My husband and I decided to take a road trip to Columbus, OH this weekend to check out the Arnold Fitness Expo. http://www.arnoldsportsfestival.com/expo/ The expo had around 700 booths of the latest in sports equipment, apparel and nutrition. It was just one part of a HUGE Arnold Sports Festival. The festival featured competitions in several sports.
Our original plan was to go to see a Women's Figure Competition first hand, but we weren't able to make it there for that event. I did get to meet Nicole Wilkins Lee (http://www.nicolewilkins.com/home.shtml) who won the Arnold Figure competition Friday night though; she was a sweetheart! She actually works with the same company, Nutrigenix, as my trainer, Kelly Gonzalez. Meeting Nicole was really a treat for me. It was while reading the Jan/Feb 2010 Muscles and Fitness Hers magazine that I had decided to look into Figure competing. I never in my life thought I would be meeting the winner of both The World's Best Figure (and now the Arnold winner!) Don't be fooled by the pictures in magazines. The women look big and bulking, but standing next to her, I realized she was one tiny little woman!
Other women that I got to see and meet were, Jamie Eason and Christina Dugdale. I had learned about both women from www.bodybuilding.com. Meeting Christina was completely by accident. She was working a booth that was showcasing materials with her husband, Mark Dugdale. I looked over and thought, "she looks so familiar" and then realized it was because I watch all her cooking videos "Cooking with Christina" on the bodybuilding.com website! I got to chat with her for several minutes, telling her all about how much I love her cooking videos and how I love her recipes! Her husband reminded me a lot of my Marty; I stood there gushing over Christina, asking her if she came up with her own recipes, etc, her husband Mark just BEAMED. She wouldn't admit that they were her own recipes, but Mark stood behind her and just nodded his head yes and you could just tell that he was proud of her and thankful that she made food so great for their family (especially since feeding a bodybuilder is no easy feat!)
The one thing that struck me the hardest about all the women I met was that they were all very very small; short and tiny! I guess I just imagined them to be so much bigger. The magazines and videos make them look big and bulky, but they are all shorter than 5'5" (which is what I am) and maybe weight 120lbs, tops! Jamie Eason was a peanut! Christina Dugdale is not even 5'1" and my trainer Kelly Gonzalez is probably a good 3 inches shorter than me too! I was feeling a little discouraged. Kelly had warned me that most of the women in Figure competing are much shorter than me. I just looked at all these women and felt enormous!
I left the expo feeling a little deflated, very discouraged and somewhat scared. What am I thinking!?!? Is this really something that I think I can do? I was beginning to feel like my goals were unobtainable. Maybe I'm too tall. Can I ever get my body that lean? The doubt was setting in and I was really feeling not so good about myself. It wasn't until I got home that I realized that Nicole Wilkins Lee and I are about the same height. That made me feel so much better! I did have a major reality check in that this is going to be MUCH harder than I had anticipated. I'm ready for that challenge. I'm motivated and now that I've seen the women in real life, I have no doubt that I want to push my body to reach that level of fitness.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tuning Out
Music is important for your workout when you're alone. You need to just tune out let your mind relax. Music really moves me; my mood goes with the music and it helps to either pump me up, calm me down or push me into a mindset that is necessary to get a good workout.
We all have a "mood" that works for us to get a good workout. For me, its all about feeling sexy. Let's be honest, for those of us in our 20's and 30's, are we really working out because we're concerned about our cholesterol, disease prevention or overall health? Maybe that equates to 10% of our motivation. I know that my major factor for working out is I that I want to have a sweet little ass in that sexy black number. I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. I want to feel good; I want to feel confident; I want to BE sexy.
So, the music I listen to taps into those feelings. For today's playlist (I put it on shuffle so they played in a random order):
Cake- Short Skirt/Long Jacket
Buckcherry- Crazy Bitch
Duffy- Mercy
Michael Franti and Spearhead- Say Hey (I love you)
Stevie Ray Vaughan- Pride and Joy
Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up
Britney Spears - If You Seek Amy
Toya- I do!
Cascada - Evacuate the Dance Floor
The Smithereens- Blues Before and After
The Smithereens- A Girl Like You
Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl
Lady Gaga- Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
Lady Gaga- Boys Boys Boys
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts- I Hate Myself for Loving You
I'm always looking for great songs, so if you have any suggestions...please share!
We all have a "mood" that works for us to get a good workout. For me, its all about feeling sexy. Let's be honest, for those of us in our 20's and 30's, are we really working out because we're concerned about our cholesterol, disease prevention or overall health? Maybe that equates to 10% of our motivation. I know that my major factor for working out is I that I want to have a sweet little ass in that sexy black number. I don't think that there is anything wrong with that. I want to feel good; I want to feel confident; I want to BE sexy.
So, the music I listen to taps into those feelings. For today's playlist (I put it on shuffle so they played in a random order):
Cake- Short Skirt/Long Jacket
Buckcherry- Crazy Bitch
Duffy- Mercy
Michael Franti and Spearhead- Say Hey (I love you)
Stevie Ray Vaughan- Pride and Joy
Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up
Britney Spears - If You Seek Amy
Toya- I do!
Cascada - Evacuate the Dance Floor
The Smithereens- Blues Before and After
The Smithereens- A Girl Like You
Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl
Lady Gaga- Beautiful, Dirty, Rich
Lady Gaga- Boys Boys Boys
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts- I Hate Myself for Loving You
I'm always looking for great songs, so if you have any suggestions...please share!
Friday's Workout: Legs and Calves
I was solo today. I think every now and then that's ok. I popped my earbuds in and just got lost in the music. My next post will be about my playlists. Good music is a MUST when working out alone!
So for today, this is how it went:
10 minutes cardio warmup- I hit the bumble bee, but I kicked it up to resistance 10. It felt pretty good. Its really important to get those leg muscles warmed up before a good leg workout.
Narrow Stance Squat - Warmup Set - 12-15 reps; since I was solo, I used the squat machine. For my warm-up I did 12 reps at 90lbs.
Narrow Stance Squat - 3 Working Sets ; I wanted to push myself, so I went up to 110lbs. That felt great. I was able to do 10 reps three times. I think when men see women do squats, you earn a little respect in the gym. This morning I was the ONLY female there (awkward) but I held my ground and did my workout with diligence.
Lunges - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps; I use 20lbs dumbbells in each hand and do stationary lunges. This really works that booty. You lunge forward and then push back into your stance then alternate legs.
Hamstring Curl - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps I did this at 70lbs
Leg Extension - 3 Working Set 12-15 reps again at 70lbs
Calve Machine - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps I used the Hoist machine for this and did at 97lbs (where do they come up with these increments!?)
I finished up on my frenemy the stair master. I did 10 minutes at level 10 (whew!) It was a great workout. I kept my heartrate up through out the ENTIRE workout and really pushed it. I'm going to be burning in the legs tomorrow!
So for today, this is how it went:
10 minutes cardio warmup- I hit the bumble bee, but I kicked it up to resistance 10. It felt pretty good. Its really important to get those leg muscles warmed up before a good leg workout.
Narrow Stance Squat - Warmup Set - 12-15 reps; since I was solo, I used the squat machine. For my warm-up I did 12 reps at 90lbs.
Narrow Stance Squat - 3 Working Sets ; I wanted to push myself, so I went up to 110lbs. That felt great. I was able to do 10 reps three times. I think when men see women do squats, you earn a little respect in the gym. This morning I was the ONLY female there (awkward) but I held my ground and did my workout with diligence.
Lunges - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps; I use 20lbs dumbbells in each hand and do stationary lunges. This really works that booty. You lunge forward and then push back into your stance then alternate legs.
Hamstring Curl - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps I did this at 70lbs
Leg Extension - 3 Working Set 12-15 reps again at 70lbs
Calve Machine - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps I used the Hoist machine for this and did at 97lbs (where do they come up with these increments!?)
I finished up on my frenemy the stair master. I did 10 minutes at level 10 (whew!) It was a great workout. I kept my heartrate up through out the ENTIRE workout and really pushed it. I'm going to be burning in the legs tomorrow!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Wednesday's Workout: Back, Shoulders and Abs
10 minutes cardio warmup- I started on on the bumble bee this morning. Resistance 7.
Lat Pulldown - Warmup Set - 12-15 reps; I like to use the cables for this. For today's weight, I did 60lbs.
Lat Pulldown - 3 Working Set - 12-15 reps; by the end, I could only do 7 reps.
Seated Cable Rows - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps; I haven't found a good machine for this yet. Lisa and I were a little annoyed that the weights go up in 15lb increments on the cables. I did 60lbs, but only because at 75lbs, I couldn't do even 3 reps.
Barbell Press - Warmup Set - 15-20 reps; today I upped my weights and used 17.5lbs in each hand.
Barbell Press - 3 Working Sets - 15-20 reps; by the end of all the sets, my shoulders were feeling it.
Front Dumbbell Raise - 3 Workings Sets - 15-20 reps; I used 15lbs in each hand and I alternated the raises. I feel by doing that, I'm able to stabalize my body better and really focus on the raise. You have to be very careful to not start swinging though. I really focus on not using momentum, but using the muscles to raise the weight.
Seated Rear Dumbbell Raises- 3 Workings Sets - 15-20 reps; I haven't found a great exercise yet that works those shoulder and back muscles. I find that I can't do much weight with these, only 12.5 lbs. It makes sense, because these aren't really muscles you use a lot.
Ab Leg Raises - 3 Sets - Failure; I'm getting so much better at these. I do ten forward raises and then ten on each side to work those obliques.
Crunches - 3 Working Set - Failure; again, here we might not necessarily do crunches, but we do some sort of floor work to get those abs working!
20-30 minutes Cardio; Lisa and I did a little work on the bike (i'm not a big fan of the bike) I did "fat burn" but I wasn't happy with the speed the machine had me working; then moved to the treadmill for today. We did 4mph at 10% incline. My booty was feeling it!
It was an AWESOME workout!
Lat Pulldown - Warmup Set - 12-15 reps; I like to use the cables for this. For today's weight, I did 60lbs.
Lat Pulldown - 3 Working Set - 12-15 reps; by the end, I could only do 7 reps.
Seated Cable Rows - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps; I haven't found a good machine for this yet. Lisa and I were a little annoyed that the weights go up in 15lb increments on the cables. I did 60lbs, but only because at 75lbs, I couldn't do even 3 reps.
Barbell Press - Warmup Set - 15-20 reps; today I upped my weights and used 17.5lbs in each hand.
Barbell Press - 3 Working Sets - 15-20 reps; by the end of all the sets, my shoulders were feeling it.
Front Dumbbell Raise - 3 Workings Sets - 15-20 reps; I used 15lbs in each hand and I alternated the raises. I feel by doing that, I'm able to stabalize my body better and really focus on the raise. You have to be very careful to not start swinging though. I really focus on not using momentum, but using the muscles to raise the weight.
Seated Rear Dumbbell Raises- 3 Workings Sets - 15-20 reps; I haven't found a great exercise yet that works those shoulder and back muscles. I find that I can't do much weight with these, only 12.5 lbs. It makes sense, because these aren't really muscles you use a lot.
Ab Leg Raises - 3 Sets - Failure; I'm getting so much better at these. I do ten forward raises and then ten on each side to work those obliques.
Crunches - 3 Working Set - Failure; again, here we might not necessarily do crunches, but we do some sort of floor work to get those abs working!
20-30 minutes Cardio; Lisa and I did a little work on the bike (i'm not a big fan of the bike) I did "fat burn" but I wasn't happy with the speed the machine had me working; then moved to the treadmill for today. We did 4mph at 10% incline. My booty was feeling it!
It was an AWESOME workout!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Sweat! Just don't sweat the small stuff!
By nature, I'm a worrier. Its not uncommon for me to take a very normal situation and just get myself all in knots over it; I have a red hot temper and I'm uber emotional. You wouldn't think that these personality characteristics would effect how my body builds muscle, would you? Well, it does!
In learning how to take care of my body, I learned that the physical aspect of it was just half the story. Sure, we need to work out, we need to eat good foods; but there is more! You need to make sure that you are emotionally healthy as well! This all makes perfect sense to me as an Early Childhood Educator, my entire educational approach is to support the "whole child" in all areas of development (social/emotional, physical and cognitive), so why didn't I realize that it doesn't stop at childhood, but extends into our lifelong development?
Let's talk about the "stress hormone". Cortisol is a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. It is often called the "stress hormone" because its levels rise following emotional and physical stress. This hormone is more than just a simple indicator of stress levels; it's also necessary for the functioning of almost every part of the human body. When we have excess of this catabolic hormone, our bodies actually begin to break down muscle protein.
Don't get me wrong, cortisol is an important hormone our body needs to protect and react to stressful situations (either good or bad stress), but having excess cortisol can actually keep you from developing the muscles you desire!
So what do we do?
1. Don't sweat the small stuff! Recognize your trigger stresses, fix them or move on. Are you spending too much time and putting too much value into something that's just not worth it?
2. Take breaks throughout the day to check your stress level. Take a walk; a step back or a breath.
3. Stretch. I have a few yoga poses that I can do in my office. Just breathing and stretching helps me get myself back in check.
4. Laugh. Call a friend to vent and laugh with or try and find the humor in the situation. A day without laughter is a day wasted!
5. Remember, you're only in control of yourself. No one has control over you. Take care of what is yours and the rest...just let it go. (that's a big one for me!)
I don't want you to think that I walk around like some Disney character with little squirrels dancing my woes away; stress is a very real part of our lives. I struggle to find balance as a mother, wife, business owner and woman. I'm just taking one day at a time and trying to recognize that I control my stress; it doesn't control me.
In learning how to take care of my body, I learned that the physical aspect of it was just half the story. Sure, we need to work out, we need to eat good foods; but there is more! You need to make sure that you are emotionally healthy as well! This all makes perfect sense to me as an Early Childhood Educator, my entire educational approach is to support the "whole child" in all areas of development (social/emotional, physical and cognitive), so why didn't I realize that it doesn't stop at childhood, but extends into our lifelong development?
Let's talk about the "stress hormone". Cortisol is a steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal glands. It is often called the "stress hormone" because its levels rise following emotional and physical stress. This hormone is more than just a simple indicator of stress levels; it's also necessary for the functioning of almost every part of the human body. When we have excess of this catabolic hormone, our bodies actually begin to break down muscle protein.
Don't get me wrong, cortisol is an important hormone our body needs to protect and react to stressful situations (either good or bad stress), but having excess cortisol can actually keep you from developing the muscles you desire!
So what do we do?
1. Don't sweat the small stuff! Recognize your trigger stresses, fix them or move on. Are you spending too much time and putting too much value into something that's just not worth it?
2. Take breaks throughout the day to check your stress level. Take a walk; a step back or a breath.
3. Stretch. I have a few yoga poses that I can do in my office. Just breathing and stretching helps me get myself back in check.
4. Laugh. Call a friend to vent and laugh with or try and find the humor in the situation. A day without laughter is a day wasted!
5. Remember, you're only in control of yourself. No one has control over you. Take care of what is yours and the rest...just let it go. (that's a big one for me!)
I don't want you to think that I walk around like some Disney character with little squirrels dancing my woes away; stress is a very real part of our lives. I struggle to find balance as a mother, wife, business owner and woman. I'm just taking one day at a time and trying to recognize that I control my stress; it doesn't control me.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Product Rave- Breville Smart Grill
One evening while Marty was browsing the internet looking for good recipes and nutrition plans to help clean up our diets he noticed that a lot of the fitness experts were using an indoor grill/griddle. Being the diligent researcher that he is, he checked out various grills, watched videos, read reviews and visited stores. Last week, he brought home his new find.
I can without a doubt say that every home needs a Breville Smart Grill and Griddle! This is hands down one of the best kitchen appliances I have ever owned.
Its a Williams-Sonoma exclusive, and will cost you about $350.00, but already I'm thinking that it is worth it! I use it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
You can check out the website to get more details http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/1640184/?cm_src=hero I'm so happy with it and it makes meal time hassle free, healthy and literally cuts the mess in half! The website has a great instructional video too.
Monday's Workout: Chest, Arms and Abs
This is my current Monday workout. I'll be switching things up here in about a week, but this gives you an idea of what I've been doing. I had some specific questions (thanks, Kara!) so I wanted to come back and edit this post and tell you a little more about the workout.
5 minutes cardio warm-up; I usually do this on the Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer. Lisa and I call this the "bumble bee" because it has yellow feet and handles. A comfortable resistance level that I find challenging but still allows me to get full range of motion is level 7.
Flat Bench Press - Warmup Set - 12-15 reps; I use dumbbells for these. 17.5 lbs in each hand.
Flat Bench Press - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps
Bench Flys - 3 Working Set - 12-15 reps; I use 15 lb dumbbells. This is a hard exercise to do for me. It really stretches those chest muscles and I make sure that I don't compromise form just to get a higher weight. I want to get the full stretch and make the most of the exercise.
Bicep Curl - 3 Warmup Sets - 12-15 reps; I used 17.5 lbs in each hand for these as well. The great thing about using the dumbbells for all these exercises is that you're working out in the same general area. You're able to keep the muscles warm and just go from one exercise to the next.
Tricep Extension Machine - 3 Drop Sets - 12-15 reps Triceps are another hard exercise for me. I tend to do lighter weight so that I can really focus on my form and get the full range of motion. For this specific workout, Lisa and I used the cables. I did 30lbs and did as many as I could in each set. My tri's were BURNING! By the last set, I could only do 6 reps.
Incline Dumbbell Curl - 3 Working Set - 12-15 reps; I go back to 15lbs. This is probably my favorite bicep curl. The incline causes the muscles to work just a tad differently. You're going to feel the burn if you do this right. I make sure that my arms get the full range of motion and that I really really focus on that bicep pulling it back up.
Dip Machine - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps. I LOVE DIPS. I never thought I would say that! I use the Hoist machine at our gym. I put it at level 5 (i'll have to check the weight on that next time) and I do as many as I can. Again, by the last set, my arms are crying.
Crunches - 3 Working Set - Failure; I don't always just do crunches. Some days, Lisa and I will do bicycles, floor work, use the large ball with the cables. It doesn't really matter. We just try and do about 10 minutes of ab work. If I don't feel the burn the next day...I didn't do enough.
Cardio 20-30 minutes; I like to switch this up. Some days, we'll do the bumble bee, some days the treadmill, others I might row, it just depends on the mood. Sometimes, I'll do 10 minutes on three different machines. The key is just get moving! For today, I walked on the treadmill with my niece Kasey, she sometimes comes up to workout with us. We did 4mph at a 5% incline. It was a very easy day, but we used the time to talk. 30 minutes was over before I even realized it.
Leaving the gym, I felt great. Energized for my day, stress free and satisfied that I had really pushed myself!
5 minutes cardio warm-up; I usually do this on the Precor Adaptive Motion Trainer. Lisa and I call this the "bumble bee" because it has yellow feet and handles. A comfortable resistance level that I find challenging but still allows me to get full range of motion is level 7.
Flat Bench Press - Warmup Set - 12-15 reps; I use dumbbells for these. 17.5 lbs in each hand.
Flat Bench Press - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps
Bench Flys - 3 Working Set - 12-15 reps; I use 15 lb dumbbells. This is a hard exercise to do for me. It really stretches those chest muscles and I make sure that I don't compromise form just to get a higher weight. I want to get the full stretch and make the most of the exercise.
Bicep Curl - 3 Warmup Sets - 12-15 reps; I used 17.5 lbs in each hand for these as well. The great thing about using the dumbbells for all these exercises is that you're working out in the same general area. You're able to keep the muscles warm and just go from one exercise to the next.
Tricep Extension Machine - 3 Drop Sets - 12-15 reps Triceps are another hard exercise for me. I tend to do lighter weight so that I can really focus on my form and get the full range of motion. For this specific workout, Lisa and I used the cables. I did 30lbs and did as many as I could in each set. My tri's were BURNING! By the last set, I could only do 6 reps.
Incline Dumbbell Curl - 3 Working Set - 12-15 reps; I go back to 15lbs. This is probably my favorite bicep curl. The incline causes the muscles to work just a tad differently. You're going to feel the burn if you do this right. I make sure that my arms get the full range of motion and that I really really focus on that bicep pulling it back up.
Dip Machine - 3 Working Sets - 12-15 reps. I LOVE DIPS. I never thought I would say that! I use the Hoist machine at our gym. I put it at level 5 (i'll have to check the weight on that next time) and I do as many as I can. Again, by the last set, my arms are crying.
Crunches - 3 Working Set - Failure; I don't always just do crunches. Some days, Lisa and I will do bicycles, floor work, use the large ball with the cables. It doesn't really matter. We just try and do about 10 minutes of ab work. If I don't feel the burn the next day...I didn't do enough.
Cardio 20-30 minutes; I like to switch this up. Some days, we'll do the bumble bee, some days the treadmill, others I might row, it just depends on the mood. Sometimes, I'll do 10 minutes on three different machines. The key is just get moving! For today, I walked on the treadmill with my niece Kasey, she sometimes comes up to workout with us. We did 4mph at a 5% incline. It was a very easy day, but we used the time to talk. 30 minutes was over before I even realized it.
Leaving the gym, I felt great. Energized for my day, stress free and satisfied that I had really pushed myself!
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