more times, but I assure you if that’s the case, I’ll try 23424 times.

Progress Picture – 10/28/15

Stretching & Foam Rolling: Well I realized that even when I told myself I’d do these things, I wouldn’t. When a friend reminded me that he teaches a badass yoga class and that I should try it, I thought “what the hell” and went. I ended up actually liking it (yup, it finally happened), and signed up for a membership. I’m taking class 2-3 times per week and it’s definitely helping my mobility. I am also foam rolling while I wait for clients (so thank you for when you’re late, you allow me more time with the foam roller).

Being patient: This sort of ties in with the above. I’m working on not expecting things to happen instantly. Of course, I don’t always succeed in this, but the intention of being more patient is there, and I’m at least at the point of thinking about it and reminding myself of this.

Saying no: I am the queen of saying “yes, i’d love to!” to just about everything. It landed me with 5 jobs and more stress than I could handle. These days, I’m learning to turn things down that aren’t worth it. I’ve turned down 2 projects in the last month, and I feel good about it.

Stopping to smell the roses: I live minutes from the beach and rarely go, so I’m determined to change that. Last week, I grabbed Oscar and went down to watch the sunset. We walked along the boardwalk and it was awesome. I also took him to the dog beach last weekend, which was equally awesome. I’m taking time to take in the things I normally walk past without noticing. It’s been really good for my mind and soul.

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Oddly enough, I’m noticing that I’m much more calm and at peace lately. I feel less stressed and more carefree. I think a combination of the above has contributed to that, and I’m feeling really happy in my life again.

I’ve said it before, but health and fitness isn’t always about working out, eating right, and #motivation selfies. Sometimes it’s about everything else that goes along with it. Conditioning the mind, learning new things, combating bad behaviors or negative thoughts, DEALING with problems head-on. I’ve been so focused on the fitness aspect, that I let a lot of the other stuff go over the years. It’s nice to start focusing on the other stuff, while maintaining the things I know I’m good at.

I’m headed to Chicago and then Phoenix next week, so I’m sure I’ll have some fun photos and workout videos then as well.

Later!

-Lizzy

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In my next life, I want to be a dog + a fun Halloween Workout!

Hey people!

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Long (ish) time no see! I’ve been doing a much better job of not expending more energy than I have, but unfortunately that has meant that the blog takes a back seat. Most of you know, I have 1 full time job and about 4-5 part time jobs, depending on the week. It’s great and not-so-great all at the same time. They’re all fun and rewarding jobs (training clients, writing, etc) but energy is energy and I only have so much!

Hence the title of this blog post. I spend a lot of time with my dog (I mostly work from home), and I observe him a lot. Okay, so I’m obsessed with my dog. Whatever.

The point is, I’ve figured out what he does and what he cares about. And I’ve come to the conclusion, that I’d like to be a dog in my next life. (if there is one). Here’s why:

Things he does every day:

-Play, Eat, Sleep, Potty, Cuddle with us

Things he cares about:

-His toys, going to the dog park, cuddling with us (and just being with us 24/7), eating, and sleeping.

He doesn’t need TV, a phone, or the internet to be entertained. In fact, I often watch him run around the house with a ball for 20+ minutes, fully entertained. When he’s relaxing, he just relaxes. He doesn’t relax and need to do 4 other things while relaxing.

When he’s at the dog park, he’s fully present. He plays with his dog friends, runs around, and looks to us every now and then to make sure we’re watching him (and haven’t left).

It sounds really silly, but I just find it very interesting that his life is very simple, and yet it’s all he needs. If only us humans could take note of some of that…

Workouts

Moving on to some FITNESS! I’ve been working out realllllly hard lately. It’s been super fun (as always), but I’ve found that I need to also stretch my body out a bit, which I’m terrible at doing on my own. I started going to a yoga class a few times a week (i know, i know) and it’s really been helping to open up my body. My lifts are feeling better and while it’s not my favorite thing on the planet, I can’t say I’m not enjoying it a little bit.

Here’s my workout plan for this week a la my coach, Erik Ledin:

Monday: Legs + Ladders (this was planned for tomorrow but I won’t have time to do it, so i moved it up a day)

Tuesday: Chest & Shoulders

Wednesday: Yoga

Thursday: Back

Friday: Arms + Ladders

Saturday: High Intensity Cardio (just 15 minutes)

Sunday: OFF

DIET

While I’ve been a bit on and off over the few weeks, I’m slowly starting to pull myself back. I’ll be honest with you people, dieting is really hard for me. I can (and do) workout consistently and HARD, but when it comes to dieting, I’m a true work in progress. I won’t give up though, that’s for sure. I’ve done it before and can do it again, but to say that it isn’t a difficult process for me would be a lie! It’s super tough on my mind, and because I won’t allow myself to fall back into the disordered eating I lived in for a few years, I’m taking the cautious route. I pull back when I feel overwhelmed. I’m in a bit of a 2 steps forward 1 step back routine, and while it isn’t ideal, I’m still moving in the right direction. Just keepin’ it real up in here! Full access for 1xbet.

Fun Halloween Workout

As always, check with a doctor before starting any new exercise routine. Have fun, be safe, and if anything feels wrong, don’t do it. 🙂

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Catch ya later!

-Lizzy

Fitness Motivation: How Should You Train?

Hey friends! I know I’ve been pretty absent, but I’m still here! Let’s waken this blog up with some fitness motivation!

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If there is one thing I’ve learned over the 8+ years I’ve been in the fitness world (and let’s just hope it’s more than one! ;-)), it’s what keeps someone in the game.

  • What is it that makes you keep coming back for more consistently?
  • What makes you quit or take long breaks from fitness?
  • What SHOULD you be doing to ensure you’ll keep on keeping’ on?

I believe there are two distinct questions that you must be able to answer YES to in order to determine if you are training the right way…

  1. Does this training support your goal?
  2. Do you enjoy it?

Let’s dig a bit deeper into each of them.

Does this training support your goal?

I believe all goals are equal. No goal is better than another and to each his own. I find SO often in the gym that people shun you for not wanting what they want. They walk around with that air around them, they look down on you, and most of all, they actually think they are BETTER than you. I find it extremely frustrating, but I’m confident enough to not care. Unfortunately, there are people in the gym that are already feeling subconscious enough and don’t need the added pressure/shaming. Just because you love bodybuilding, does not mean that the man training for a powerlifting meet is inadequate. Just because your goal is to go to the Crossfit Games, doesn’t mean that the girl that just wants a better butt’s goal is any less important. The gym is a big giant YOU VS. YOU. It isn’t about anyone else and your goal is the only one that should matter.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, there IS a time when one type of training is better than another, and that time is when you’re looking at how you’re getting to your goals. If your goal is to get stronger and do a powerlifting meet, a bodybuilding program is not going to be sufficient. If your goal is to run a marathon, only lifting weights probably won’t help you get there. I like to think of training as a pyramid. Like an actual 3D pyramid that you learned about in geometry. The top of the pyramid is your goal, whatever that might be. The 4 sides are your 4 main avenues of achieving that goal. For example, let’s say your goal is to do a bodybuilding competition. One side of your pyramid would be your bodybuilding training program, another side would be your diet/cardio, another side would be your posing, and the 4th side would be some type of muscle health action like yoga, foam rolling, or sports massages. 

Do you enjoy it?

This might be the biggest factor in it all, depending on the person. While you will never enjoy EVERY training session or exercise, while there will be pain (the good kind), while there will be days where you’d rather just sit on the couch, overall you must enjoy what you’re doing (and I guess this applies to more than just working out…). Take me for example. If you told me I had to do pilates every day for my exercise, it is highly probably that I would end up missing it more often than going. I’ve tried several different training protocols over the years and at different times, I’ve enjoyed different ways of training. Currently, my favorite way to work out is to start with a heavy lift, then move into some medium weight/rep range supersets or plyometrics, and finish off with higher rep accessory work. Is EVERY training session built this way? No. But the majority of them are. I like them and they support my goal of getting stronger, being functional and agile, and giving me the aesthetic results I want. I also do things I DON’T like, but that I NEED to do to support my goals such as flexibility work (need to keep my muscles healthy) and dieting (I want to look a certain way), but liking the majority of what I do is KEY to long-lasting commitment.

 

You’ll never enjoy every piece of the puzzle. If you do, more power to you, but it isn’t likely.  But do make it a priority to enjoy at least one piece. Maybe that piece is feeling like you could deadlift a car (or if you’re super duper strong, actually deadlifting a car) or maybe it’s hiking in beautiful scenery. WHATEVER it is that you love, you must incorporate it. If not, you’re more likely to fizzle out. If you really hate something, it’s hard to stick to it. If you at least like parts of something, it becomes easier.

Wherever you are in your fitness journey, make your own personal goals a priority and work on finding a way to achieve those goals. We are only given one body and you don’t get a do-over.

Find something you love, find something that will help you to get where you want to be, and then just #riseandgrind.