Lead by example.

(A follow-up to this post)

While the "strong" women movement is slowly starting to catch on and more and more girls are taking the weights plunge, I'm still usually the only girl in the weight room at my gym.  If other girls do venture in its to use one of the ab machines or to talk to one of the guys.

The obvious cause: intimidation and lack of knowledge.

The first time I went in the weight room I was honestly pee-in-my-pants, first-day-of-school terrified (I'm a total nervous wreck to begin with..). I decided to get super serious about lifting but kept putting it off because I was so nervous about going into big kid weights territory.  I made up every excuse about why I couldn't do it, then I decided that if I wanted what I wanted bad enough I would man up and not let such a silly fear get in my way. So I finally dragged myself in there and yeah, I made a complete fool of myself because I'm not the most graceful girl...especially when nervous!...but now I look back on those first couple of days and laugh. What the heck was I so scared of?!  Nowadays I consider bringing a sleeping bag and camping out there overnight. It is a 24 hour gym...

Here are a few tips I came up with for your first time as a lady in the weight room:

• Prepare yourself.  Research workout routines online, decide if you want to do full body or body part splits. (I suggest fulll body, if you're just starting out). Write each day's workout on seperate index cards and bring it with you so you won't be standing around trying to think of what to do next. Even practice moves at home without weights before you go just to get comfortable with the movements.
• Study pictures and form. Find pictures online of exercises that you're going to do.  If you don't think you'll be able to remember what a particular exercise is, snap a picture with your cell phone and bring your cell phone with you so you can simply reference the pictures. Also study each exercise's description and how to do them properly to prevent injury.
• Fake it.  Even if you have no idea what you're doing and you're totally flustered..walk with your chin up, chest out and head held high. Walk in like you own the place, you have just as much of a right to be there as the rest of 'em.  You are paying to be there, right? Act like it!
• Get in your zone.  Focus and forget about everyone else in the room. To be honest, everyone in there is probably so focused on their own workouts and form that they won't even notice you, trust me.  Load up your mp3 player with music that'll push you through your workout and keep your eye on the prize.  Headphones also help to drown out the uh, provocative noises dudes make when they lift :)
• Be respectful. Be confident but don't be rude and obnoxious.  I always do my best to stay out of everyone else's way in hopes that I get the same in return.  I always ask if people are done with bars, cable machines or benches before I start using one that someone is standing near or just got done with.  Also put back your weights/unload bars when you're done..you're a lady not a slob!
• Don't take shit. I have not had any problems with anyone in the weight room (yet, haha), but I've heard stories.  If someone says or does something rude to you IGNORE IT. Be the bigger person, let it go, you're better than that and not worth their time. Carry on with your workout. You're tough, remember? I think once guys see that you're not afraid of heavy weights and hard work they leave you alone.  Plus, I don't know about you, but I tend to work harder when something has pissed me off...turn your anger into muscle :)
• The guys in there are not that scary. Sure they're huge and have veins popping out where you've never seen veins before, but once you start to learn about proper lifting you realize that half of them either have no idea what they're doing..or are just..ridiculous.  It starts to get amusing watching some guy pick up the heaviest dumb bells on the rack and use 100% momentum to swing them back and forth while doing the most ridiculous looking "bicep curls" you've ever seen.
• Weight is relative. What's heavy for you might not be considered heavy to the person next to you.  Don't worry about the # of pounds, just focus on lifting what's heavy enough for you to challenge yourself. Keep in mind everyone who lifts had to start at the bottom too.
• Don't be afraid to ask for help. If certain equipment confuses you or you need help with your form or a spotter, ask someone, preferably a trainer on the floor to help (that's what they're there for!).  I've even had people offer to help me..(I'm just over five feet tall and can not reach anything, haha..)

If anyone can think of any more tips please leave 'em in the comments!
The rest of us have got to lead by example and do our best to show other girls that the weight room is not a scary place and they are not going to look like Arnold or get squashed by some dude's bicep after stepping foot in there :)

Anyways..I started my internship on Tuesday and so far I am absolutely loving it! I'm learning so much and I can't wait to start training people..I have my first "test" client on Monday and on Thursday I'm teaching a "bodypump" style class to five women.  Um, NERVOUS. I already wrote up the workout for the class and I tested it on Steve, his brother and room mate last night just to see if it would flow well (and we were bored and snowed in..).
They whined the whole time..and this was only with 30lbs, it's all we had. I also out push-upped all three of them...on one leg.  Their excuse, "Oh, well you do this all the time.."
Sorry boys, but push-ups aren't even part of my routine! Unless I decide to "cool down" with them at the end of a chest work out to fatigue myself.  (Oh I'm going to catch a bunch of crap if they read this! haha).

Here's the class workout (about 50 mins):
(All done with a weighted barbell, each person gets 1 heavy one and 1 lighter one to use)

Round 1, repeat twice;

• 12 Reverse curls
• 12 Lying tricep extensions
• 12 Upright rows
• 10 Push-ups with twist
• 10 Reverse crunches

Cardio Stations; 30 seconds jumping jacks + 30 seconds knee highs, 60 seconds of jumping jacks, 1 minute each on cardio machine of choice.

Round 2, repeat twice;

• 15 Squats
• 15 Stiff-legged deadlifts
• 10/leg Lunges with rear foot elevated
• 15 woodchops with plate
• 10 Burpees to a 30 second chest plank

Round 3, repeat twice;

• 15 Close grip chest presses
• 15 Shrugs
• 15 Bent over rows
• 10 mountain climbers to a 30 second chest plank

I'm hoping the ladies in the class like it..I watched them do a very similar class the other day, so I know they can handle it.  I'm afraid that my style of working out is going to scare people off.  I go heavy and hard because I know it works.  Especially according to my bodymedia device, haha.

I spent my morning snowblowing the driveway  and creating this mammoth pile:

..which is wild because I avoid going outside in the winter like the plague because anything below 75 degrees and I am miserable...and covered in goosebumps. I was made for the beach. I do know how to layer though..

Bottom half: "long-johns," fleece pants and heavy snow pants. Top half: thermal shirt, huge thick hoodie, snowboarding jacket and all my hair piled into my lumberjack hat, hood up.

I survived :)

It was some tough work, I can't believe my dad does it all by himself! I'm so glad I was able to give him a hand. It was fun too and we're supposed to get another storm tonight...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend..hopefully it's not as snowy as mine!

happy new year, charlie brown.

2011 is off to a promising start...I think! I got an internship today at a personal training studio exclusively for women and I start tomorrow morning! I am so excited and I really think I'm going to dig this place. This week I'm just going to be doing a lot of observing and next week I might be teaching a class...uh yikes!

I rang in the new year at a smallish, but nothing short of rowdy party at Steve's house.

Steve and I.

Boys gone wild and homemade chicken wings.

How did Charlie Brown's Christmas tree end up here?

The rest of my pictures from the night came out all wierd and grainy. Like this:

I'm not a big drinker, so I had to find various other ways to entertain myself, such as balancing objects on my head.  Not that watching everyone else get sloppy and goofy isn't entertaining enough ;).

 2011's eats have been full of yum...I'm trying to get out my routine of eating the same stuff...

Green Monster (I prefer to call these Swamp Thangs, though) and a chicken, feta and balsamic salad.

Raw dark chocolate balls.

Protein pancakes topped with peanut butter, bananers and SF syrup.

Protein dessert "soup" with the raw chocolate balls, half of a cinnamon raisin muffin top and sprinkled with cocoa powder.

How ballin' are my heart plates?! Target had their Valentine's day stuff out and I couldn't resist :) The real business is what's on the plate though..

Bacon Wrapped, Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

(woooh take a breath after saying that..!)

Ingredients; (for 1 serving)

• 4-5oz. chicken breast
• 1-2 slices of bacon
• 1-2 tbsp. feta cheese
• handful of spinach
• Seasonings, whichever you prefer. (I went the lazy route and used Mrs. Dash italian blend)

(The measurements aren't exact because really you can use however much you want, but that's about how much I used)

Directions;

Preheat oven to 400F.  Season the outside of the chicken and carefully butterfly it without slicing all the way through. Fill the inside with feta and spinach, fold in half and wrap the bacon around it. Use toothpicks (or in my case skewers) to hold the chicken together and cook for about 30-40 mins/until the internal temp of the chicken reaches 170F.

I topped it with Annie's Cowgirl Ranch and scarfed it down. I frickin' love feta cheese.

In other news, an update on the snazzy BodyMedia I've been using..I've been burning a little over 2000 calories on workout days and a little over 1900 on my rest day.  This blows my mind, I had no idea I was crankin' out that much...which is probably why my progess has been so slow! My back workout yesterday burned 440 calories. I was helping Steve in between sets though.
(I don't mean to focus on and gab so much about calories, but since I have a specific goal in mind it's important to keep an eye on 'em because if I'm not eating enough my gym time is mostly a waste! Plus playing around with the bodymedia is so intriguing.)

And just for fun..my "resolution" last year was to start lifting more and get stronger...

Before;

These were my arms in...May I think.
So scrawny!! :(
I hadn't gotten too serious about lifting yet and I was still focusing on cardio.










After;

My arms now. Heavy lifting and no cardio.
Muccchh better looking, I think :) and I want to quote this lady's comment on my last post, "it doesn't take any talent at all to starve down to a size zero. building strength and breaking maxes? that takes serious skills." Damn right.

I'm going to make a mini follow up post to my last post with tips for ladies in the weight room..because I know the intimidation of it is what holds a lot of girlies back. :) xoxo

Weakness is a Choice: Get Strong in 2011!

Since when did "weak" women become cool? 
Everyday women are coerced more and more by the media and society to believe that skinny and underweight is sexy and will attract men, power and success.  Girls are led to believe that you can't eat what you want and still be slim, lifting weights will turn you into a manly unnactrative beast, strong is unfeminine, eating anything that isn't labeled fat free will make you fat and that you must run on a treadmill for hours or you will balloon up like a cow.

Girls like this:

are praised on magazine covers and are used as role models for younger women.  But what is looking like that going to bring you, besides hunger pangs, malnutrition and osteoporosis?! Girls like that are a dime a dozen, but girls like this:

are rare.  Girls like this check their self-consciousness at the door.  Girls like this don't get fucked with, nor are they pushovers.  Girls like this are healthy, vibrant and full of life and self-respect.  They don't let anyone tell them what to think, how to feel or how to look.

If you tell a strong girl she can't do something, she's not going to run home and cry about it, she's going to turn around and try harder until she can do it...and ten times harder and better than you.

With physical strength comes mental strength.  In order to become physically capable of something you have to be mentally capable of pushing yourself past the pain and fear that stand in your way.  Yeah, weight lifters have feelings too, we just work past them.

Women can not "bulk" up by weight lifting, we lack the testosterone. Your friggin' cat ways more than your pair of 5 pound dumbbells and you haven't turned into the hulk by picking him up everyday, have you?  Muscle only responds to resistance.  Without resistance, the body will find no reason to change.

So grab 2011 by the balls, kick society in the face and please don't fall into the standards of  being a "weak" woman.  Train hard and challenge yourself.  You owe it to yourself to become confident, healthy and well...untamed :)

(and keep in mind, only weak men are afraid of strong women...)

The great protein pancake experiment & Bodymedia.

So, ever since I fell in love with peanut flour and started making these pancakes every other day, I've been itching to find other delicious pancake recipes that up the protein and lower the carbs. (Not that there is anything wrong with good carbs, but I just find I feel better and less blobby with higher protein rather than higher carbs).

Recipe #1: Protein Powder Pancakes
(56g protein!)

• 1 scoop of protein powder
• 3/4 cup of egg whites
• 1/8 cup of peanut flour
• Cinnamon
• Stevia (or sweetener of choice)

I now understand what people mean when they say protein powder pancakes come out a bit rubbery.  These werent that rubbery, I liked the texture, they were actually thick like a normal pancake it just took a little more effort to slice pieces off with my fork, ha ha. I will definitely be making these again, but probably upping the amount of flour I used.

Recipe #2: Cottage Cheese Pancakes
(28g protein)

• 1/2 cup egg whites (or 2 eggs)
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1/8 cup peanut flour
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• Cinnamon
• Stevia (or sweetener or choice)

They look awful in the picture!! But I had no complaints about the taste, they were just a little bit thin.  Once you load 'em up with butter, syrup and other goodies who cares how ugly and misshaped they are! :)
If anyone has any other ideas for protein pancakes I'd love to hear 'em and try 'em out!

Anyways, I had been looking into different armband devices for a while..debating between a heart rate monitor and the Bodymedia/GoWear Fit, but I never wanted to dish out the dollas for one, so I put the Bodymedia on my Christmas list because I couldn't find one bad review on it.  Well, Santa didn't drop it down my non-existent chimmney (not complaining..I got other great gifts!) so I used the Christmas money I recieved to buy it myself after reading April's posts on hers and being totally convinced.

I wore it all day yesterday and burned 1935 calories (I'm only 5'1"!!). What did I do yesterday? I had a bad migraine so I was in bed the majority of the day!..Aside from the hour I dragged myself to the gym for chest/biceps because I was so anxious to try the thing out, ha. So if that doesn't convince you to start picking up some heavy iron and rev the heck out of your metabolism, then I don't know what will!

I don't miss you one bit, cardio.

Get inspired and go drag out your inner beast!!

This is what I currently jam too while lifting:

Deftones - My Own Summer

Most Precious Blood - Mad as the March Hare

Rob Zombie - Dragula

Avenged Sevenfold - Walk (Pantera cover)

Killswitch Engage - The End of Heartache

All That Remains - Two Weeks

Rob Zombie - Never Gonna Stop

Five Finger Death Punch - Never Enough

Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party (this one doesn't fit in very well, haha)

As I Lay Dying - 94 Hours

It does a good job keeping me going :)

So, the other night, on the way home from the grocery store, Steve and I decided to stop off and play in the snow with the Jeep...I got stuck!

but a shovel saved the day:

Then I tried to crush a car..

...but failed because it was too slippery. (I had permission don't worry and it was on its way to the junkyard). These shenanigans definitely came up as moderate-vigorous activity on my Bodymedia haha..I barely even got out of the truck. I always joke that driving that thing is a workout in itself..now I have proof!

If I don't get to update tomorrow, have a safe and snazzy New Years! xoxo

Christmas; Part Two.

After lazing (is that a word?!) around the house all day on Christmas, I headed out at night to congratulate these lovelies on their wedding:

(Travis, Iris, Me, Steve. Not sure why I'm so hunched over...)

Travis heads back to North Carolina for more training on the 28th, he had just been home for the holidays.

Yes, that's Father Time himself in the background ;) Every picture we have of Travis he is making some ridiculous face, by accident. It's awesome.

Look at the adorable cake Steve's Mom made for them:

Very festive and impressive for only having a few days notice! It was half chocolate and half vanilla :)  After dinner, coffee and cake everyone split and Steve, Jim, the newlyweds and I headed back to their hotel room.

Everyone got changed and we headed to the hotel bar. We got a little rowdy by sharing stories of how we all met and other shenanigan stories. We gave the bartender and the other guests quite a giggle.

Tell me that's not the best post-wedding face ever, ha ha. See, I told you we kept catching Travis during awkward faces :) We left a little after 10pm, when the bar closed and on our way home took a ride through the park to look at the holiday lights display.

I hit the gym this morning, dragging Steve with me. Today was a "back" day for me and full body for him. I did:

• One Arm DB Rows - 35-40lbs/arm
• Inverted Rows - bodyweight (These are so hard! I wasn't able to get my chest to the bar...hello new goal!)
• Face Pulls - 37lbs
• Deadlifts - 100lbs(?) I'm not sure how much the bar weighs.
• Barbell Rows - eep! lost track of weight!
• Cable Rows - 30-40lbs 
• Wide Grip Pull-Ups - with the machine set at 70-80lbs assist.

...Sorry it's kind of all over the place weight-wise, I was trying to keep track of Steve's workout and weights as well as my own, so I can't exactly remember what I did for each set. I did 4 sets of each though, 6-12 reps (some were pyramid sets).

I got to try out this new bad boy when I got home. I feel so spoiled using this..it whipped up my shake in about a minute which is incredible compared to how long my old one would take..

I snagged a sample of chocolate protein powder from GNC the other day and made a Chocolate Peanut Butter shake :) I love chocolate, but I'm not a big fan of chocolate shakes or icecream, this turned out delicious! (I definitely typed turked out instead of turned. I must have Christmas leftovers on the brain..)

Here we are now, getting snowed in. 12-18 inches is predcited and the wind sounds like it's going to blow the house over. Bleh! I have an interview tomorrow at a personal training studio that I would love to work at and I'm worried the snow is going to mess it up!

 A blizzard is a great excuse to curl up with blankets and hoodies..and bake!..So that's what I'm going to do for the rest of the day! xoxo

Stuff to Check Out:

• An article about 5 day splits on bodybuilding.com
• Why muscle building should be your top priority
• Pharrell's "kidult" house