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One Arm Rows, Workouts + OB Dog Beach WEEKEND!

Hey peeps!

This morning started as it always does…COFFEE! My family always laughs at me when I talk about coffee. Before I moved to LA, I HATED coffee with a passion. I thought the smell and taste was so awful, and I just couldn’t get on board with it.

Fast forward to living in LA…

You basically need coffee to live here. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I just think it’s a “thing” here. It’s a busy city and since moving here, I’ve had a really busy life! I definitely found out quickly that I needed it when I moved here, and well…now I’m a total coffee snob. I’m picky about my coffee, I know what I like and I know what I don’t like and it just is kind of funny. Total 180!

Anyways…

This past weekend, Charlie, Oscar and I went down to OB in San Diego. Charlie found this great little hotel called the Ocean Villa Inn that not only allows dogs, but basically caters to dogs! There was a dog beach right behind the hotel, the rooms were dog-friendly, they had a dog-wash station on site, and each room had a back door that let out into yards for the dogs to play!

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The beach part was awesome! There were soooo many dogs running around, and there was a place for humans to lay out and relax as well. Oscar ran around through the ocean and sandy beaches, played with other dogs, and had a BLAST. I think he was upset when we had to leave on Sunday. He must have run around for 3 hours both Saturday and Sunday! I’d be lying if I said Charlie and I didn’t have a blast as well!

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We wore both ourselves and the pup out. At least one of us got to sleep on the ride home.

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One Arm Rows

When we got back on Sunday, I somehow roped Charlie into doing an upper body workout with me at the gym. This is the workout we did:

Superset – TRX Rows + KB Clean & Press

Superset – TRX Renegades + Lat Pulldowns

Superset – DB One Arm Rows + Plate Squat to Press

I took some video of the one arm rows (below)

I love this exercise because it really focuses the lats. Notice that I really get a good stretch at the bottom of the movement. This really helps to keep the lats engaged and helps me to pull from my lats, as opposed to from the arms.

Workouts for the Week

Here’s the tentative plan for the week:

Monday: Track Workout + Legs (DONE)

Tuesday: Paddle Boarding

Wednesday: Shoulders/Chest

Thursday: Conditioning + Legs

Friday: Back

Saturday: OFF

Sunday: Hike or some other active recovery ( TBD)

Questions of the Day

1. Are you a coffee drinker? snob? connoisseur?

2. Have you ever been paddle boarding?

12 Weeks…

LOL, I just re-read that title and realized that people might think I’m pregnant. I’M NOT.

Now, that we got that awkwardness out of the way….

Most people that know me well, know I’ve been through some ups and downs in my fitness journey. I went from competing in the NPC Bikini division, to spiraling into an eating disorder and gaining a bunch of weight, to finding my peace with food and leveling out at a healthy and good weight for myself. I’m not shredded, and I’m not even necessarily lean, but I’ve got definition, strength, and I’m happy with my body. I lost weight after recovering from my eating disorder and I’ve been able to maintain the same weight for about 2 years now without much thought or effort. I eat healthy foods 90% of the time, not caring much about how many grams of protein, carbs, or fat that I’m eating. I make sure to eat a well-rounded diet, I look good, and I’m happy.

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But I also know what I’m capable of and what I feel like on the inside. The person inside of me is a beast. If you’ve ever worked out with me, you get it. I work really hard in the gym and don’t ever give up. I’ve been working out consistently for 7.5 years with my longest break being maybe 3-4 days. In good times and bad, the gym has always been there for me. But you may not be able to tell that from the outside!

Now, I’m ready to step it up and show myself what I’m made of once again. I’ve harnessed the help of Sohee Walsh (if you don’t know who she is, you should find out because she’s awesome) to get me down to the lean machine I want to be. I want abs again and I’m ready to have them back.

Oh hello there.

I don’t miss the no boobs part!

I chose Sohee because she went down the exact same rabbit-hole that I did. She gets it.

Questions:

Could I do this on my own? Of course I could. But when you do something yourself, your own thoughts can persuade you into different directions. I know that I do better when I have someone else telling me what to do.

Am I going to do a crazy clean-eating diet that I did when I was getting ready to compete? No. I’m not. I’ll be counting macros (proteins, fats, carbs) and still allowing myself to eat what I want when it fits into my day and I’m craving them.

What will be the hardest part for me? Not eating as much fruit. I love my fruit. Seriously, it is my candy. I eat a rainbow of fruit every day. Fruit isn’t bad, but the amount of fruit I eat equates to lots of sugar and carbs. I’ll still be eating fruit, but not all-day-err-day like I do now. 🙂

So why am I telling the world this? Because as much as I HATE the thought of telling the world my goals and potentially failing and having the world laugh at me, I know that accountability is a real thing that works. Plus, doesn’t everybody like to watch someone else’s health and fitness journey? You’ve all been watching my journey in the gym for a while now, so it’s time to take the other side into play.

I’ll be sharing my successes, struggles, meals, and thoughts. I’ll be sharing my workouts and things I’m learning along the way. Sometimes, I might cry out for help when  I want to throw the towel in, but I’m going to do this for real. I’ve signed up for 12 weeks with Sohee, and I’m excited to see what my body is made of in those 12 weeks.

Thanks for following along on my journey and keeping me accountable….let’s go!!!

Good & Bad

Wow, this week has flown by! I feel like I say that a lot. It’s been a mixture of good and bad.

Good

I finally sucked it up and started squatting with low bar. This means the barbell sits lower on your shoulders than a normal squat. It feels SUPER awkward, but it distributes the weight throughout your body better and usually makes it easier to squat heavier. Getting past the awkward feeling is by far the hardest part, but once you do, the results are awesome. I squatted 160 lbs for 3 reps the other day, whereas when I did normal squats last week, my 1 rep max was 165. I am really excited to see what my 1 rep max is with a low bar squat.

Here’s the difference between normal bar and low bar:

back-pain-high-bar-vs-low-bar-squatsPhoto Credit

Bad

I haven’t gotten much sleep this week and consequently have been a little grumpy. It’s amazing what a lack of sleep can do to you. I’m doing a photo shoot on Saturday (see below), but plan on fully taking advantage of my first free day in WEEKS. Not that I’m complaining, as it has been a fun past few weeks/weekends, but I literally haven’t had a day to myself in over 3 weeks. I need it.

Good

I’m working with a fellow FitFluential Ambassador this weekend and will be demoing a bunch of exercises for a new iPhone app that is coming out! It looks really cool, so I will definitely spread the word when it’s out! You’ll see my familiar face/body in the entire exercise glossary! 😀

Only a few days left to get my FREE 10 Day Sexy SlimdownDownload here:  http://FitLizzio.com/sexyslimdown Whether you're looking to get back on track or just need a little boost/challenge to help you break through a plateau, this is for you! This FREE eBook includes: 10 Days of Workouts10 Day Meal Plan Full Grocery ListFull Exercise Demo LibraryBad

I don’t recommend walking 19 miles in a matter of 2.5 days. It’s not a huge deal, but I hurt something in my foot last weekend and it’s just been an annoyance. I’m still able to walk, run, jump, etc. but it’s just a naggy little thing that is bothering me. I’m hoping a little R&R this weekend will heal me.

Good

I love my best friend. I know this is cheesy, but this little guy makes me so happy! I love watching him goof around, play with other dogs, and just be a light in the room. I’m lucky to have this mutt!

Oscar is my hero.

In other news, I’ve been really digging my workouts as of late. I’ve been mostly focusing on getting stronger and throwing a little HIIT in between. Here’s what my workouts looked like this week:

Sunday: HIIT – 20 minutes

Monday: Legs (colored pairs indicate supersets)

  • Hip Thrusts: 185 x 12 (3 sets)
  • Banded Hip Abduction: black band x 30 (3 sets)
  • Leg Extensions: 70×15, 90×12, 90×12
  • Supinated Hamstring Curls: 50×15 (3 sets)
  • Box Jumps: 24 in. x 10 (2 sets)
  • DB Step Ups: 22.5 x 10 (2 sets)
  • Burpees: 10 reps (3 sets)

Tuesday: Shoulders + HIIT – 20 minutes

Wednesday: Full Body (Heavy Squats, Heavy Hip Thrusts, Back Extensions, Banded Lateral Walks, Incline Press, Chin Ups, Hanging Leg Raises)

Thursday: 15 min. Cardio to warm up, then a high rep, light weight full body workout including Leg Extensions, Supinated Hamstring Curls, DB Squat to Press, Rear Delt Raises, and Underhand Barbell Rows

Friday: REST

Saturday: Exercise Demos 🙂

Question of the Day:

1. What is 1 good thing and 1 bad thing that happened this week?

Shattered

No, I’m not talking about the Rolling Stones song…

I’m talking about my iPhone. Yesterday morning, I was running across the street with Oscar and it flew out of my pocket.

Luckily, I was able to upgrade and just $400 later (ugh…), I’m back up and running with a new iPhone 6! Woohoo!

apple-iphone 6 - 16gb-space gray-450x350(I totally wanted to take a picture of my ACTUAL new phone but it’s impossible. :-()

I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the weekend was craziness! I attended my 5th NAMM show. NAMM is a ginormous convention that basically every music, gear, and instrument company attends, in addition to a bunch of musicians, engineers, and the like. It’s a super fun time, but you basically spend 3 days on your feet.

This year I tracked it on my phone and between walking around the convention for 3 days, and the countless trips to and from our hotel (which was 1 mile away), I walked 19 MILES this weekend. That is INSANE!!! I couldn’t believe it. My calves are still screaming at me.

It was a great weekend, but I really missed this little guy!

He woke up like this.I call this Gremlin Mode.

Workout

Yesterday, I did a tough leg workout. I’ve been doing full body routines lately, but decided to change it up a little.

Hip Thrusts  185x12 for 3 sets.

I did:

  • Barbell Hip Thrusts: 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Seated Band Hip Abductions: 3 sets of 30 reps
  • Prone Hamstring Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps
  • Leg Extensions: 3 sets of 12 reps
  • Box Jumps (24 inch box): 2 sets of 10 reps
  • DB Step Ups: 2 sets of 10 reps
  • Burpees. ( I’ve started incorporating 3 sets of 10 burpees with 30 second rests in between at the end of some of my workouts. It’s a good way to “burn out” a bit and end the workout sweating. )

That’s all I’ve got for today. Nothing too exciting, but then again my life isn’t all that exciting.

(Although I did get a haircut and new color that I’m obsessed with!! Don’t mind the giant pimple on my chin.)

Love my new haircut and color. Thanks to Nicole at  !!!!!

Question of the Day

Have you ever tracked your steps at a convention? How many steps did you take?

Monday Morning Boost (WORKOUT!)

Hey guys!

I had a full, crazy, weekend that included walking a total of 19 miles. I’ll give you a full update tomorrow, but thought I’d start the week off with a Monday Morning Boost!

Try this workout today. It should only take you 15-20 minutes and will definitely get you sweating bullets!

Enjoy!

(As always, check with a doctor before starting any new exercise program. Listen to your body and don’t push yourself past what you’re capable of.)

monday boost

 

Fitness Weekend! {VIDEOS & PHOTOS}

Happy Monday!!

I started my morning off with some HIIT today! Starting off my week with fitness definitely helps me get focused. Especially since I was out of town this weekend and totally discombobulated from real life. 🙂

I’m going to get right to this weekend’s shenanigans. It was an amazing weekend with friends and fitness!

Last Thursday night, my friends and I drove out to AZ! One of my friends was running the Rock n Roll Marathon, and since my family is from AZ, we decided to go support her! Instead of writing all about it, I figured I’d like pictures and videos tell the story!

I spent some time with my family..

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My dad and my nephew, Matty

Hanging with my little big bro!!!

Me and my littlebig bro, Ben at La Grande Orange

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DRANK GOOD COFFEE….

Best. Coffee. Ever.

Best. Coffee. Ever.

Kombucha ON TAP at La Grande Orange…(GAME CHANGER)

My favorite flavor: TRILOGY

My favorite flavor: TRILOGY

Shenanigans with friends…

with .
・・・
!    !! #26.2 !  powered by plants !! Finished my 3rd marathon with a PR of 4:00:45. -- if I did not have to stop to poo - it would have been 3:55:00 ! Cut 17 minutes off my time from the last race in 2011:) I'm pretty stoked about that!  Get your ass up and do something!! If I can run 26.2 miles then you can at least run 1 or 2!! ! Fitness is a lifestyle..join the movement!! Thanks to  and  for driving my ass to the race from Cali..and supporting me at the finish line!!

Torri set a new marathon PR…and Francesca and I walked a mile to meet her at the finish line..so that counts for something, right?!

Worked out at my favorite gym, Maximum Fitness with the master, Karl

Feeling the pain in 3,2,1...

Feeling the pain in 3,2,1…

Set some new PR’s at Bret’s (i’m pretty sure there is special PR Fairy dust in Bret’s garage….I always hit PR’s when I’m there!)

OH, and I can’t forget the #bootybump! Who needs a chest bump when you can booty bump?!

I had so much fun this weekend, but back to work it is!

Hope everyone had a great weekend themselves!

Question of the Day

1. Have you ever run a marathon or 1/2 marathon?

I did the AZ Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon a few years ago, and have thought about doing another, but right now I’m focused on my lifting.

 

 

3 Things

The first week back to “real” life is almost complete! It definitely feels good to be back in the regularly swing of things. I love traveling and being spontaneous, but I also love my daily routine, too.

Just as quickly as I’ve gotten back into my routine, I’ll be getting right out of it next week with a quick trip to AZ. My NEW nephew was born last week, and I can’t wait to meet the little guy! Apparently Matty is taking a liking to his new baby brother. 🙂

10930082_10103500013811162_6802137020787985551_n3 Things

I thought it’d be fun to do a little survey of the 3 things I’d bring with me if I had to be shipped off to a deserted island. Here goes!

CD’s

  1.  36 Crazyfists – Bitterness the Star
  2. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
  3. ELO – Greatest Hits

(this was REALLY hard to decide, by the way)

Movies

  1. Freddy Got Fingered
  2. One Hour Photo
  3. Naked Gun

Food (Healthy)

  1. Grapes
  2. Chicken
  3. Almond Butter

Food (Junk)

  1. Sour Gummy Worms
  2. Sweet Potato Fries
  3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Drinks

  1. Water
  2. Kombucha (Trilogy)
  3. Continental (Americano w/ Almond Milk)

Random Items

  1. KettleBell
  2. Barbell
  3. Pillow

Okay, YOUR turn….what are 3 random items YOU bring to a deserted island?

Things I’m Loving Lately

I’m excited to head into the weekend and thought I’d share some of the things I’ve been loving lately. Let’s get right to it!

1. Walking my dog.

oscarwalkThis is kind of a weird thing to like, but I really do enjoy walks with Oscar. He always eye-diseases-info so happy and it gets me to take several short breaks throughout the day. My phone has a step tracker on it. Since having Oscar, I’ve doubled the amount of steps I take each day. Dogs are good for fitness!

2. Buffalo Wing Sauce.

wingsauceOn everything, everywhere.

3. Sweet Potatoes.

sweet-potato-1Tis the season! For some reason I hadn’t had sweet potatoes in a while. I’ve been eating them lately and forgot how much I love them. They are nature’s candy for sure!

4. The Dick Van Dyke Show

001-the-dick-van-dyke-show-theredlistOkay, call me an old lady, but I’ve been watching re-runs of the Dick Van Dyke Show lately and I love it! I used to watch it when I was a little kid and hadn’t seen it since then. I decided to put it on the other night (I love old TV/movies) and have been all about it since. It’s super edgy for it’s time!

5. The Dog Park

dogparkThis is kind of like #1, but not at all. The dog park is one of my favorite places to go with Oscar. It is seriously like a Central Park for dogs. You have the old dogs that sit under benches, the puppies that go nuts and run like crazy, the antagonizers, the grumps, the ones that play catch…it’s like their own little city! It cracks me up.

Questions of the Day

1. Do you ever watch old TV shows or movies? Which ones are your favorites?

2. What’s your favorite “seasonal” food right now?

Navigating Thanksgiving {Tips, Tricks, & Workouts!}

Good morning friends!

Is it just me, or is anyone else already in holiday mode? For some reason this week has been mentally easier for me than most. I think it’s because I know that next week is a holiday, so therefore I’m in the home stretch. Charlie, Oscar and I are heading to AZ to hang with my family for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait!

Thanksgiving is seriously my FAVORITE holiday. The other holidays are great, but for some reason Thanksgiving has always been my favorite. I think it’s a mixture of the food and the tradition. Every year, my aunt puts out an amazing spread. I love food so much!!

While I do love this holiday, I’ve learned over the years that overdoing it doesn’t make me feel good. It always sounds like fun…..until I get finished eating my last cookie and pretty much need to be rolled away from the table. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but I don’t like feeling that full. It’s uncomfortable.

Because of that, I’ve gathered some great tips and tricks for Thanksgiving that I personally use to help combat the over-eating madness that tends to occur on this day. While I think that Thanksgiving is a perfectly good reason to indulge in all the foods you love, I don’t think it has to be quite the calorie bomb that it can be. With a little planning and thought, it doesn’t have to derail you too much and you can still fully enjoy yourself.

Tips and Tricks to Navigating Thanksgiving:

1. Workout in the morning. This is something I ALWAYS do each year. For some reason, it’s much easier to push yourself really hard and get a great workout in when you know the reward is a huge, delicious meal. Thoughts of pumpkin and pecan pie swirl through my brain as I kick my butt. I try to do something that works my full body and makes me sweat a lot.

Since many gyms are closed on Thanksgiving, here are some suggestions:

Ladder Full Body Tabata Full BodyBurpee Mile_Workout(you can find more workouts like these in my e-book Fit Lizzio Fitness To Go here)

You could also sign up for a local Turkey Trot (find one in your area here) or go for a run or bike ride with a friend/family member.

2. Eat a meal before “the meal”. I used to make the mistake of starving myself all day so that I could scarf down all of the Thanksgiving fixings. The problem with this is that I was SO hungry by the time the food was put out, I’d overeat and not even realize it. (Until I laid on the couch and past out in a food coma). Eat healthy meals leading up to Thanksgiving Dinner. Go with lots of fruits and vegetables (high fiber and filling), lean proteins, and healthy fats. This will help keep your blood sugar levels normal and your appetite in check.

3. Navigate your Plate. Instead of getting a bunch of everything and scarfing it all down, think about the foods you REALLY want and come up with a strategy. For example, I like to fill up my plate with turkey breast meat, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, and stuffing. Those are my go-to Thanksgiving foods. Since stuffing is my least favorite, and grean bean casserole is my most favorite, I only get a little bit of stuffing and I get a bit more green bean casserole. When it comes to eating, I start with the turkey (lean protein!), and eat a few bites of that first. This is usually the healthiest part of Thanksgiving dinner, so I try to fill up on that before I hit the sides and desserts. Many times, we just need a little taste of each, but if we hit those foods when we first sit down and are starving, our hunger and cravings will usually take over. Try to eat the healthiest foods first and then move on from there.

4. Share your dessert. It’s so easy to eat an entire slice of each kind of pie on the table (pumpkin, pecan, apple, etc!), so if you get one slice of each and share them with a family member, significant other, or friend, this usually helps you to eat less. You can still enjoy all of the flavors and not stuff yourself silly!

5. Freaking Enjoy Yourself!  At the end of the day, it’s just one meal. Don’t fret over it and if you want 2nds or 3rds of the most unhealthy side item on the table, JUST GO FOR IT. I truly believe Thanksgiving should be fully enjoyed. These tips are here to help you make Thanksgiving just a bit lighter, but do what makes you happy on this special day. Remember, one meal won’t derail your efforts (just like one meal won’t make you fit).

Questions of the Day:

Do you have any tips to add that help you to navigate your Thanksgiving table?

What is your favorite Thanksgiving fixing?

 

 

 

What’s a Pummelo?! + No Sugar Challenge Update: Day 14

Today is busy, busy, busy. Mondays always are, aren’t they? Let’s get right to it.

I was walking through the grocery store Saturday afternoon, and something caught my eye that I had never seen before. It was a pummelo. I’m guessing I’m about 1,000 years late to the party, but I had seriously never seen this before!!! And of course, I needed to get one and see what it was all about.

pummelo1It looks and feels like a grapefruit, but I’ll be honest, I had my doubts…..

pummelo2The closer I got, the more it did seem like a grapefruit. As I peeled it apart, I actually was thinking about how upset I’d be if it ended up tasting just like a grapefruit…

pummelo3The verdict? OMG, It’s delicious!!! Why did nobody ever tell me about these before? It tastes like a grapefruit without the bitterness. It also has a lemony taste to it as well. I’m officially in love and want to eat #allthepummelos. Thanks mom & dad for keeping me in the dark all these years. -_-

No Added Sugar/Fake Sugar Update: Day 14

Almost at the halfway point! I’d love to say it’s getting easier, but it seems much harder lately! Maybe it’s just because there is halloween candy and desserts everywhere I look, but I definitely eyed the shit out of these babies for an ungodly amount of time over the weekend.

cupcakesDon’t worry, I resisted. Not without shedding tears, though.

Feeling: I am hungry ALL the time, all day long. I eat and then I’m hungry again. And the cycle repeats. It’s kinda wild, actually. I think my metabolism is working much better without all the fake sugar I was consuming. I still feel clear-headed too!

Cravings: I don’t actually have any cravings, I just feel like I want a little something more. I for sure wouldn’t mind a donut right about now. 😀

Body: I’m feeling tighter and still, no bloating. It’s actually sad how much time I spent feeling bloated when I was taking in fake sugar and eating foods with added sugar. I truly think giving up the fake sugar has had the biggest impact, but taking both of those away has been truly wonderful in terms of how I feel.

Progress: I’m definitely seeing changes. They are small changes and hard to see on a daily basis, but looking over the past 2 weeks, it’s pretty obvious something is working!

progress13I think Charlie and I are actually going to extend the challenge a few days (we leave for AZ about 5 days after our original end date), so we (okay, really I made this decision) decided to just wait a few more days and then enjoy the holidays right! 😉

That’s all I’ve got today! Have a fabulous afternoon and I’ll see ya tomorrow!

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