Archive for motivation

A Real Americano & a Workout

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Editor’s Note: I published this yesterday, but WordPress lost it. I had to re-write it. I wasn’t happy.

Oh man. Last night was one of those nights where sleep just didn’t happen. It never seems like that big of a deal at the time, but then you wake up the next morning. And it’s a bigfuckin’deal! You begin to think of what excuses you can use to stay in bed and convince yourself that getting up wouldn’t be healthy for you….

dog.in.bed

My schedule is pretty flexible, and this morning was definitely one of those days that I tried to think of excuses. Alas, I realized I better just get up and knock things off my to-do list instead. I had a lot to get done.

I work part-time at a boutique gym in Santa Monica. I started working there the day after I moved to LA. As in, I got to LA at 3pm on a Saturday and was at work at 7am the next morning. With that said, this place has grown to be somewhat of a home to me. When I started, I worked at the front desk. It began as about a 15 hour a week gig, but soon turned into 30+ hours per week. One day, I decided to quit to pursue other things. Then they re-hired me. The same day. In a different position. So now I do a bunch of administrative work for the gym and basically make my own schedule.

Today when I got to the gym, it hit me as soon as I walked in the door. I needed it. I needed ‘a real one.’ You see, I’ve been trying to cut down on caffeine (and lately failing miserably, but did give it up for a good 6 months or so) and have made decaf Americanos a staple. Sure, I will drink 3 energy drinks in a day and be okay with it, but I won’t deviate from my decaf Americanos. Shut up. Logic isn’t one of my strengths.

The rebel in me decided that today needed to be a rule-breaking kind of day. There is a cute little coffee shop across the street from the gym, and it wasn’t long before I was walking through the door looking like Lindsay Lohan everyday after a long night. The owner of the shop immediately started to say “So a deca..” but I cut him off, looked him straight in the eye and said, “I need a real one today.” He knew I wasn’t joking and was on top of it immediately. And that was that. Soon I had this staring at me. It was glorious. And real. I like caffeine, yes I do.

americano

It lit quite a fire under my ass and I was able to get a whole lot done today. It also inspired me to do this fun little workout. It’s quick, tough, and sweaty. Hope you enjoy!

Upside Down Christmas Tree Workout (Lame Name Award goes to me!)

5 ROUNDS:

Burpees w/ push-ups (10 reps, 20 sec. rest between sets)

Rest 1 minute, then…

4 ROUNDS:

Superset: DB Squats w/ BB Push Press (10 reps each, 20 sec. rest between supersets)

Rest 1 minute, then…

3 ROUNDS:

Superset: Swiss ball crunch (10 reps) w/ 30 second plank (no rest)

No rest from here on out..

2 ROUNDS: 

Superset: Lat pulldown w/ Seated row (10 reps)

1 ROUND:

400m Sprint

 Leave a comment if you try the workout, and let me know how it goes. Then riddle me this:

If you had to live on candy, what would you buy?

I’d definitely buy sour patch kids and sweet tarts.

 

Posted in motivation, random, Workout tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

5 Ways To Stay Motivated When…

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…When All You Want To Do is Bury Yourself in a 40 Foot Trench

Alternate titles: —

-5 Ways To Stay Motivated When all you want to do is sit in your closet and hope everybody forgets about you

-5 Ways To Stay Motivated When all you want to do is move to Botswana and pretend to be a traveling food critic.

We all go through these stages. Especially those of us that aren’t on the typical path. You know, the work 9-5, corporate ladder thang. Some of us choose to go to work in our pajamas and that is perfectly okay. As long as you can be productive in your pajamas.

Trying to work your way into a business that is laden with too many sharks and not enough bait can be extremely trying on the mind and body. It wreaks havoc on your sleeping schedule, emotions, dignity, and everything else that can be wreaked havoc on. Giving up seems like the only choice at times, but we all know better than to do that. We know that we have to keep pushing, even when it’s the last thing we want to do.

While I am guilty as charged of the above, I’ve also got some tips for getting through the down times. They aren’t a cure-all, but they definitely help get your mind out of the ditch.

1. Make a list.

Making a list seems like a pointless task, but it can really help to get your head back in gear. Write out some goals for the week, or even just for the day. Point out some things that you will do to help push you in the right direction. These are small, simple goals that will inch you towards the pot of gold. It can be something as simple as eating healthier or sending 1 e-mail per day. Being able to have a list in front of you can help streamline your thoughts and to-dos. When I write out a goal/to-do list, I start with the simple things that I want to incorporate in my every-day (i.e. send 2 e-mails per day, work on a mix every day, make 1 new contact each week, etc. ) and then move on to bigger goals (2 new projects by x date, etc.) This way I can look at the smaller goals and check them off each day as I work towards the bigger goals.

2. Take a break. 

Although it seems counter-intuitive to take a break when you should be working, sometimes a walk by the beach or up a mountain can do wonders. Getting your head clear and taking in some nature, sans-electronics, can do a lot for your mind. It can center you a little bit and give you a fresh start to go off of. Take as little as 15 minutes or as much as a few hours out of your day to connect with something besides your internet connection.

 

3. Talk to someone.

Whether that is someone who has been in your career path for a long time, someone who just has a lot of life experience, a therapist, or a good friend, talk to someone about your struggles. Lay out what is frustrating you and together, try to come up with some solutions. You don’t have to solve quantum physics, but just come up with some simple solutions that will point you in the right direction. If nothing else, you can get your fears and worries off of your chest and get someone else’s perspective of your situation.

 

4. Work.

While a break may be necessary, sometimes you have to just throw yourself into some work, even when it’s the last thing you want to do. When you’re motivated, everything is simple. It seems like a walk in the park and nothing can stop you. When you’re not motivated? Just looking at your work can make your head spin. Sometimes you just have to go through the motions until you get back on track.

 

 

5. Take a risk.

As an entrepreneur, taking risks is in our blood. Without that, you’re just another average worker in America. Sometimes being at rock bottom is just the juice we need to take a big risk we may have been putting off. I’m not saying you have to go jump off the Empire State building, but do something.  Whether that’s sending an e-mail to a potential client or starting a new ad campaign that you’ve been thinking about, sometimes taking a risk can be the best medicine for an unmotivated soul. There’s always a chance that it won’t work, but isn’t that why we live the way we do?

 

If we didn’t want the lows of being our own boss, we’d go get a job working for someone else. The fact of the matter is that we know these ups and downs exist and we know that we are going to continue to face them throughout life. The trade off is that when things are good? It feels incredible. You get to bask in the glory of knowing that you did this on your own and that what you’re doing means something. You figured out what it took to get to that place, and you got there. It’s okay to have help along the way, but in the end you wouldn’t be where you are without your individual drive and brains.

What are some ways you stay motivated when you’re feeling like the yellow starburst amidst a bowl of red and pink?

Posted in motivation tagged with , , , , ,

A New Journey

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I haven’t posted on this blog in quite some time. I’m almost positive I don’t have any readers anymore! But that’s okay, a lot has changed since I used this blog, but I think I’d like to bring it back….

At the time that this blog was a daily part of my life, I was single, competing in bikini competitions, living in Arizona and going to school. Now? I live in beautiful, sunny Santa Monica. I still work out daily, but don’t compete (and don’t do nearly as much work out volume as I used to). I’m not the petite thing I was back in 2009. I am a sound engineer and work out of a few different recording studios in Los Angeles and Hollywood. I still work part time at a gym doing operational duties. Life has definitely changed for me, but I’m happy and loving it.

Competing was fun for me, but it wasn’t good for my brain. It took me over two years to get my brain back to a semi-normal state, and I would say that I am about 75% of the way there now. It has been extremely tough, taken a lot out of me, and been a huge fight, but I finally feel almost  like a normal person again. I’ll go into some details some other time.

Anyways, for those of you that still have this blog in their news feeds, maybe you’ll stick around for some more. Since I gave up the dieting long, long ago, I am about 20 pounds heavier than I was when I was competing. Not terrible, but not where I’m totally comfortable either. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with my body. For the first time in 3 years, I am at peace with my body and embrace it. With that said, I’d like to find a place somewhere in between where I was and where I am. I have been able to maintain this weight within 5 pounds for the last year and a half. I finally feel ready to do it for all of the right reasons and not because I hate myself. Because yes, as soon as I gained 5 pounds post-competition, I hated myself. For 2-3 years I hated myself. Sad, really, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come along.

My workouts over the last year or so have been pretty random. I work out about 5-6 days per week, but I don’t have a strict regimen of lifting and cardio on the daily like I used to ( which was about an hour of lifting + an hour of intense cardio and sometimes a boxing class to boot). Some days will be a run by the beach, a tough bleacher/stair workout, some days will be lifting, some days will be just cardio at the gym, sometimes a combination. I try to go hiking with my boyfriend when I can as well. I still like to push myself, but I prefer the shorter workouts as opposed to the 2-3 hours I was putting in before.

I’d love for you all to follow along if you feel like it, but I really just want to document my journey again. It’s fun to look back and see what you’ve accomplished. Life is much, much busier these days, so it won’t be quite as easy to fit it all in, but if I’ve got time for Facebook and Twitter, I’ve got time for cooking, working out and prepping food too.

My goal is to drop about 15 pounds and get my abs back. I want to keep my bubble butt. 😉

Here’s my plan: After reading Janetha’s blog about Jamie Eason’s Live Fit plan, I’ve decided to give it a go. Never in my life have I followed a “plan”. Even when competing, I kind of just did my own thing. That’s just my personality, but I’m bored and want to spice it up and actually work on losing some extra weight I don’t want. Maintenance has been great as I’ve gotten back normal hunger cues and such, but I feel ready to push harder.

Help push me along or even better, join me and we can do it together! I’ll post daily details of what I’m doing and how I’m feeling.

Take care friends!

(Photo below of me at a studio in North Hollywood last month)

Image

Posted in Abs, motivation, Workout tagged with , , , , , ,

Remember me?!

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Holy crap!! I have completely neglected this blog. Life has been nuts, but that isn’t why I haven’t blogged on here. I just haven’t felt compelled to write about fitness/nutrition lately, so I started a music blog called It Just Sounds Good.

The good news, though, is that I plan on updating this blog as well! I miss blogging on here, and miss interacting with my awesome readers! I hope there are still some out there!

So what have I been up to?? EVERYTHING!!!! In keeping things simple, I still work out daily, but my workouts are somewhat different. I’ve been running a lot more, doing more plyometric/circuit/compound exercises in the gym and have shyed away from heavy lifting. My reasoning? For one, I just haven’t felt like it. I’m really liking the fast-pace movements lately. The other reason…well I have a pretty decent amount of muscle, I don’t want more, and I tend to put on muscle fairly easily! I know that many people say this, but I actually got a blood test and my testosterone levels are slightly higher than the average female (maybe i’m a man? haha justtt kidding) but this is common for weight lifters, actually. With that said, I will still throw in some conventional lifting days here and there, but for the most part I’m running 5-8 miles 3 days a week, doing 2-3 circuit/plyo workouts in the gym per week, and on then some track workouts and boot camp style workouts usually about once per week. I occasionally am boxing (when I can wake up that early!) and have also been riding my bicycle around to run my short errands!!

The Food

Well in January, I decided I needed to overhaul my view on food. I have to be honest with you guys, I’ve gained a pretty good amount of weight since I competed. I no longer have that tiny lean body, but I’m not a big tub of lard either. I am muscular, with some extra padding is the best way to put it! My weight around competition time was about 130, these days I’m about 155. A 25 pound weight gain….It’s embarassing, frustrating, and is completely my fault. I will say, however, that I’m at a healthy weight for my height and build, and besides my elevated testosterone levels(sounds so funny haha), all of my blood tests came back saying that I’m a healthy bean, so I really have to remind myself to be thankful of that!

How Competing Changed Me

Competing was an amazing experience. I decided in December 2008 to get in the best shape of my life and compete, and I DID! I will be honest, my body looked smokin’!!! (Of course at the time, I only saw my flaws.) I  guess being so naive to the sport was a blessing, because I had a great prep (no crazy carb-cutting) and did well. It was after competing that things got a little hairy. Suddenly, those who saw potential in me, started giving me advice. They told me what I should/shouldn’t do, and it was coming from many different angles. It really made me view everything differently and I got a very bad mental view on food, eating and working out. I could go on and on (and if you’d like me to, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail and I’ll do an entire post on my thoughts/feelings on everything). I started to try to put on muscle, and also was eating more to do so. This slight weight gain looked to me like I had gained 50 pounds! Your body image gets really screwed up when you get super lean. Anything above that, and you truly believe you’re fat. From there, it was downhill and I have basically yo-yo’ed my weight for the last year and a half.

How I’ve Changed Recently

Going back to my “overhaul” this past January, I decided to STOP restricting the types of foods I was eating, and be a “normal person.” I have still been counting calories, but I haven’t been restricting WHAT I can eat. I’ve eaten gummy candy (helloooo sour gummy worms!), sandwiches (oh, how i missed those turkey sandwiches), and even the occasional sweet treat. In doing so, I haven’t really lost weight, but I haven’t gained weight either. I haven’t been “perfect” but that wasn’t my goal. My goal was to rid myself of viewing foods as good or bad and stopping myself from being so obsessive about the types of foods I was eating.

The Verdict

I finally feel good about food. I feel like I have made LEAPS in the last 3 months. Had I done this a year ago, I think things would have been much easier. As dumb as it sounds, I feel very proud of this. I know many people who absolutely fall into eating disorders from competing and seem to never free themselves, but I finally feel freed from it. I don’t think that I had an eating disorder, but did I have a skewed view on food? Heck yes I did. Very screwed up.

Body Image Now and Goals

I still suffer from some body image issues. After all, I’m not lean anymore(and hello, i’m a girl!), and it’s a hard pill to swallow. I don’t look the way that I want to, but my goals have also changed. A happy weight for me these days would be about 140. I think I was a bit too small at 130, and although I did love that look, it was hard to maintain. I think that I could maintain a 140 pound body without being “crazy” about a strict diet. So, with April 1st being tomorrow, and me being cliche, I’m going to start tightening up my diet a little bit. I know you’re probably thinking “Lizzy, you just told us you were getting away from that, what’s with this?!” But the fact of the matter, is that my mind is different now. I feel comfortable cleaning up my diet a bit (less junk, more wholesome foods, slightly less calories) without falling back into a distorted view of food and eating. While I don’t believe you have to eat squeaky clean to lose weight (you absolutely do NOT) I prefer to eat this way for the most part. It doesn’t mean I won’t have the occasional turkey sandwich or beef jerky (another recent obsession) but probably not as frequently. (Not to mention beef jerky is too damn expensive!)

GOALS

-Lose 15 pounds

-Continue viewing food in a healthy way

-Keep doing the work outs I love

-Stress out LESS

-Don’t dwell on my flaws!

Wow, that was a marathon of a post!! I also want to note, I’m VERY HAPPY with life right now. I’m following my dreams in the music business and I couldn’t be more blessed with everything going on. Hopefully I didn’t portray that I have been depressed or anything, because that definitely ISN’T the case. I’m very happy, but ready to make some changes as well.

Anyways, I’m not sure what direction to take the blog, so your input would be greatly appreciated! For now, I will be posting workouts, healthy recipes, and my thoughts/feelings toward my weight loss and fitness. Share this with your friends too! I’d like to share my experiences with others and build a network on the Fit Lizzio blog.

What are your goals for April?

Here are some recent pictures as well. My sister is getting married next weekend too, so I will be sure to post pictures from that!!

From left to right: Aunt Suzie, my sister Rachel, me, Grandpa(just turned 90 and still works out everyday!!), little brother Ben(so little right? HA), mother, Aunt Nancy

My best friend Taylor(left) myself and my sister Rachel(right) on my birthday

Most people go to Ostrich farms on their birthday..right?

My friend Maggie, myself and Morgan at my other birthday dinner. This is right before I ate a RAW QUAIL EGG. and it was good….

That’s all for now folks!

Posted in Fit Lizzio, food, motivation, pressure, Running, Workout tagged with , , , , , , ,

Peg Legs

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Hola!

Hope everyone’s short week is starting off nicely. Tomorrow is already Wednesday!!(actually it’s probably already Wednesday by the time you read this..if you read this.. ;-))

I was glad to see that some of my readers spoke up to say they are still out there! I know I kind of just ditched out on you guys like a bad boyfriend, but I am hopefully going to get back into some type of “regular” schedule with the blog. Whatever that may be, considering I’ve never really had a schedule, per say :).

I know you are all wondering by now why this post is titled Peg Legs….well I think that I will just let you see the work out my trainer put me through today and maybe it will give some clarity. I’ll be honest, I just wanted to say Peg Leg really bad. Don’t forget to check out the my-pharm-blog of this post for a frequently asked question that I MUST address…..

The Workout (cardio was a little over 4 mile hilly run)

Low Box Squats: 1 warm up set, 5 sets of 10 reps with 60 second rests, 5 sets of 5 reps with 45 seconds rest and an increase in weight by 40%

Hack Squat superset with Elevated Dumbbell Single Leg Deadlifts

Walking lunges AROUND THE ENTIRE BUILDING. He counted 600 reps……

Let me just say that my legs were shaking after the box squats…needless to say I was about to murder him when he took me into the 110 degree weather for the lunges….moving on….

The Question that I Get All The Time

“Lizzy…if you’re a trainer and know what you’re doing…why do you have a trainer????”

I’ll give you the short and simple answer to that: Because EVERYONE can benefit from having a trainer, it’s just a matter of WHO that trainer is and what your goals are.

Reasons to Hire a Trainer(one that is well-educated, experienced and can think OUTSIDE the box)

-You can learn new exercises and learn new ways to pair exercises that you wouldn’t have thought about on your own.

-I don’t care how hard you push yourself, a good trainer and one that knows you well enough can(key word is can because not all trainers do this or know how to do it efficiently…) push you harder.

-You can learn the reasons why this particular trainer does a different variation of an exercise you already do.

There are many other reasons why a well-trained and knowledgeable person can GREATLY benefit from having a trainer…..why do you think NBA players have a coach? or power lifters? or volleyball players? As smart as we can be, there is ALWAYS more to learn, and as soon as you start thinking you know everything, you will fall farrrrr behind my friends.

I also believe in training with different trainers. Many people will stick with their same trainer for years and years, which is fine, but I prefer to learn as much as I can from one trainer and then it’s time to move on. I am not saying to bounce around, because that isn’t effective either. Personally, I’ve had 3 trainers(including my current trainer) in my entire life that truly changed me, the way I workout and my mindset. I’ve been with these trainers for at least 1 year or more at separate times since I began training. These are highly educated individuals who have a lot of experience: a strength and conditioning coach who taught me proper form on all of my foundational exercises, a professional body builder/ex marine, and currently a former world champion power lifter who has been lifting for 35 years. 3 very different worlds, but SO much knowledge to be gained.

I leave you with a quote that my current trainer keeps reminding me of “Get outside of the box.” Really think about what that means for your training. Just because it’s a rule or what you were taught, it doesn’t mean that’s the only way it can be done. Our bodies were made to move and there is more than one way to skin a cat….get outside of your box and see for yourself.


Posted in Legs, mantras, motivation, quotes, Workout

I’m in!!

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…to my new place!

I somehow got my stuff together today, found someone to take my table, got my bed, couch and tv moved and am now in my new house!! I’m living with another fellow fitness gal, so it works out well. Different part of town that I’m not used to, but I’m excited!!

 

This morning’s leg workout was awesome! I got some groggy morning cardio in (at a lovely 4AM) and then ate breakfast and hit the gym floor. Changed it up quite a bit today.

The Workout

-Leg Press superset with  Up and Overs

-Hack Squat superset with jumping split squats

-Front squats superset with walking lunges(no weight, high reps)

-Leg extensions superset with front kicks, side kicks and scissor kicks on the heavy bag.

The addition of the boxing kicks into my leg workout was AWESOME. It was a change of pace and lots of fun.

58 days to show time!!!!

Some days I think I’ll be ready, some days I’m not sure…..but either way I’m doing what I need to do to get there. Power of positive thinking + hard work = success. That’s my view at least.

What is the HARDEST thing you’ve ever had to do in order to achieve your goal??

Catch ya later!! 🙂

Posted in contest prep, front squats, Legs, motivation, Plyometrics, Work Hard, Workout

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

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Step OUT of your comfort zone and into the unknown.

If you want to BE what you have never BEEN before, you will have to DO what you’ve never DONE before.

If it scares you, move towards it. In fact, break through it and leave it in your trails.

Every obstacle is a chance to overcome. To dig deep inside yourself and find your strength. If you don’t beat it the first time, re-assess, stand back up, and attack it again with a stronger force.

The only things that we cannot do, are the things that we believe we cannot do.

BECOME ONE with the things you are most afraid of. You will only regret NOT doing things.

Train your MIND and your body will follow.

Watch the video below. It’s kind of long, but worth watching.

Posted in motivation tagged with ,

Long one, but worth the read I think…

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Hola!! Yes, i’m alive!!

Hope everyone had a great new years! I had a pretty good time, but have spent the day trying to catch up on sleep. I got to bed around 330 am, and woke up at 830 this morning. I took a nap for a few hours this afternoon though. I have been l-azy today and it feels so good. I don’t typically just do nothing all day. Great way to bring in the new year right? 😉

Everybody is making sure that “today is the start of something new”, but the new year for me is just a time to reflect and decide what I want for the upcoming year. I have goals for 2010, but not really “resolutions.” I made a year long plan this morning. I broke up the year into mostly 10 week increments of what I am going to focus on. It looks to be a pretty good year.

Workouts this week

This week was a really great week for my workouts.

Monday, my hamstrings and back got dominated. My hammies were sore up until yesterday.  I also did running intervals on the treadmill and incline walking to work up a good sweat.

Tuesday, i almost threw up from boxing. It was the first time in a long time that I actually felt like I might puke from the workouts. We sparred and did 2 minute rounds with no breaks. We alternated between  2 minutes of quickness and then 2 minutes of hard AND quickness. I think the fact that one of the people I was sparring seemed to like to circle the entire two minutes may have been a huge reason why I wanted to puke(from being dizzy) but the workout was hard as hell. Afterwards, I gave my biceps and triceps a run for their money. I ellipticyclecized for 20-30 minutes afterwards as well.

Wednesday, I put my shoulders through a good one. Shoulders are one area that I struggle to get sore. I work them really hard, but only a handful of times do I feel it the day or two after. This was one of those times. I believe it was the blue band shoulder presses that did it. Those always get me. For cardio, I did running intervals on the treadmill and some elliptical.

Thursday was boxing again. A conditioning day. It was a really tough one, though. Myself and one other person have been the only ones there the past week, and he refers to us as the “freaks” and doesn’t really let us rest. He always says “i consider it a good day when i make michelle and lizzy sweat.” The hardest combo of the day was: 7 crosses, move, move twice through (i think in technical boxing terms the moves are ducks..i really don’t know haha) 5 up downs, bear crawl to the wall, 10 jump squats, and bear crawl back. 5 sets of that really got me.

When I got to the gym after boxing and realized I had to do legs, i was SOOO not in the mood for it. I did it anyways and ended up getting a good workout, but mentally it was one of the hardest workouts. i was seriously NOT wanting to do it. I did low box squats superset with squat jumps, DB walking lunges with 2o lb DB’s superset with jumping lunges, Smith machine tempo squats super set with box jumps and finally single leg leg presses.

Friday is today and I am resting. Tomorrow is boot camp and Sunday is probably another bleacher workout(depending what time my friends go) otherwise a nice long run is in order. I spent today with my dad and eating wasn’t exactly stellar. I kinda planned it like this though, because after today I’m realy going to stay true to myself and work on (finally) getting rid of this excess fat i’m carrying. I don’t feel comfortable even in clothes right now. I’m not bitching about it anymore though, i know what i need to do, i’m just not doing it. Last weigh in was at 146. 21 pounds up from contest weight. 130 is a really good weight for me. I look really good at 130, but am not insanely lean. I have also put on a little muscle im pretty sure, so 133 might be a better weight to maintain before a contest lean out. I have to see. Whether it’s mental or not, i seem to get my a-game going every january. i’m not sure what it is, but it’s when i start to get really serious and i lose weight every year between january and april.

don’t get me wrong, these last few weeks i have been eating really well. I can see minor differences, but christmas day and today(new years day) haven’t been great eating-wise. Now that there are no more excuses holidays, i’ll step it up.

In other news….

I have to reflect on the year, just for my own sake. This blog is public, but sometimes i just like to use it to get things out because i have to say it is really cool to be able to look back to march of last year and see what i was doing. That’s probably my favorite thing about blogging. So here are some up and downs of my year.

-I ran a 1/2 marathon in January(i like being able to say i ran from one city to another. :))

-I started eating clean and losing weight in January, and was seeing results each month. even more so, i realized how good i felt while eating clean.

-I turned 21 and went to Vegas with friends. SUCH  a blast.

-I wakeboarded almost every week for 3 months straight. Talk about spoiled 🙂

-I learned how to jump on a wakeboard, but still haven’t cleared the wake. I get about half way across. You better believe that is a 2010 goal!

-in april, i found out my little brother was a drug addict, and took him to detox twice and rehab. he’s still not sober, and it’s a struggle every day. he was one of my best friends and now i don’t really speak to him.

-i emotionally separated myself (as best i could)from my mom, for my own sake. i don’t regret it. i still love her, but in a distant way.

-more positives! i competed in my first competition and took 2nd place!! it was by FAR the greatest day of my life. I almost dropped out in the weeks leading up to it. i didn’t feel lean enough, i didn’t think i could do it, i was SCARED. i remember waking up the morning of the competition. my skin was black, my hair was a mess, and i looked in the mirror at my body. I have never had a prouder moment than that in my life. I was 100% happy with my physique that day, and my confidence definitely carried me to a 2nd place prize at the show. i’ve never been so proud of myself, felt more in control of myself, felt like my hard work REALLY paid off. I wish i could sell that feeling in a pill, because it was absolutely EXHILARATING. I know that I can do really well in this industry if i work for it, but there is NOTHING like a first competition. Everything is SOOO unknown, there are no expectations, and you literally have NO IDEA what you got yourself into. I smile just thinking about that day.

-i got to do my first photo shoot with a professional photographer. Along with other progress pictures along the way, i now know i had a serious case of body dismorphia(probably still do…) because I felt fat in many of the pictures. I look at them now and think i was completely nuts. i looked good in them. oh well 🙂

-i started letting what everyone else thought get to me. after my 2nd competition, i let myself go as far as healthy eating. my trainer and one of my posing coaches told me i needed to put on muscle and that i would have to put on some fat to do that. i think i took that a little too much to heart, and also didn’t go with MY gut instinct. Like i said, i was HAPPY with my physique…so why did I let other people tell me what I should look like? Lesson learned. I know myself best. Yes, other people’s advice is good, but i need to listen to myself a little bit more.

-more family shifts, more feeling sorry for myself and letting it get in the way of my own goals.

-i became even more independent than ever. i’ve always been really independent, but even more so now. if i want something, there is nobody else in the world that can get it for me. i knew that before, but didn’t realize just how much i would have to rely on myself in certain times.

-this year i also found my “inner hippie.” I began using more natural products, and eating only natural products.(these last few months, my clean eating hit the fan, and i don’t even know who that girl was. I learned a lot about myself from it though and am starting to feel like myself again. mentaly, at least. the physical part will come.) I began finding nature as a  healer. Hiking is one of the best therapies i’ve ever found. I don’t have problems when i’m standing on top of a mountain looking out at the city. this is why i make sure to hike at least once a week.

-i was brought up jewish, but ever since my bat mitzvah, had pretty much considered myself as someone without a religion. This year, i found that the Kabbalah appealed to me. Not everything about it, but basically I believe in God, i believe in karma, and i believe in being positive and keeping negativity out of my life. If you surround yourself with positivity, positive things will happen. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, that is just mine.

To wrap it up, this year had some of the BEST times of my life along with literally the WORST. It sounds weird, but i appreciate bad things. If bad things didn’t happen, i wouldn’t be so thankful for the good things. The good things wouldn’t feel so euphoric. So instead of cursing the bad things in your life, be thankful for them. They will show you just how great it feels to have good things in your life. You also learn things about yourself in the bad times. I don’t think i would have ever competed if i hadn’t gone through what i did in 2008. that year was not very kind to me, but i turned it around in 2009 and for at least the first half of the year, was probably the happiest ive been in my life. Good things do not just fall into your lap, though. You have to work for them. Happiness is not a gift, it is a reward. Happiness is also not a destination. It is a journey. Part of happiness, means having bad things happen to you. Look at the downsides of things as tests and challenges. You have the opportunity to grow when things don’t go your way. If you hit a roadblock in your journey, it is a sign to step things up and push harder. No obstacle is too big, unless you think it is. If you believe in yourself, you would be AMAZED at what you are capable of. One year ago, competing was a thought in my mind. I always tell people that training has changed my life. They think I am just a meat head for saying that, but here’s the thing:

Fitness and weight loss are two things that you CAN NOT have someone else do for you. You can hire people to do almost anything for you and take credit for it. No matter how many trainers, nutritionists, or dieticians you hire, YOU STILL HAVE TO DO THE WORK. Training shows you your true character. You can’t get stronger by sitting around doing nothing. You can’t get in better shape by paying a trainer to write your workouts. You actually have to do them, and that is why when you see results, you KNOW that you have done this ON YOUR OWN. There is nobody else that can take credit for that. The self-fulfillment you get from breaking through barriers and becoming what you never thought possible is simply amazing. It is a feeling that I can’t even describe, but it has made me appreciate life in such a different way. I no longer sweat the small stuff, and I completely appreciate the little things in life.

I’ve rambled long enough, but I have grown a LOT in a year. I absolutely love my life. Sure, there are things i would like to change and there are things that get me down, and for good reason, but whatever hand your dealt with is what you have to deal with. So you can either feel sorry for yourself, or you can work with what you have and make it the BEST ever.

Here’s to makin 2010 everything I want it to be!

What is the biggest lesson you have learned about yourself while going through a hard time this year?

Posted in ambition, contest prep, motivation tagged with , , , ,

Motivation

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Let me start you off with a few videos…..

And one more…

I’ve talked about it before, but I’ll say it again. Losing weight, training for a marathon, prepping for a competition, or WHATEVER your goal may be is NOT about your diet, exercise or training plans.

Those things are about 10% of acheiving your goal. The other 90% comes from your motivation, drive, persistance and consistency.

Motivation is probably one of the hardest things to acheive. YES, we want to achieve the goal, but staying motivated all the time can be really hard. When you get your swing moving, things become easier and your motivation can become more consistent and apparent.

For anyone reading this that is stuck in a rut, we’ve all been there. Here, let me say it again: WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE. You are not alone. You are not a loser because you can’t keep your motivation high. Hell, I’ve been there. I would venture to say that I have been there the past, oh, 5 months? Yep, that’s right.

I’ve been struggling, but something clicked with me tonight. I realized a few nights ago that I was really unhappy with myself. Yes, I have been in a pretty good mood most of the time, but deep down: Not Happy. I wasn’t keeping up with my goals and was just letting time slip past me. My only explanation for this is that somewhere down the line, I stopped doing this stuff for me. I started eating well and training for my coaches, sponsors, and friends.

All of these people were “counting on me”(in my head) to compete and get better. I lost my biggest fan, though, ME.

I found her today. After some serious events that hit rock bottom today, I realized that I needed to get my happiness back. I was letting outside factors and simply, a lack of personal motivation get the best of me.

Let me put this out there, I LOVE my life. As hard as things get, and as ashamed of myself as I’ve been, I still love my life. I love training HARD. For some people, getting to the gym is a real struggle and eating right is pretty simple. Although I do LOVE eating healthy, I also like to eat a LOT haha. That doesn’t exactly work when you’re trying to slim down for myself. Not for a competition(although that is a landmark along the way), but for ME. I like my body lean. It compliments my training. It makes me feel good about myself and it reinforces my hard work. So there. 😛

Getting to the gym is easy for me. I LOVE lifting, i LOVE pushing myself to the absolute max. Sprints and running bleachers? Yes, i love it.(Although during it I swear like a pirate and grunt, but that’s just part of my sound effects. I swear one day I will make a soundtrack of myself )

I remember around this time last year, I  made a goal. I decided that I was going to get in the best shape of my life, and that when I was ready I would do a competition. March 2009 was in my mind, but when the time came, I didn’t feel ready. So I pushed on and decided on July. About 2 months before the NPC show, my posing coaches told me that I shouldn’t do it. The reasoning is that we were all planning on doing a show in August, and two shows in a row is hard to do.(Learned later, they were so RIGHT.) HOWEVER, I decided to do that NPC show because it was what I had been working for and I wanted to do a damn competition already!! So I did. And I placed 2nd. And had the best day/night of my entire life.

Here’s to me re-committing myself to being healthy and happy. I have found the peace within myself that i have been looking for. All it took was for me to take a step back and remember why I do all of this. This isn’t for my coaches, or my friends, or my family, or my sponsor. This is for ME. If I don’t compete again until 2012 RIGHT before the world ends, then so be it.(1. I don’t really think the world will end but maybe it will! Who knows?! and 2. I DO still plan to compete this February. If I feel ready. If not, I will jump on March. End goal however, is June -Jr.Nationals. That one is in the books for sure.)

I’ll leave you with this commercial that my professor showed us last night. I dig it. I also dig him, he is amazing. I am planning on re-taking his class, because it is THAT awesome. Right now his 466 person class is already full…

Posted in contest prep, motivation tagged with , ,
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