Tag Archive for fitness

Weekend Relaxation

Good morning!

I started my day off with 20 minutes on the stairmill (per Monday usual) and a COFFEE. I love my coffee everyday, but it’s extra special on Mondays. ๐Ÿ™‚

Weekend Fun

This weekend was really awesome. Friday night, my friend and I went to get full body reflexology massages. It was only $25 and was INCREDIBLE. It was definitely the type of massage that made you clench your teeth at times, but it was also super relaxing. They focused a lot on the feet, which was both painful and extremely ticklish! I have the most ticklish feet on the planet, so I had to take a lot of deep breaths to prevent myself from kicking my masseuse in the face.

Saturday morning, Charlie and I got up and hit the gym. He’s actually letting me put him on a training program (:-D!!!!!!) so he’ll be working out with me 3-4 times per week. We did the same back/biceps workout I did last week. It’s a scorcher!

4 sets of Pull Ups (as many as you can do on your own)

3 Supersets of T-Bar Row & DB Bicep Curls (10-12 reps of each)

3 Supersets of Banded Chin Ups & Rope Hammer Curls (6-8 chin ups & 12-15 hammer curls)

Afterwards, he went to the studio to get some work done while I chilled out at home. When he got back, we went to see No Good Deed

11179696_800I rate it an 8/10. The suspense was awesome and kept me entertained throughout, but it was a little predictable. There were definitely some twists and turns that surprised me, though! I say, go see it!

Sunday morning, we grabbed some coffee and drove down to Main Street in search of breakfast. We ended up at Firehouse, which is one of my favorites! It’s an old firehouse-turned-restaurant, and also happens to be right next to Gold’s Gym (a.k.a The Mecca). 4815559804_c44e96337b_bTheir menu has tons of options for bodybuilders and fitness freaks alike. I ended up getting what I always get, the Turkey Scramble. It’s just egg whites, ground turkey, tomatoes, and cilantro, but it’s SO SO good! I didn’t snap a photo, but it’s definitely worth re-creating at home!

After running some errands, we ended up at the park to play catch! This is something that we try to do whenever we can, as we both grew up playing baseball and we can keep up with eachother! Baseball (not softball) was MY sport…I played year round throughout my childhood and into my high school years. I was really good at it and had it been acceptable for a girl to play on my high school baseball team (Yes, I tried out and I was the last cut and was unofficially told it was because I was a girl), who knows where I would’ve ended up! They called me “The Vacuum” at first base for a reason! ๐Ÿ˜‰

gloves

2014-04-20 16.00.47

Anyways, that was a really long-winded way of saying that I still love baseball and it has a really special place in my heart. The fact that I can go play ball with my man and he can keep up (and even show me up at times) makes me really happy.

The rest of our Sunday was spent watching movies and napping. It was GLORIOUS. We don’t do that very often, so it was nice to just go in and out of sleep on the couch for hours.

Workouts for the Week

Monday: 20 min. Stairmill + Chest/Triceps

Tuesday: Boxing

Wednesday: Legs

Thursday: Shoulders/Abs + Boxing

Friday: Back/Biceps

Saturday: Boxing

Sunday: Active Rest

You’ll notice there aren’t any planned rest days, but I will definitely take one if I feel like I need it. I always listen to my body and a shitty workout doesn’t do anybody any good.

Hope your Monday is off to a great start!

Question of the day

1. What was your main hobby growing up? (could be sport, arts, etc.)

Hotel Workout & AZ Weekend

Good afternoon peeps! Hope your Tuesday is going well! I’ve been working away. I actually can’t believe it’s only Tuesday. I feel like I’ve done at least 4 days worth of work!

This weekend was quite the whirlwind. I was in AZ hanging out with my family for my brother’s birthday. Between hardly sleeping, cramming a lot of family time and activities in, and taking a stupid-early flight back home Monday morning and heading straight to work, I’m not even sure how I’m still functioning! I did get a good night of sleep last night (thankfully), but I definitely had my patience tested.

Pics from the Weekend

Matty being cute as hell.

Matty being cute as hell.

This is me trying to entertain a toddler in the back seat.

This is me trying to entertain a toddler in the back seat.

Matty & Grandpa

Matty & Grandpa

Picking at my callouses and saying "caca".

Picking at my callouses and saying “caca”.

Hotel Workout

We stayed at a hotel on Saturday night and of course I had to wake up Charlie early Sunday morning for a workout. We headed down to the hotel gym and were surprised to see….well…basically nothing. They had a few treadmills and ellipticals, a few medicine balls, and some dumbbells. Most people would have walked in there and thought “guess I’ll be doing cardio”, but unfortunately for Charlie, I took it as a chance to get creative! I compiled a video of the exercises we did (will post this sometime this week) and I’m posting it here as well so you can try it right away. We did this circuit style and went through 5 rounds. It was quick and we both felt like we got a good workout out of it!

Hotel Gym Workout

 

Questions of the Day:

1. What do you do when the hotel gym sucks?

2. Do you prefer early morning/red eyes or regular daytime flights?

Ramblings, Workouts, and EXPLODING KOMBUCHA!

Wowza! What a day.

This morning, I woke up at 5am wide eyed and bushy tailed. Okay, maybe not like that, but I definitely was awake and there wasn’t a chance of falling back asleep. That doesn’t usually happen to me, but it was a good day for that to be the case. I had a ton of work to do and ended up knocking most of it out before noon! Woohoo! Might have to do that more often. (or maybe not…)

 

Okay, I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but I seem to have a Kombucha problem. This is my all time favorite flavor,

S_Trilogy

But EVERY time I open a Kombucha, it explodes everywhere and I spend the first 10 minutes cleaning up and waiting for it to stop fizzing.

WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?! I see others grab their Kombucha and open it gracefully without a drop spilled…..why am I Kombucha cursed??? (seriously….any ideas?? lol)

Workouts

I did a very different leg workout than I’m used to yesterday and I’m pretty sore from it. I’ve been focusing on heavy weights, low reps for the last few months and decided to completely change it up yesterday. I did high reps, lower weight, and circuit style. It was a fun way to change it up. Here are some of the exercises I did:

KB Goblet Squats w/ Explosive Rotation (yep, I’ll do a video for that one!)

Lying Hamstring Curls

Straight Leg Deadlifts (feet together)

Sumo Squats

Side Lunge/Jump Side Lunge combo

I definitely felt this one and it worked up a good sweat.

Tonight I’m heading to Iron Boxing again. I’m a bit sore from my leg day yesterday, so it could get interesting! I’m also curious to see how my less-than-stellar night of sleep will affect things. Oh well…I’ve got a fun weekend coming up, so I’m sure I’ll have some time to relax!

The Weekend

Tomorrow, Charlie and I are heading to Phoenix to hang with my little brother for his birthday. I’m excited to see him and the rest of the fam. Especially my cute ever-growing nephew. He melts my heart and cracks me up!

Seriously?! Look at him!!!
<3

Questions of the Day:

Do you have any tips for NON-EXPLODING KOMBUCHA?

Do you prefer to do low weight, high reps OR high weight, low reps when you’re working out?

 

Labor Day + Boxing + Workouts + Homicide Hunter!!

This post is going to be alllllll over the place. I haven’t blogged in a week and I have so much to say! LOL

Let’s start with Labor Day Weekend. It was such a great 3 days! Charlie and I did a good mix of relaxing, eating, and staying active. We ate Burger Lounge twice (my favorite turkey burger and fries EVER),

photo 3and watched about 500 episodes of Homicide Hunter.

photo 2OMG, have you seen this show? It is AMAZING. Lt. Joe Kenda is seriously THE MAN. I feel like I would admit to a murder I didn’t commit if I had to be interrogated by him. I can’t stop watching this show.

We also got in a great hike and a fun workout at the gym. The video below shows one of the most ridiculous combos I do. It doesn’t look that bad, but it literally kills me every time. It’s 3 pull ups, 3 push ups, 2 pull ups, 2 push ups, 1 pull up, 1 push up. That’s one set. This is my third. -_-

This week was busyย  (and short!), so I did a lot of catching up on Tuesday, after not working on Monday. I love 3 day weekends, but the pile of work that ends up on my plate by Tuesday is a bit overwhelming. Here’s what my workouts were like this week:

Weekly Workouts 9/1-9/5/14

Sunday: Legs

Monday: Evening hike

Tuesday: 20 min. Stairmill + Shoulder/Chest Workout

Wednesday: Rest

Thursday: Full Body Circuit (for a commercial we filmed) + Boxing

Friday: Legs

Saturday: Possibly a hike?

Sunday: Rest or active recovery

Last night, I took a boxing class again. I took a break from boxing for a bit after I got a weird knot in my back. We have some new instructors at Iron Boxing now, so I decided to jump in again. IT WAS AMAZING. I literally sweated out everything in my body. At one point while I was hitting the mitts, I almost thought I was going to pass out. I was giving EVERYTHING I had and pushed myself to the limit. It was incredible and I cannot WAIT to go back. These new instructors are THE REAL DEAL!

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I’m gearing up for another great weekend of relaxing and spending time with some friends! (Oh, and obviously binge watching Homicide Hunter….)

Questions of the day:

Have you ever seen Homicide Hunter? (isn’t it the best?!!?!)

What is your favorite way to sweat?

 

Banded Hip Thrusts + Killer Leg Workout! {VIDEOS}

The holiday weekend is thisclose!!!! Is everyone else as excited as I am? I love my work, but I love my playtime too!

I plan on doing a mix of kicking back and relaxing as well as going on some adventures! The weather is gorgeous this time of year (and ummm every other time of the year…thanks Santa Monica!) so I’m going to take advantage of it somehow! I’ve really been wanting to rollerblade down by the beach lately. I loooovvveee rollerblading and don’t do it often enough. Any other bladers around here or is it just me?!

On Tuesday, I did a pretty killer leg workout. It was a mixture of strength training and athletic movements. It completely turned my legs to jello and was a lot of fun! I’ve been doing hip thrusts since pretty much the beginning of hip thrusts (thanks Bret!), and have done them with barbells, dumbbells, and bands. Since my first training studio had a Skorcher (built specifically for hip thrusts), I was able to do banded hip thrusts whenever I wanted, but most gyms don’t have that. I had never actually attempted to do them anywhere else, but decided to try to get creative and figure it out. I found the PERFECT solution and it can be done at any gym containing a standard bench press. Maybe people have already been doing this for a while, but if not, I highly recommend trying it out:

Here’s the full leg workout I did:

Deadlifts: 4 sets at 149 x 15, 159 x 12, 169 x 10, 179 x 8

Deadlift set up

Deadlift set up

Banded Hip Thrusts: 4 sets of 20 reps (next time I’ll try with a thicker band)

2014-08-26 17.43.10

Combo: 3 sets of KB Swings (28kg), Sled Push, Squats, Sled Push (video below)

Superset: 3 sets of DB Walking Lunges (20lb DB’s x 10) + Broad Jumps (10 reps)

Definitely scale this to what you can do and as always, check with a doctor before trying any new workout programs. If you’re unsure of how to do any of these movements, feel free to e-mail me! I’m happy to do video demonstrations!

Have a great rest of the day! 2014-08-26 18.00.12 HDR

Question of the day:

Do you do Hip Thrusts?

Banded? Barbell? DB?

Fitness is FUN: How A Bad Trainer Can Make You Think Otherwise

I had an experience the other day that gave me a total “aha!” moment. It was one of those moments where I literally stopped in my tracks and said to myself “oh my gosh…I get it.”

Part of my job as the manager of a high end gym is to ensure that we have highly talented and knowledgeable personal trainers on staff. This is a big deal in any gym, but especially in this area of town and in this gym. Our clientele is mostly fit people that are serious about their fitness. Many have worked with a personal trainer before and will immediately know if someone doesn’t know what they’re doing. As such, part of our interview process involves a 30 minute practical, where the potential personal trainer puts me through a training session, while our Personal Training manager observes. This is helpful because we both get to put our heads together at the end of the training session to talk about what was good vs. what was not good. It’s changed our entire staff for the better and is a really great practice.

Last week, we were interviewing two potential new trainers to hire. We had set up a practical with both of them. One no-showed (well, there’s your answer!), and the other showed up right on time. He was well-groomed, looked the part, and was extremely nice. That’s about all the good I have to say.

We started our training session with some static stretching. I equate static stretching before a workout to the low-fat diets of the 80’s. Irrelevant and not smart. Strike 1.

From there he took me to the Smith machine to do front squats and back squats. Now, knowing my background and my current training, this wasn’t a very bright idea. I have a good working knowledge of front squats and back squats, and this application wasn’t useful, in my opinion.ย  I use the Smith Machine for the following 3 reasons:

1. Someone is new to squatting and/or very weak

2. Someone has injuries or has other limitations

3. Things I’m unable to do with a standard barbell (certain glute/quad exercises)

(This doesn’t mean other applications are incorrect, but if you’re able to properly do front and back squats using a barbell and plates on your own, no use downgrading to the Smith Machine!)

Smith Machine

Smith Machine

Anyways, I asked this trainer why he was having me do front squats and back squats on the Smith machine rather than using a barbell. Had he given me a decent response to this, I could have accepted it. I am constantly learning new tricks of the trade and was hoping he would have something cool to tell me. But no. The response I got was that it was to “up the intensity.” Really? I can show you 500 ways to “up the intensity” using a barbell. Not a very good answer. Strike 2.

I gave it a shot anyways to give the guy a chance to see what he would have me do. He explained the front squat and back squat and told me to start. The result? It felt awkward. My range of motion was limited. The movement was uncomfortable. I felt the movement in all the wrong places. The experience was not fun. Moreover, the trainer didn’t help me get into the proper position, he didn’t make sure my form was proper, he just stood by and told me what to do. (There’s always a chance my form wasn’t right, making the movement feel awkward. After all, I don’t use the Smith Machine for squats. Ever.)

It was then that I had this realization. I am someone who LOVES working out. I love to sweat and work hard in the gym. For the most part, you can put me in any situation at the gym, and I’m game! Not everyone feels this way, and that is perfectly okay.

But had this been my first time in the gym and that been my first time with a personal trainer???? I would have walked out that door and never come back. I would have thought working out was not fun, uncomfortable, and didn’t feel good. I would have thought “well, that’s not worth it!”

I wonder how many times that has happened to someone who claims they “hate working out”…..when really they just haven’t had a good experience? I’m sure it’s very common and that bums me out!

With that said, I challenge all of you that have tried working out and deemed it as something you hate, to try again. Try something new, try something that look fun to you. Working out does not have to be barbells in a gym. The whole point is to do something that makes you feel good, requires your body to work hard, empowers you, makes you strong, and makes you sweat it out! For some, that might be rock climbing, for others, that’s lifting weights, for the next person, it’s taking an adult gymnastics class. DO WHAT YOU LIKE. And if you have a shitty experience either on your own or with a trainer? TRY AGAIN.

Fitness should be FUN, and inevitably will make you feel like you’re on top of the world. You can’t buy that feeling! I promise, there is something for EVERYONE.

1. What new fitness adventures have you been on lately?

2. Have you ever worked with a trainer that made you think fitness sucked?

My Daily Food Diary + a Leg Workout!

It’s been quite a week over here! Not going to lie, I’m REALLY excited for the weekend! Not only will I have a chance to chill out, but my brother-in-law is coming to visit, too. This week has definitely tested my patience, but I’m determined to come out on top. Facetime with this little guy on Tuesday definitely helped make it all better….

 

MATTY!

MATTY!

If you’ve never Facetimed with an almost-2 year old, I highly recommend it. Haha! This kid cracks me up! I also had a pretty fun assistant in the office for a bit. Meet….RUFUS. He’s the best.

photo(11)

This week’s workouts have been pretty good! I took a much needed rest day yesterday. I actually almost tried to make myself go to the gym in the evening, but I knew it would benefit me to just relax. I just love working out so much and feel so good when I do, that it’s hard for me to rest sometimes. I’ve got a Shoulder/Chest workout on the agenda for this afternoon, so I’ll post that workout tomorrow.

Leg day on Tuesday turned out to be pretty killer. I was sweating like crazy and was definitely glad when it was over. Leg day is my favorite but MAN can it be brutal! Here’s what I did:

Tuesday Leg Workout

4 Sets of Deadlifts (worked up to 169 pounds x 8 reps)

3 Sets of Barbell Reverse Lunges (75 pounds)

3 Supersets of Glute Donkey Kicks on the Leg ext. + Wide Stance KB Goblet Squats

2 Supersets of DB Step Ups + Step Up Jumps

I thought it would be fun to give you guys an idea of how I eat most of the time. I for sure have treats every now and then and don’t worry about it, but this is my 80%. Meaning that 80% of the time, this is how I eat. This is how I choose to eat….not for any other reason than it makes me feel good, supports my training, and still keeps me satisfied. Yep, I EAT CHEESE and lots of FRUIT and omg, I eat after 6pm too….and still live to tell about it. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Fooooooods

8:30am: Large Americano w/ Nonfat Steamed Milk

9am: 2 Scrambled Eggs + 1/2 cup oatmeal OR a slice of Ezekiel bread + an apple

10:30-11am: an apple + almonds OR Cookies & Cream Quest Bar

12-1pm: chicken or turkey + brown rice or quinoa + veggies + sometimes avocado or cheese (sometimes I do a paleo burger too)

3-3:30pm: Cookies and Cream Quest Bar & a Large Americano w/ nonfat steamed milk

4-4:30pm: Workout

6-6:30pm: Chicken, brown rice, bell peppers, & cheese OR this amazingly incredible taco salad

7:30-8pm: Fruit. Grapes or peaches or strawberries or whatever I can get my hands on!

That’s all I’ve got folks…..hope your Thursday is off to a fantastic start!

What’s on your workout agenda for the day?

Manic Monday & Back Workout!

Woahhhhhhhh. Somehow when I woke up on Monday, I just knew it was going to be “one of those days.” I even took the proper precautions and got my HIIT done in the morning so that I’d be better prepared for a shit storm. It didn’t turn out to be as bad as I thought, but to say it was stressful would be an understatement. A 12 hour Monday is a lot to take in when you still have four more days in the week! Oh well, hopefully I got the hard stuff out of the way.

This little girl definitely helped cheer things up. Isn’t she the cutest?

Even still, I was able to get in a pretty good back/biceps/abs workout. I threw in the abs just because. I rarely do abs (usually only when someone tricks me into it) but thought it would be good to start doing them here and there. ๐Ÿ˜€ I use and engage my abs during basically every exercise I do, which is why I don’t typically do specific exercises for them, but it certainly is something I should do more of!

This was short and sweet, just the way I like it. I SOOO prefer to do supersets and work my ass off for 30-40 minutes as opposed to longer workouts with long rest periods. Of course, when I’m lifting heavier, I need the longer rests, but if I’m doing slightly higher reps, screw the rest time! I’m too impatient! Here’s what I did:

Back/Bis/Ab Workout

Superset #1: (bw=bodyweight)

Chin Ups:

Set 1 – bw x 5, Set 2 – bw x 4, Set 3 – bw x 4

Hanging Leg Raise

Set 1 – bw x 12, Set 2 – bw x 12, Set 3 – bw x 12

Superset #2:

Lat Pulldown (double pulley)

Set 1 – 35 x 15, Set 2 – 35 x 15, Set 3 – 35 x 15

EZ Bar Curl

Set 1 – 40 x 12, Set 2 – 40 x 12, Set 3 – 40 x 10

Superset #3:

One Arm Cable Row (using seated row cable)

Set 1 – 25 x 15, Set 2 – 25 x 15, Set 3 – 25 x 15

DB Hammer Curl

Set 1 – 15 x 15, Set 2 – 17.5 x 10, Set 3 – 17.5 x 10

Finisher:

Opposite Hand to Foot Full Sit Ups

Set 1- bw x 20, Set 2 – bw x 20

This workout was good! The chin ups always get me. I was surprised that I did 5 in a row! I haven’t done them in a few weeks and was worried I wouldn’t be able to do them at all. ๐Ÿ˜€

pull up pic

(Me doing pull ups a few months ago)

I’m planning on hitting legs today, and specifically deadlifting. I feel like I’ve been focusing on squats a TON lately (because I’m trying to get better at them) and I’ve neglected the deadlifts a bit.

I just have to say, while I’ve been squatting for years, a few months ago I decided to focus on going heavier with better form. I always shied away from heavy squats because I wasn’t good at them, and many moons ago, I sort of injured my back by going too heavy too soon. I was new to lifting and just didn’t give myself ample time to work up to heavier weights. It kind of freaked me out a bit and so I just kept my weights fairly light and never went too heavy throughout the years. I wanted to start working on heavier weights and really just decided to start from the beginning. I started with the weight I was comfortable with and just practiced. Each time I’d do squats, I’d add a little bit more weight. I wouldn’t go any heavier until I was hitting below parallel and in good form. Once I mastered that weight, I’d up the weights just a touch more. I’ve been doing this for the last few months and HOLY COW my butt has lifted! I started noticing it a few weeks ago and it’s pretty awesome. I’m able to go heavier than I have in years, I squat below parallel, and my butt is looking amazing. Who’da thought?

The moral of the story? SQUAT. HEAVY. A LOT.

BGPLtcaCIAAycRr.jpg_large

Anyways, that’s all I’ve got. I’m getting ready to crack away at Tuesday’s to-do list and then get my legs-a-movin’! Have a wonderful Tuesday friends!

Workouts for the Week + BIG BEAR!

Woohoo, we’re halfway through the week! It feels good. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still pretty bummed about the passing of Robin Williams. I was fortunate enough to meet the guy, and he was just as nice and funny as he is in his movies. I don’t usually get this way when a celebrity passes away, but for some reason I think Robin Williams’ death has hit a lot of people much harder than usual.

Circa....2008?

Circa….2008?

Aside from that, this week has been pretty good. I did a tough workout on Monday and then did a tough leg workout Tuesday. Today I plan on bouldering and maybe just foam rolling. My body is kind of…..toast.

I am heading to Big Bear Lake with my man tomorrow for a few days of relaxation, hiking, and WAKEBOARDING!!! So my fitness will all be outdoors towards the end of the week.

Here’s my week:

Monday: Shoulders & Chest + KB Burpees (video below)

Tuesday: Legs & Plyos (Squats, Squat Jumps, Walking Lunges, KB Goblet Squats w/ Rotation, Jumping Lunges)

Wednesday: Bouldering + Foam Roll & Stretch

Thursday: Hiking in Big Bear

Friday: WAKEBOARDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (my favorite thing on the planet if you couldn’t tell)

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Hope everyone has a great rest of the week! I’ll be back next week with some photos, recipes, and more workouts!!

 

Muscles, Flexing, and a Kettle Bell Workout!

Good morning! Happy Thursday!

This week has FLOWN by. Anyone else feel that way? I swear, it was just Monday!

Workouts this week have left me pretty sore. I’m taking a much-needed rest day today! Here’s what my week has looked like:

Sunday: Legs!!! (and oh, did this workout make me sore)

Monday: 20 min. HIIT & Shoulders/Triceps

Tuesday: Back & Biceps + 20 minutes on the treadmill (to literally try to shake the sedative-meds out of my legs)

Wednesday: Full Body w/ a focus on Chest (below)

photo(1)

On another note, I read this article yesterday and immediately shared it. This is so, so, so spot on. I urge you all to read this and take notes. My favorite quote in the article:

“Like Herbalife, Isagenix may be an effective weight loss tool. So is anorexia. Doesnโ€™t mean I think itโ€™s a good idea.”

Finally, I’ll leave you with this. Lifting weights doesn’t mean you’re going to walk around looking like the hulk. You’re only going to look like the hulk when you have seriously developed muscle (read: years of development) AND flex those seriously developed muscles. And even then, you still may not! I’ve been training for 7 years STRAIGHT and this is how “bulky” heavy lifting has made me:

photo(10)

(On a side note, back in 2008, before I had any “real” muscle, I would put photos of women with really awesome shoulders on my bathroom mirror. I looked at my own photo last night and realized…..I have those awesome shoulders that I always envied!! Cool!!)

 

P.S. Don’t judge my dirty mirrors. #okthanks.

Have a great rest of your day folks!

Question of the day:

1. Be honest, are you afraid to lift heavy weights?

 

 

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