Tag Archive for fitness

Wanting vs. Doing

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Hey guys!

I can’t believe it’s already mid-week. Fuh-lyingggg by. I also thought it was Monday all day yesterday, so when I woke up and realized it was Wednesday, I just MAY have done a little happy dance.

excited-dog

I took a TOUGH boxing class last night at Iron Boxing Santa Monica and as I was leaving class, I started thinking about how many times I’ve wanted to skip boxing class and just go home and relax.

I know everyone thinks I’m the Energizer bunny and just want to workout all day long, but that’s far from the truth. Do I love working out? HELL YES. But that doesn’t mean I always want to do it. And I’d say that half the time (if not more!), I really would rather just go home and kick my feet up. If you asked the boxing instructors how often I walked into class feeling tired and like I’d rather be anywhere but there, they would start laughing. It happens like 75% of the time!! But I always get my butt to class. And I always stay.

metediboxThis got me thinking about Wanting vs. Doing. You don’t have to WANT to do what you’re doing, you just have to do it. That goes for so many things in life, but especially when it comes to working out. You KNOW you’re going to feel good when you’re done, and you KNOW it’s good for you. If you’re sitting around waiting for the motivation to hit, you’re wasting time. You don’t have to be motivated, you don’t have to “want” to do it, you just have to DO IT.

Some days will be easier than others. Some days you’ll be skipping into the gym (or am I the only one that still skips???), and some days you will flat out look like you want to just curl into a ball on the floor and suck your thumb. I’m not joking…I get that way…A LOT.

Yes, I love working out and YES, I love the way it makes me feel (for OH so many reasons). There is nothing quite like feeling strong, confident, and empowered. For me, the weight room makes me feel all of those things. I like to see new veins. I like to see my muscles pumped up. I like to push big weights around. THAT is what I think about when I just want to turn around and go home. I think about the results. I think about how I’ll feel afterwards. And I JUST FREAKING DO IT.

pull up picSide note: Of course, sometimes it is better to go home. Like if you’ve worked out 6 days in a row and your body feels like jello, GO HOME. But you know your body and you know the difference. If it’s just your mind not wanting to be there? Stop being a baby and just do it.

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No Sugar for 30 Days + Weekly Workouts

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Woah! 2 posts in one day!

Don’t get used to it. 😀 ….At least not now. Maybe someday!

I’m working away and getting ready for boxing tonight. I can’t wait! There’s nothing quite like the crack of hitting the mitts. Until then….

No Sugar for 30 Days

So Charlie read an article over the weekend about a family that stopped eating anything with added sugar for a year. They had amazing results in how they felt and Charlie said it was something he was interested in trying. When my man wants to do something healthy, I always jump on board. (I’m usually the one dragging him into this kind of thing!)

We decided that we want to test this out, so for the next 30 days, we’re going to completely give up any added sugar or fake sugar. This means natural sugar (like fruit) is okay, but any type of added sugar (sugar, corn syrup, Splenda, Sugar alcohols, etc.) is a no-go. Stevia IS allowed, but in moderation. I.e. I had a stevia in my coffee this morning, but not in my oatmeal (like I usually do). This also means I have to give up my beloved diet soda. I know, I know, that shit is terrible for you anyways, but I’m going to miss it!

So far, the first day went well. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this affects me mentally, physically, etc. I’m going to take some  pictures along the way to see if/how my body changes as well. I’ll be checking in here from time to time as well so you can see what I’ve noticed. We’ll finish up the challenge just in time for Thanksgiving so that we can fully enjoy desserts (cuz….I’m not givin’ that up!).

Anyone else feel like joining us in no sugar for 30 days? (leave a comment…we can support eachother!)

Workouts Week of Oct. 20th

Monday: 20 min. Stairmill + Shoulders/Chest

Photo on 10-20-14 at 6.40 PM #4(my shoulder pump was out of control last night!)

Tuesday: Boxing

Wednesday: Legs

Thursday: Boxing + Back/Biceps

Friday: 20 min. Stairmill + Shoulders/Abs

Saturday: Full Body

Sunday: REST

Questions for the Day

Have you ever given up sugar? How did it make you feel?

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Santa Monica Wellness Festival & SKYDIVING {VIDEO}

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Good morning!

Hope your Tuesday is off to a good start. You guys saw a glimpse into my weekend….I think I’m still recovering!

It was such a blast surprising Charlie with his family coming to town. He had NO idea they were coming and I came up with a secret plan to get him to stay home from work that day. We had a ton of fun this weekend (if you missed it, you can see our photos here), and getting back into work-mode was tough!

20141019-201059-72659861.jpgSanta Monica Wellness Festival

In the midst of family fun, I was part of the workout demo crew for two different trainers competing in the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce ‘Got Trainer?’ competition this past Saturday! It took place at the Santa Monica Wellness Festival that had a TON of vendors offering all kinds of fitness/health related items & information. I walked around for a bit and even ended up doing a bunch of pushups because I lost a challenge at one of the booths.

At around 1:30pm, it came time for the Trainer Challenge. There were 8 personal trainers competing in the challenge, and I was part of the demo for 2 of them. The segments were 5 minutes each, and of course, the two trainers I was working with went back-to-back. I basically did plyometrics, boxing, and other various exercises for 10 minutes straight. Thank goodness for adrenaline!! We didn’t win, but was SO much fun…I think I belong on a stage…working out. Is there a job like that? If not, I might have to make one…

The Iron Fitness crew.

The Iron Fitness crew.

iFly Indoor Skydiving

Speaking of jobs, unbeknownst to me, Universal City Walk has had an iFly Indoor Skydiving facility that nobody bothered to tell me about. (how rude! you’ll see why this relates to jobs later..)

Charlie’s sister got tickets to go try it, and I decided I needed to do it with them. The verdict? SOOOOO MUCHHHHHH FUNNNNN!!!!!!!

20141019-201013-72613962.jpgHere’s video of my experience…..the ending might be the funniest thing you watch today.

HAHA! Walking through that was SO HARD for me. Once I started laughing at myself, I couldn’t stop and moving was out of the question. Clearly.

Apparently when you get a job with them, you “have” to learn how to do a bunch of tricks and do a certain # of training hours. I’m thinking a career change is in order. I can sky dive for a job?!?!

This was my first time doing any form of skydiving, and I’m definitely looking into doing the real thing now. I HIGHLY recommend doing this if you’re ever in the Los Angeles area (or anywhere else that offers this).

Anyways, it’s back to work for me. Later today, I’ll have a post up about the 30 day No Sugar Added Challenge I’m doing….details coming soon!

Question of the Day

Have you ever gone indoor OR real skydiving? Do you love it?!

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Stressful, Crazy Week!

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Happy Friday peeps!

This week flew by! I’ll be honest, I was pretty exhausted and grumpy this week. I think it’s a mixture of overtraining, lack of sleep, and some work stress. It’s all good though, overall things aren’t too shabby. Sometimes, I just need to step back a little bit and that’s exactly what I did this week!

Thursday morning I was especially tired. I didn’t sleep well the night before and even my morning coffee didn’t do it for me! I got some work done and then headed home around 12:30pm to eat lunch and just collect myself a bit. This is my “I’m tired and I don’t want to work out face”.

dontwanaworkoutI headed to the gym at around 1:45 to do a leg workout. I did something a little different than usual, and it was fun to change it up.

4 Sets of the following:

-Sumo Deadlift + DB Curtsy Lunge

-Leg Extensions + Supinated Hamstring Curls

-Banded Hip Thrusts

-45* Hypers w/ 25lb Plate

When I finished my workout, I finally tried the new protein powder I told you guys about. The verdict? IT’S AMAZING. If a protein powder is good just mixed with water, IT’S GOOD. Most protein powders that I like and are even good for baking, etc. don’t taste so great on their own. I am completely sold on this stuff. MINIMAL ingredients, sweetened with stevia, and tastes good. Two thumbs up in my book! You can find their products here. (This is not a sponsored post, I just really love the product!)

slapAfterwards, I had a few meetings and also needed to rehearse for a competition I’m demoing on Saturday. The competition is to find Santa Monica’s Best Trainer and two of our personal trainers (Courage & Torri) have been nominated. I just get to be one of the workout dummies for them to train.

10428061_10152329134527540_1196942313145258660_nHere are some of the exercises I’m doing with Torri:

exercisesLOL Don’t worry…I’m not doing this topless. We just have a funny little intro planned and that’s my way of reminding me what to do. 🙂

After rehearsing, and getting a bunch of work done, I headed to a boxing class! Quite the fitness day for me! I better sleep well tonight! I went with my friend Tedi, who’s one of my favorite people to laugh with. We have fun.

metedibox2 metedibox

That’s all I’ve got folks! This weekend is looking to be quite an adventure! I’m sure I’ll be exhausted, but HEY, I’ll sleep when I die. 😀

Question of the Day:

1. What’s your favorite brand of protein powder?

2. What are some things you do to combat stressful & tiresome days/weeks?

 

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Monday Ramblings + Workouts for the Week

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Good morning!

This post is going to be all over the place, so brace yourself!

I’m currently drinking a coffee and recovering from a great HIIT session! As you may know, Mondays are always HIIT days. They tend to be really busy days for me, so I like to get it done in the morning to kick off my day.

This weekend was a mix of fun, stress, and relaxation. My mom is in the hospital, so that definitely put a damper on things. She’s doing okay and will hopefully be going home in the next few days.

I spent Saturday hanging with a good friend and just catching up. I don’t have many close friends in LA (as anyone that’s moved away from home knows, new friends are much different than lifelong friends), so it’s nice to spend time with the few that I do. We also got to hang with the cutest french bulldog in the world, Pudge:

pedgeSeriously…can I keep him?

Saturday evening, Charlie and I got together with some of my co-workers. We had a great time chatting and eating (what’s better than that!). We had grand plans to go see a movie afterwards, but literally spent 20 minutes driving through the parking garage to find a spot. NOT. ONE. SPOT. So we headed home and watched World War Z instead. It basically reminded me of The Walking Dead and Outbreak rolled into one and not nearly as good. Brad Pitt was okay to look at though. 😀

World_War_Z_poster

Sunday was pretty uneventful. I dyed my hair, did laundry, and got a bunch of work done. Charlie and I also got a great fully body workout done. (I’ll have some videos up this week!) I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m trying to kill him every time he steps in the gym. I swear I’m not….(but he better be nice!!! ;-))landmine

Breakfast this morning is 1 egg + 1/2 cup egg whites scrambed and 1/3 cup cooked oats with cinnamon and stevia. I’m a creature of habit and basically eat this for breakfast every day. I’m super exciting, you don’t even have to tell me.

I’m working all day and then plan on doing a Chest/Triceps workout after work. You may have noticed that I’ve been doing more split body part days lately. I go through stages. Sometimes I do more full body workouts, or split between upper/lower body workouts, and sometimes I revert to plain old bodybuilding style and do split body parts (like I am now). I still do full body workouts (like this one I did last week, and one I did yesterday), but I do them closer to 1-2 times per week as opposed to 3-4 times.

I know that everybody talks about “confusing the body” and all that jazz (hint…your body doesn’t need to be “confused” to make progress), but for me, I do what feels good. I go through stages and since I’m in this for the long haul (life), I do workouts that make me happy. I truly think that is the key to sticking to fitness. If you don’t like what you’re doing (and I’m convinced there is something for everyone), you’re less likely to stick to it. Personally, I don’t like yoga. So I don’t force myself to do it. Instead, I do other things that I DO like. Of course, I do think that sometimes the things we don’t like are the things that we NEED (like yes, I know I SHOULD do some yoga), so it’s good to incorporate those things from time to time. Long story short:

Find the things you like and do them often. Find the things you don’t like, and do them sometimes.

Anyways, I’ll step off my soap box now. It’s Monday and way too early for that. 😀

Here’s my fitness plan for the week:

Monday: 20 min. HIIT + Chest/Triceps

Tuesday: Boxing

Wednesday: Legs

Thursday: Shoulders + Boxing

Friday: Back/Biceps

Saturday: Full Body (I’m doing workout demos for a trainer’s competition in Santa Monica)

Sunday: Rest

Hope your Monday is off on the right foot!

Question of the Day:

What is your favorite way to workout?

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Full Body Attack Workout + Video!

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It’s THURSDAY….which means it’s almost FRIDAY….and that means the weekend is almost upon us. Can you tell I’m excited?

This week has been weird. I feel a little off and the pressure seems to be “on”. I know it will pass, but it’s definitely brought out the introvert in me. Hopefully all my friends and co-workers won’t hate me for being so stand-offish this week. 😀

Yesterday, I had a small window to workout and decided to make the most of it. I wrote the workout down and immediately knew it was going to be really tough and I wouldn’t be getting much rest (due to my time constraint). I went into my “mode” and just worked through it. Here’s what I did:

Full Body Attach - Untitled Page

This workout was tough! If you want to try it with some modifications, just leave a comment. 🙂

In other news, I may have mentioned that one of the trainers at my gym is entered into a competition to be Santa Monica’s Best Personal Trainer! We have a competition on October 18th, and I’m one of the people she’s training. We took some video the other day as a sneak-peek of what we’re doing. Video is below!

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today. Stay tuned Friday for the answers to my Ask Me Anything post! There’s still time to get some of your questions in. (And thank you to those that e-mailed me your questions! I’ll be answering those as well! :-))

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Tuesday Ramblings

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How’s everyone doing today?

I’m just sitting at home waiting for the pest control guy. Fun stuff! We’ve had a ridiculous ant problem for the last two weeks and we FINALLY got someone to come out and fix the problem. It’s been quite a nightmare. Let’s just say, I’m a pro ant-annihilator at this point. -_-

In other news, I found a new protein powder that I’m excited to try called SLAP. I actually ended up buying the entire stack of supplements, which is just L-Glutamine, Whey Isolate Protein Powder, and a Coffee Pre-Workout supplement. I was intrigued by the company because of the minimal and clean ingredients in all of their products. The protein powder is sweetened with Stevia (score!) and doesn’t have any artificial ingredients. I haven’t tasted it yet, but I’ll be sure to let you all know how it is!

photo 1photo 2

Workouts for the Week

I’m still super sore from Sunday’s Leg Insanity, but overall I’m feeling really good and still “on” my game!

Here are my workout plans for this week:

Monday: 20 min. HIIT + Chest/Triceps (DONE)

Tuesday: Boxing

Wednesday: Legs + Bouldering (yup! Haven’t done that in a while!)

Thursday: Shoulders/Abs + Boxing

Friday: Full Body

Saturday: Back/Bi’s

Sunday: REST

Finally…I’m thinking about getting a Brazilian blow out. I NEVER feel like/have time to do my hair and it just ends up being kind of a mess. Anyone ever had one? I’ve heard the chemicals can be kind of harsh, so I’m curious. Let me know your experiences!

Questions of the Day:

1. What is your favorite protein powder?

2. Brazilian Blowout advice please!!!

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My Weekend {pictures} + Leg Workout w/ Plyometrics

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Happy Monday peeps!

This weekend actually felt quite long (not that I’m complaining), so I feel good and refreshed coming into this week. Here’s some of the fun I had:

Saturday, I took a boxing class in the morning. It was quite the sweat session! There were 3 instructors bringing the pain for an hour. Even though it was tough, I had a blast. Can’t wait for tomorrow night’s class!

photo 1

After we showered up, I decided to get a my hair blown out before we headed to a music festival. It wasn’t a fancy festival or anything, but I just didn’t feel like doing my hair. -_-

Guys…I’m SUPER lazy with my hair. I either let it air dry or put it up in a top knot. I have SO much hair and it’s wavy/frizzy, so it can be a pain in the ass. stop-any-disease, once my hair was all done and pretty, and since I knew I’d actually be wearing NPC (normal-people-clothes) instead of gym clothes, I decided to do my makeup too! (Call it a national holiday! Alert the press!)

photo 2

We then headed out to the Eagle Rock Music Festival. It had promise, but ended up being somewhat of a fail. The vibe was really cool and very family-oriented, but the music was just meh. There were a LOT of DJ’s (not my thing…and I can’t understand what is entertaining about watching someone stand in one place pushing buttons on a laptop and turning discs….but I digress) and the only decent bands were playing in acoustically untreated buildings = muddy musical mess. We did see one latino band that was totally not my style of music, but TOTALLY GOOD. Had we known what the rest of our options were, we definitely would have stayed and watched them longer.

People standing around watching a DJ....I DON'T GET IT. WHAT IS THERE TO SEE?!

People standing around watching a DJ….I DON’T GET IT. WHAT IS THERE TO SEE?!

Sunday, we headed to the batting cages to hit some balls. As many of you know, I played on the guys’ baseball team growing up, so I love getting chances to play! Happy to know, I’ve still got it!

We watched a little bit of the Chiefs game, and then I headed to the sauna gym for a workout. We’re going through a major heatwave (…didn’t I move from AZ to get away from that?!), so the temps have been quite ridiculous. Like, 97 in Santa Monica ridiculous!

Leg Day Insanity

4 sets of

Superset #1: Barbell Squats at (95lbs x 15) w/ Medicine Ball Jump Squats (10lbs x 15)

3 sets of

Superset #2: Leg Extensions (50lbs x 15) w/ Supinated Hamstring Curls (50lbs x 15)

3 sets of

Superset #3: Barbell Walking Lunges (50lbs x 12 per leg) w/ Split Squat Jumps (bodyweight x 10 per side)

2 sets of

Superset #4: (1 leg at a time!!!) DB Step Up (20lbs x 10) w/ Step Up Jumps (bodyweight x 10)

I may or may not have walked out of the gym looking like I just jumped off a horse. As always, check with a doc before starting any new exercise routine. Use weights you’re comfortable with. I posted mine for reference, but you should do what is best for YOU.

Hope you guys have a great rest of your day! I’ll be back tomorrow with some more workouts for the week.

Be sure to check out my Ask Me Anything post and leave a comment with any questions you may have! I’ll be answering them all this week on the blog!

Question of the Day

1. What is the weather like in your part of the world? Still summer-like? Fall? Winter-y?

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Currently….{and a Boxing Video}

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I’ve seen this floating around the blogosphere lately and decided to jump in on the fun!

CURRENTLY

Reading: Eek. I’ve been reading the same book for a few months (can’t even remember the name). It seems the only time I ever pick it up is on an airplane….I read a lot of blogs and marketing articles….but really need to start setting more time aside to read for REAL.

Watching: I’m a huge crime show nerd. Homicide Hunters is my current favorite, followed by Forensic Files. I tried to get into Six Feet Under, but something about it just isn’t keeping me all that entertained. Also, The New Girl, The Goldbergs, and still need to start the new season of Parenthood! The problem with me and shows is that I only watch TV while I’m laying in bed and I fall asleep almost instantly. 1 episode can take a week for me to finish.

photo 2

Eating: Well nothing at the moment, but some of my current favorites are chicken w/ wing sauce, turkey burger patty with avocado and brown rice, and Apples. YUM.

Jonagold-Handappel4

Working On: Oh just 4 million things. Always. My calendar scares me sometimes….

photo(17)

Loving: Boxing! I’ve been taking classes twice a week for the last month or so and I’m really loving it. I go in and out of my boxing phases, but when I’m on, I’m ON! (here’s a sneak peak)

 

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