Fit Lizzio Fitness

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….

This is my friend’s website, and I’m on the home page 🙂

http://www.topwaterclothing.com/

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 5^th 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…….

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.

Today feels like it has been going…and going….and going…

and my legs feel like they were sliced and diced with a butter knife, BUT anyways…

I started out my morning at 4:30 today. I didn’t need to be up until 5:30, but I accidentally left my phone alarm on. Oh well, I went to bed at around 8:30pm, so no sweat.

I headed to boxing, and got a hell of a workout. Lots of pushup drills, mountain climbers, burpees, side shuffles, squats(kill me…my legs are SO sore.) and of course, boxing.

Afterwards, I had to work at that gym for a few hours. It must have been my lucky day, because since they got all new equipment, I got to vacuum and scrub the rust off of the mats that were underneath all of the old equipment. I felt like Cinderella. I told that to my friend George and he responded “except not pretty.” Haha gotta love him!

After my shift ended, I headed to the other gym and got a quick shoulder/ab workout in.

I did 3 sets of each exercise. I did supersets, but never really took a break throughout the workout. My reps were from 20-25.

I did:

Barbell Military Presses/Hanging Leg Raise, DB Lateral Raises/Lying Leg Raises, DB Rear Delt Raises/Decline Sit Ups, Blue Band Military Presses/Russian Twists

Twas a good workout. No other cardio was had. I still am not running(until Saturday) and the elliptical was not appealing. My legs are also SO sore today. Tomorrow will have plenty of cardio, so I’m not worried about it.

I am at work at the other gym now, and get off in a little over an hour. I can’t wait to get home, get stuff ready for tomorrow and go to sleeeep.

Tomorrows agenda:

5:30 am-6:30am Yoga,

6:45am-7:45ish  Chest

7:45-8:15am Cardio-probably incline walking, maybe ellipticize it up, depending how my legs feel.

10am-10:30am Boxing

11am  Hair Appointment

2pm-5pm Work.

Yesterday’s leg workout was one for the books…and I’m still not sure why….

Workout

I’m taking the week off of plyos and running/sprints because I think the combo of the two were giving me shin splints.

So yesterday’s leg workout with bi’s/tri’s incorporated in was:

4 sets of Deadlifts

4 sets of Full Squats

4 sets Quadrupled Hip Extensions under the reverse hyper

3 sets Single Leg Hip Thrusts

3 sets Swiss ball Ham Curls

4 sets Preacher curls

4 sets kink bar push downs

3 sets concentration curls

3 sets bench dips

3 sets cable side arm curls

3 sets one arm pull downs

I was going to do a set of smith split squats, but after the full squats, my quads literally gave out. I tried to do a split squat and my legs were all wobbly. It was crazy! I don’t know if it’s because i haven’t squatted in a few weeks or the fact that I’m not used to higher reps, or a combo?? Who knows, all I know is that my legs were starting to get sore WHILE I was working out, which was weird.

Either way, I’m sitting here today with sore quads and getting ready for boxing! Should be interesting.

After boxing, I’m working for a few hours at that gym, then heading to the other gym for some Shoulders and cardio, and then working there.

I literally spend my entire days at a gym haha. Sad, but true. I’m not complaining, I actually love it.(most of the time.)

“The stars will never align, and the circumstances will never all be in your favor. You will never have all your ducks in a row, so get out there and get at it NOW.”

Lake season is coming up, and I am seriously having withdrawals!!

If you’ve been following for a while, you know that last year I was at the lake at least once a week between March and July. Rough life huh?

Reminisce with me….

Relaxing after a long day at the lake….this is the best time of day to be at the lake by far……..

I WILL clear the wake this year!!! it is one of my goals!!

Some of the regular crew, minus Danny and Rick.

All I have to say is there are not many things in the world that make me happier than hanging out at the lake with good friends,  Laughing, wakeboarding, and enjoying the scenery and weather.

March is only a month away!! Here’s to a great 2010 lake season!!!!

Hola!!

I just got back from Tucson yesterday. I went to watch the NPC Desert Muscle Classic. It was a very small show…only 50 total competitors.

Let’s see.

Friday was a toughhhhhh day for workouts. I woke up early and went to yoga. It stretched me out well, and then I hit up the treadmill for an hour. I did a half hour of sprint intervals and jogging, and then 30 minutes of incline walking. I alternated between 3.3mph-4.0mph and 10-15% incline. I was a sweaty mess afterwards. I then spent an hour and a half with a trainer doing shoulders, chest and triceps. It left me absolutely dead. It didn’t stop there though. I had a 30 minute session doing one on one boxing. He absolutely killed me. At the very end of the workout he had me do 15 sledge hammers, 15 pushups, 20 jack knifes, 2 sled pushes and a lap around the building. Normally, running a lap is my recovery and I can just jog out all the lactic acid. This lap around the building made me feel like it was Day 1 on the Biggest Loser. No joke, I have never felt so completely winded in my life haha. Good times.

No workout Saturday, other than a short hike with my sister.

The Track Workout

I reccomend this! Try it and let me know what you think.

-Jog 4 laps(1 mile)

-Do two laps. Sprint the straightaways, and walk the corners.

-Do side shuffles back and forth 4 times (about 25 meters worth each way). Do 10 jumping lunges in between each leg of the shuffles.(So side shuffle down, 10 jumping lunges, side shuffle back, 10 jumping lunges, etc.)

-Do 1 set of star pushups. Get in a pushup position, do 2 pushups, then walk your hands around and do 2 more pushups. (think of yourself as the hand on a clock. You do 2 pushups at 12 o clock, 2 pushups at 3 o clock, 2 pushups at 6 o clock, etc.)

-100 jump ropes

-Suicides. Pick 4 marks about 20 meters apart. Start at one end, run to the first marker and run back to the beginning. Then run to the second marker and then back to the beginning, etc.

We did this 3 times through. It was great! We finished up the workout with frog leaps up the bleachers, then side lunges up the bleachers and a few ab moves to finish it off.

Have a great Superbowl Sunday! I’ll be at work until 6pm. I am almost positive I will be the only person here, but it’s okay. I’ve got some homework to do, and might squeeze in a leg workout. Then I’m heading to a Superbowl Party with the guys! Should be a good time, I Haven’t seen them in a few weeks!

Laytah!