Tag Archive for working out

Fitness Motivation: How Should You Train?

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Hey friends! I know I’ve been pretty absent, but I’m still here! Let’s waken this blog up with some fitness motivation!

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If there is one thing I’ve learned over the 8+ years I’ve been in the fitness world (and let’s just hope it’s more than one! ;-)), it’s what keeps someone in the game.

  • What is it that makes you keep coming back for more consistently?
  • What makes you quit or take long breaks from fitness?
  • What SHOULD you be doing to ensure you’ll keep on keeping’ on?

I believe there are two distinct questions that you must be able to answer YES to in order to determine if you are training the right way…

  1. Does this training support your goal?
  2. Do you enjoy it?

Let’s dig a bit deeper into each of them.

Does this training support your goal?

I believe all goals are equal. No goal is better than another and to each his own. I find SO often in the gym that people shun you for not wanting what they want. They walk around with that air around them, they look down on you, and most of all, they actually think they are BETTER than you. I find it extremely frustrating, but I’m confident enough to not care. Unfortunately, there are people in the gym that are already feeling subconscious enough and don’t need the added pressure/shaming. Just because you love bodybuilding, does not mean that the man training for a powerlifting meet is inadequate. Just because your goal is to go to the Crossfit Games, doesn’t mean that the girl that just wants a better butt’s goal is any less important. The gym is a big giant YOU VS. YOU. It isn’t about anyone else and your goal is the only one that should matter.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, there IS a time when one type of training is better than another, and that time is when you’re looking at how you’re getting to your goals. If your goal is to get stronger and do a powerlifting meet, a bodybuilding program is not going to be sufficient. If your goal is to run a marathon, only lifting weights probably won’t help you get there. I like to think of training as a pyramid. Like an actual 3D pyramid that you learned about in geometry. The top of the pyramid is your goal, whatever that might be. The 4 sides are your 4 main avenues of achieving that goal. For example, let’s say your goal is to do a bodybuilding competition. One side of your pyramid would be your bodybuilding training program, another side would be your diet/cardio, another side would be your posing, and the 4th side would be some type of muscle health action like yoga, foam rolling, or sports massages. 

Do you enjoy it?

This might be the biggest factor in it all, depending on the person. While you will never enjoy EVERY training session or exercise, while there will be pain (the good kind), while there will be days where you’d rather just sit on the couch, overall you must enjoy what you’re doing (and I guess this applies to more than just working out…). Take me for example. If you told me I had to do pilates every day for my exercise, it is highly probably that I would end up missing it more often than going. I’ve tried several different training protocols over the years and at different times, I’ve enjoyed different ways of training. Currently, my favorite way to work out is to start with a heavy lift, then move into some medium weight/rep range supersets or plyometrics, and finish off with higher rep accessory work. Is EVERY training session built this way? No. But the majority of them are. I like them and they support my goal of getting stronger, being functional and agile, and giving me the aesthetic results I want. I also do things I DON’T like, but that I NEED to do to support my goals such as flexibility work (need to keep my muscles healthy) and dieting (I want to look a certain way), but liking the majority of what I do is KEY to long-lasting commitment.

 

You’ll never enjoy every piece of the puzzle. If you do, more power to you, but it isn’t likely.  But do make it a priority to enjoy at least one piece. Maybe that piece is feeling like you could deadlift a car (or if you’re super duper strong, actually deadlifting a car) or maybe it’s hiking in beautiful scenery. WHATEVER it is that you love, you must incorporate it. If not, you’re more likely to fizzle out. If you really hate something, it’s hard to stick to it. If you at least like parts of something, it becomes easier.

Wherever you are in your fitness journey, make your own personal goals a priority and work on finding a way to achieve those goals. We are only given one body and you don’t get a do-over.

Find something you love, find something that will help you to get where you want to be, and then just #riseandgrind.

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Hitting Your Workout Groove + Less Serious Stuff

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Hey guys!

We are THISCLOSE to the weekend! Woohoo!

I have a good mix of relaxation, fun and activities planned into my weekend:

-Teaching Boot Camp

-Friend’s Birthday Dinner

-Playing baseball (I joined a men’s wooden bat league!)

-Laying by the pool

Good Workouts and Hitting your Workout Groove

I’ve been getting in some really great workouts lately and it reminded me of the ups and downs that come with fitness. You go through times where you just have it in you to push really hard, hit new PR’s, and see great results. Then you have times where you are unmotivated, barely getting through your workouts, and just feeling kind of BLAH. These times can last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. It isn’t a perfect cycle and it goes in waves. I’m currently on a HIGH with workouts and have been really crushing it in the gym! I took a week off when I was in Big Bear and can’t help but think that giving myself a break from the gym was the exact motivation and rest my body needed to start hitting it hard again. Finding your groove isn’t easy and isn’t always something you can wrap your head around. It’s easy to workout when you’re feeling motivated, and extremely difficult when you’re not. The important thing to keep in mind is to stay consistent and push through no matter what you’re feeling that day. This isn’t to say that some days are better taken as a rest day, because there are definitely times like that, but I’m talking about the mindset. If your head is what’s getting in the way, you have to push past it. You have to keep on keepin’ on and KNOW that if you’re in a rut, at some point it will turn around. It’s part of the process and learning to love and trust the process is a HUGE thing that has taken me YEARS to learn. I used to hear it and even repeat it to myself, but I didn’t truly believe or understand it. These days, I do. I get it. I’ve been training for 8 years straight now (hard to believe!) and it amazes me that I just keep learning more and more about myself, training, the body, and how they all work together and sometimes against each other. This is sort of a brain dump, but I couldn’t help but think about it today. So what should you take away from this?

If you’re having a bad/off day, week, or even MONTH, don’t get discouraged. YOU ARE NORMAL. Everyone goes through it. Bodybuilders, gymnasts, athletes, you name it. No matter how much someone seems into their sport, there are times where you just don’t feel like you’re able to push and give 100%, and that’s OK. What’s important is that you stay in the game. You give what you can that day, and you trust in the process. The good days WILL come back.

(drops mic, walks off stage)

Less Serious Stuff

-I posted this photo on Instagram last night….Oscar is going Hollywood on me….

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-If anyone tries to bring you down, just send them this photo

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-Does anyone else’s dog sit on their lap like a human? Oscar is so odd.

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Look at where his feet are!

-I went to Ross the other day and bought a bunch of tank tops for like $6 each. This is one of them. Love keppra online shopping!

IMG_9094Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Question of the Day

1. Are you currently in a high or low with your workout routine?

2. Are you obsessed with your pet like I am?

 

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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.

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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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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)

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