Anaerobic Fun and Videos.

Hi guys! Hope you're all enjoying the end of the weekend :) I'm proscrastinating like a freakin' champ over here, I have tons of homework to do, but blogging wins.

Yesterday was the day I've been waiting to come for quite some time. I woke up with a firecracker lit under my butt and said to myself, "I want to join Crossfit today. No really, I do." So, I trucked on over to Crossfit Cheshire.  I start 1 of 3 one-on-one on-ramp training sessions tomorrow afternoon and I'm unbelievably excited. Bye-bye gym, it's time to get beast on a totally different level! It ain't cheap so I'm only going to be joining for a month at a time..

I can't wait to get in on that...and the rope climbing.  I want to be able to shimmy up them ropes like a little gorilla. (I say gorilla because monkeys bug me out). 

I officially haven't lifted in a week though. After the doctor told me no lifting for a few days I decided to just turn it into a whole rest week since I haven't take one in a while.  My torn muscle is feeling better though, but the painkillers are a different story..I swear they are sleeping pills they make me so drowsy.  Oh well, I'll take drowsy over excruciating pain any day!

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On to the good stuff! VIDEOS. I wanted to share some of my favorite "plyometric-style" moves to do and to train people with.  3 min breaks of plyos in between weight training exercises are much more beneficial and less than boring than just throwing a client on the awful treadmill for 3 mins.

Plyometrics are an anaerobic activity that uses explosive movements (hopping, bounding, jumping, etc) to develop muscular power by rapidly shortening and lengthening the muscle.  Anaerobic activities are fueled by adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate (which are stored in your muscles) as opposed to using oxygen like aerobic activities do (ex. dreaded long, steady state cardio).  Weight lifting is also anaerobic.

It is very easy to rely on aerobic activities to lose fat/weight, but many people don't understand they are also losing muscle, strength and power.  With anaerobic exercises you are increasing muscle strength and power, decreasing body fat and improving cardiovascular function.  Anaerobics also spike your metabolism longer than aerobics and take less time to complete.
Like I've said before, in order to change your physique you need to push your body past it's limits and out of your comfort zone.  Strolling on the treadmill vs. sprints..which one do you think is going to be more beneficial?

1) These are long jumps with a backwards shuffle.  These are actually really fun to do, in my opinion anyways, haha.  Launch yourself forward over a step, swing your arms for extra momentum and land on the balls of your feet, controlling your bodyweight. Then shuffle back and repeat.  These are usually done for one minute.

2) I'm not really sure what to call these, I refer to them as Squat Hops though. Start straddling the step and then hop up onto it and back down, but as soon as your feet touch the floor again immediaely pop yourself back up again (in a style similar to box jumps).



3) Next are toe taps, better known as 'The Can-Can' by Steve.. Simply just tap your toes on the edge of the step.  These are usually done for a minute.

4) Last but not least, my new favorite, JUMP ROPE (although my skills are lacking!)  According to my bodymedia, when I jump rope I am torching 7 calories per minute. Jumping rope is brutal. In the video I was doing alternating one-legged hops, but I usually do 30 secs/one leg.

Pick up a jump rope and you'll never need another elliptical machine again.

And just for kicks one more video that Steveo, my love behind the crappy cell phone camera decided to record as I was just goofing around doing some curls...360 view! hahah..

I apologize for the low quality of the videos and for my goofy looking-ness ;).  I'll have more videos next time I post though!

Soo, can someone please teach this girl how to make Kale chips without burning the house down?! They are so simple to make, but I'm such a mess in the kitchen that they turn out tasting like an ashtray! Kale fail...Maybe I'll just stick to my boiled veggies?

In other news, my bodyfat has dropped another .7% and so far I have lost 1lb of fat and gained 1lb of muscle! I have never been so disciplined in my entire life and it is awesome (most of the time..)

Motivation for the week:

I'm off to get make another kitchen disaster aka eggplant and chicken "lasagna". Watch. Out. Later gators :)

Doctor's Orders.

Today' doctor's order: No lifting for three days.

As crappy as that is, I honestly don't think I'd be up for lifting right now (plus I could really use the rest). I've spent the past two days with some serious stomach pain..on and off, but at the worst it hurts to even breathe or move.  I've had this pain before (this has been happening for years!), it comes every once in a while and I've had a stomach scan done but nothing was found and the doctor brushed it off.  It's definitely debilitating and interferes with daily life. I went back to the doctor yesterday and sat waiting for a good hour only to talk to her for five minutes and have her push several different pills at me and brush me off. So today I went to a gastroenterologist. 
He was very nice, didn't rush through my appointment and actually tried to diagnose me. The conclusion: abdominal muscle tear. But just to be safe he sent me right away for bloodwork after the appointment and also gave me a prescription for painkillers and antacids. OUCH.
I have no idea how this happened though, I felt no pain while working out..so I'm still kind of weary on believing it's just a muscle tear, but I'll just have to wait for the bloodwork results.

Spending my afternoon at the hospital was exhausting especially after being up all last night. I did make it to work this morning to tough through training one client. I was definitely not at my best though.

In other news, before my stomach jumped ship, I had a couple great lifting sessions and upped my weights with overhead presses (60lbs) and one arm rows (40lbs).  I also got a tub of this:

Delish.  Although I haven't been able to really "test" it out yet.  I have been switching it up in the kitchen though, but per usual nothing to write home about.

I picked up some delicious, but expensive, wild salmon from a fresh fish market and baked it up lemon-pepper style. My first time ever making salmon.

This was today's lunch, chicken salad made with plain greek yogurt and spicy mustard.

Oh the thrills of my kitchen.. I still want a huge, disgusting, greasy burger.

BUT I'LL HOLD BACK. I haven't tested my bodyfat this week but that shit better be lower cuz goshdamn I have been sticking to this plan like a friggin' barnacle!

Anyways, since this post is well...lame, I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon of this survey:

A.  Age: 23. Some days I feel 93, some days I feel 12.
B.  Bed Size: Queen. My bed is one of my favorite things in the world. It's what I consider 'home'.
C. Chore I dislike: Vaccuuming.
D.  Dogs: I like bulldogs.
E.  Essential Start of Your Day: Pancakes :) I also love getting up early and being able to relax for an hour before getting my day started.
F.  Favorite Color: pink!
G. Gold or Silver: Silver, definitely.
H.  Height: 5'1. yeah yeah..
I . Instruments you play or played: Guitar! I haven't picked mine up in a while though.
J.  Job Title: Personal Trainer. I love my job, a lot.
K. Kids: No thank ya.
L.  Live: Connecticut..and I need to get OUT!
M. Moms Name: Kathi.
N.  Nicknames: Rick, Air/Er, whatever ridiculous nickname Steve gives me..Babycakes, Sugarcube...ew, mushy much?
O . Overnight Hospital stay: None, yet.
P.  Pet Peeve: People who can't drive or say thank you when you hold the door for them.
Q. Quote from a movie: "Chip, I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey!" Talladega Nights, anyone? I think I'm the only who likes that movie.
R.  Righty or Lefty: Righty.
S. Siblings: None :(
T.  Time you wake up: Depends on the day.
U.  Underwear: Well, I hate panty lines (and the word 'panties'..) and I wear workout pants a lot (very revealing!) so, thongs. I love boyshorts though.
V.  Vegetables You don’t like: Broccoli.
W.  What makes you run late: Oh my gosh, I can never get out of the house on time. I don't even know what I do. Check the mirror, gather all my crap, try on three thousand different outfits..
X.  X-rays have you had any: Dental stuff and a chest one years ago.
Y.  Yummy Food you make: Pumpkin Cheesecake and Turkey Meatloaf.
Z.  Zoo animal Favorite: Gators and Hippos!!

Okay my loves, that's all for now! I'm off to go mope around and walk like a hunchback (or should I say cavegirl? Cavegirl sounds cooler..) because it hurts too bad to stand up straight..I leave you with today's motivation:

Good Reads;

• Why big caloric deficits and lots of activity can hurt fat loss (for anyone else trying to lean out!)
• Deadlifts: high hips vs. low hips



My 100% Natural Pre-Workout Supplement of Choice..

...ANGER :)

Pure, savage, gorilla-like anger.  Maybe I'm slightly over exaggerating, but today I hit the gym with my blood boilin' and had the best workout I have had in a long time. It was also leg day and it also ended with me calling an ambulance, but I'll get into that in a minute.

Today's workout consisted of: lunges, calf raises (center, in, out), squats, wide squats and stiff-legged deadlifts.  I was able to up my wide squats to 110lbs (!!!!)..and I managed 2 reps of regular squats at the same weight..finally..I have been stuck at 95lbs for weeks and 110lbs is just a few short of my bodyweight. I am so estatic about this.  This is probably nothing compared to what ya'll are squattin' but I'm gettin' there! :)

So as I floated on squat-cloud nine during my 20 minutes of cardio there were two younger girls next to me, one on the jacob's ladder and her friend on a treadmill.  The girl on the jacob's ladder got off and I looked over and she was crouched with her face pressed against the window. I thought huh, that's odd, but whatever...two seconds later the girl keeled over onto her friend's treadmill, smashed her head on it and rolled off onto the floor with her eyes rolled in the back of her head.  I DOVE off the machine I was on, mp3 player flying in six directions, and ran over to her while some other woman ran to the front desk...the girl's friend was crying histerically trying to pick up the girl who had passed out and had a seizure I guess...I noticed that no one had called 911..not even the guy at the front desk. So, that's where I came in since my cell phone was with me.  Luckily the girl woke up and was coherent, the ambulance arrived and took her away. Very scary thing to see though...even scarier that no one had the brains to call 911 and only a couple people came to help.

Other than that my day has been uneventful, but relaxing after an exhausting week.  I'd really appreciate being able to wipe out on the floor for hours like my cats do..

I'm about to go update my blogroll page since an update is desperately needed.  So I leave you with some lovely weekend inspiration :)

Good Reads;

• A little article about "Pudgy" Stockton
• Quick ways to improve your grip on deadlifts - from stronglifts.com
• February's seasonal superfoods

Love and Gators.

What a mushy Monday! Hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day :)
I'm usually happy just shrugging off the V-day, but Steve and I like to get geeky about things.  Even though we're technically adults, we opted out of the high-class, candlelit dinner and went out on a lovely little date to the Rainforest Cafe.

The 'sky' is my favorite part.

My lovely date.

Being the sweetheart that he is, Steve ordered some wierd slushie drink just so I could get the snazzy aligator cup that it came in.  I kind of really like gators...to the point where I would totally get in on this:

 I ordered a big house salad. Very boring, but I'll get into that in a second..

We exchanged cards and stuff when we got home..we both decided not to buy eachother anything, but we both ended up buying things anyways.

A homemade card!! Sweetest frickin' thing ever, seriously.  I can't believe he made it, it's so pretty. And a dozen roses. I teared up, I'm such a sap...I also got a new water bottle courtesty of Victoria's Secret. No more bringing gross re-used platic bottles to the gym! Yay!

 So, my bodyfat groove has been going..okay. It's been a week and I'm down almost a full percent already...I was very surprised. Thank god what I'm doing is working.  I've been being very strict because I don't want any setbacks..I want to get this over with as soon as physically possible so I can get back to eating and lifting good.

This is a typical meal. Not exciting at all. The tomatoes..as disgusting and regurgitated as they look are actually delicious..I bake them with some seasoning on top. They come out pretty good.

Each day I've ended up around 170g protein, carbs around 140g and fat around 45g.  I snack on greek yogurt, peanut or almond butter, protein shakes, apples, oranges, berries, almonds and veggies.  So basically what I was eating before, but a lesser amount and a bit more bland. Atleast I still get to eat my protein pancakes...I wouldn't have made it without them.

Oh, who am I kidding? This is how I really feel! 

SOMEONE GET ME A CHEESEBURGER, EXTRA BACON, PLEASE. I have been craving the strangest things lately, I don't even want to get into it haha.  I've been having the whackiest dreams too..every night. So strange how food affects us.

 

Over the weekend, I pulled the rear differential (allows both tires to turn at different speeds around corners) cover on my Jeep to figure out why it keeps making wild popping and banging noises..

Found it! The ring gear has 3 chipped teeth. Booo. I'm probably going to need to get a whole new set of gears.  I also have a bad pinion bearing and a leaking axle seal.  Well, it is a project Jeep...

Me and Steve's Jeeps.  Mine's obviously the one with the pink ;)

Well I'm off to work, I have one client to train and them I'm off to class for the rest of the day.  Not looking forward to class or leaving the house since the windchill is nasty today!

Dirt Talk;

• When She/He Doesn't Get It. An article from SquatRx about dating someone who isn't into working out.
• Funny video making fun of Planet Fitness and their unbelievably annoying commercial:

• I'm looking for a new lifting program to start in a few weeks, preferably a 5 day split..if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

Confessions?

Nah, this post has nothing to do with Usher songs..

So, I haven't posted in over a week...I've been at a loss and I've been debating if I wanted to post what I'm about to, but then I figured, why not? Shit happens and it did, so why not share? That's what blogs are for!

Well, long story short...yours truly unintentionally "bulked" herself. I was apparantly way underestimating my calories for months and as my pants started getting tighter and tighter I wrote it off to bloat or my body just getting used to all the lifting/food. When the scale kept creeping up I didn't care because we all know scales aren't accurate measurements..so I just stopped using it and convinced myself it was all in my head...but six months later and I'm beyond uncomfortable in my skin and don't even feel like myself. Something had to change!

I asked my boss for some advice and she tested my bodyfat...24.5%! Ouch, there was my proof..it wasn't just in my head. For someone who hits the gym on a regular basis lifting hard and eats as healthy as possible my bodyfat % should be in the teens.  Little bit embarassing! So, she looked over my food log, adjusted some things, changed my snacks and told me to add 20 minutes of (light!) cardio after every lifting session.  Yikes.

So I am eating at a bit of a deficit now (very big change from constantly stuffing my face), I've been sticking with my plan (it's only been five days..) and I'm super motivated to get this going and to start over.  The way everything is laid out, I shouldn't lose any muscle..I'm eating just as much protein, not overdoing the cardio and sticking to the same lifting plan, but I know it's probably going to happen..so thank god for muscle memory if I do.

Ya live, ya learn, right? I started lifting to be healthy, confident and because it made me happy.  When those three things go away, we have a problem. So I'm fixing the problem and I hate that doing it goes against everything I preach about on here, which is why it took me so long to post this. But I think it's really important to be honest. I'm still 110% for lifting heavy, keeping cardio to a bare minimum to put on muscle and eating plenty of food to feed, repair and build those muscles. I just went overboard or maybe I was overtraining? Who knows.  We can't all look like Ava overnight...

It takes many years of finding a balance that works for you...and having incredible discipline.
On a lighter note, I totally love to make fun of myself about this, especially while I'm bouncing around on the treadmill like a moron...my horoscope today even told me to put a padlock on my fridge...really, word for word. I even made a funny playlist to entertain myself with:

DJ Khaled- All I Do Is Win
Drake- Money to Blow
Drake- Up All Night
Lil Wayne- Got Money
Maino- All the Above
Destiny's Child- Survivor
Mohombi- Bumpy Ride
Sean Kingston- Fire Burning
Sean Kingston- Take You There
Sean Kingston- Letting Go
Shakira- Loca

I also have to thank April for giving me advice :) <3
Foodwise, my meals have been very, very boring (more boring than they were before, if you can believe that!) but Pixie sent me this: (Thanks girl!) <3

Macadamia Butter! I didn't even know this stuff existed! It's wonderful, if anyone has any suggestions of what to eat it with shout at me!  I also ordered a 4-pack of TJ's peanut flour that just arrived on my front step as I was typing! Ballin'.

I really need to catch up on blog reading, my work hours have been all over the place and I have class in between, so it's been days and my reader is on overload!
I hope everyone has an awesome weekend :)

Dirt Talk;

• Have you ever had a similar experience to mine? Words of advice?
• Whatchya doing/baking for Valentine's Day?  Steve and I are going to the Rainforest Cafe :)

Good Read;

• Three Key Ingredients to Gaining Stength and Muscle

(Ohh I don't want to hit publish! haha)

Sludge makes ya booty budge

Hello :)
I thought I'd share some protein packed goodies today.  Protein is crucial for building and repairing muscles while strength training and those of us who lift know that there is nothing more important in our diets.  Our muscles are made of amino acids (the good ol' building blocks of protein), so we need extra protein to keep 'em growing! First up..

Spinach & Feta Stuffed Turkey Burgers;

Ingredients (1 serving)

• 112g Lean Ground Turkey
• 14g/1 tblsp Feta Cheese
• Teeny Bit of Egg White
• Onion - chopped
• Celery - chopped
• Spinach - fresh or frozen
• Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, mix all ingredients in a bowl, form into a ball and place onto a lightly greased baking pan.  Form into a "patty" shape and bake for about 20 minutes or until internal temp reaches 170.

I dipped mine into honey mustard (sounds like an odd combo, but it was delicious!)

The burger itself clocks in at right around 215 calories, .5g carb (from the cheese) and 25g protein.

If you want to make more than 1 serving, use 1lb of ground turkey and 1 whole egg :)

Cookies n' Cream Sludge;*

If you are out of the sludge loop, like I was, it's basically a mixture of protein powder, peanut butter and water..frozen.  I switched it up a bit and it turned out tasting exactly like cookies n' cream icecream. Excellent.

(SO sorry about the crappy cell phone pic/bad lighting! I'm not thrilled about it either)

Ingredients

• 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein
• 32g/2 tblsp of chocolate almond butter (I'm sure chocolate peanut butter would work find too)
• Vanilla almond milk (add a little bit at a time until you get a good consistency, not too thin, not too thick)
• 1 or tblsp of vanilla greek yogurt (I used it to thicken up the mixture a bit)

Directions
Mix ingreidents together until you get the desired consistency (mine was thick, but a little runny..I know that doesn't make sense, but you'll know what I mean when ya make it). Pop it into the freezer for an hour or so, remove, thaw and eat.

I know a lot of people like to toss in a couple spoonfuls of cream cheese to make it even thicker, I was out of cream cheese though =\ but this still came out incredible.

*Boy approved! I always taste test goodies like this on Steveo because he is the epitome of anti-"health" foods and prefers overflowing bowls of sugar-soaked sugar with sugar drizzled on top ;)


This has around 310 calories and 30g protein (without the added greek yogurt).











Bloob Shake;

Ingredients

• 1 Scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein
• Half of a Frozen Banana
• 4 oz Vanilla Almond Milk
• Handful (around 40g) Blueberries
• 1 cup of ice

Directions
Mix in blender and enjoy :)


 191 calories and 25 grams of protein.






And an amazing snack idea...orange slices with chocolate almond butter and greek yogurt..

Oranges and chocolate together are amazing. 
...As are most things when paired with chocolate!


 That's all for now, I have a busy couple of days coming up and I'm wiped from de-icing everything after the storm we were just slammed with!
Enjoy the rest of your week :)






Dirt Talk;

• Why do you lift? What got you into lifting?
• What's your favorite thing/perk about lifting?

(I'll be using the answers for my next post!) :)