Category Archives: Conventional Wisdom – How I hate you
Being afraid of Bulk – It’s all grey
NO.
Then why are so many freaking women so afraid of lifting weights?
Because we aren’t logical when it comes to how we look?
Possibly. I know Ryan would probably say that most of the time my emotions more than my brain dictate how I feel I look.
But so then what keeps convincing us that we will get bulky, if that belief isn’t at all logical?
What makes women shy away from lifting heavy even when they KNOW logically that they don’t have the hormones/eat enough calories/lift enough weight to become big and bulky?
I honestly believe it may be our definition of femininity. It is this standard that irrationally makes us fear anything that might take us away from this traditional belief.
I mean really think about it….What words do you associate with feminine? Or even masculinity for that matter.
Feminine – gentle, sensitive, thin, empathetic, caring, compassionate
Masculine – strong, competitive, virility
I know these are generic, but let’s face it….They are to some great extent what most people truly believe.
We like things in black and white – female or male.
We fear the “grey areas.”
And to be a woman who lifts weights…well that area is still grey.
It’s still emotionally a struggle because it goes against things we’ve been indoctrinated with since we were very young.
I mean shoot, you say to a woman, “Wow your arms are jacked.” Or “Wow your arms are toned.” And I guarantee she will go home and stare in the mirror and wonder if she is bulky. She may even be so offended by those comments that she cries or turns to friends to tell her she isn’t bulky. (Trust me…I’ve had friends do this).
Even I’ve had moments of being illogical. I’m sure every woman has.
It is hard operating in a “grey area.”
But we can’t give in to that ILLOGICAL fear that we will become bulky.
We can’t give in to all of those freaking people who seem to keep spewing the “Women who lift heavy look like men” phrase.
Because the simple truth is we don’t.
And we never will.
Because even though we may lift like men, we don’t look like them.
(Of course there is still something wrong with the fact that lifting is defined as masculine, but that is a topic for a different day.)
Farmageddon
So this morning while we were drinking our coffee (one of the few mornings on which I attempted to make myself try to like coffee…it wasn’t successful..), Ryan put on Farmageddon.
I was curious to see the movie after all of the seizures of raw milk going on and the fact that California is one of the few states to still sell it in a few markets.
Raw milk cream…even better!
Honestly, what I saw in the movie was slightly depressing. SMALL farms were being raided and their raw milk products seized and destroyed.
The government was coming in and taking away the livelihoods of small, local farmers.
They claimed that these raw milk products were dangerous and contained bacteria that could make people ill. They claimed they were doing it for the good of people.
But why were they really doing it? Where these raw products really bad?
Why the government did it, I can only guess at. Was it to protect big business? Was it to keep people in line?
Who knows, but I can say it wasn’t because the products were actually dangerous.
Observational evidence suggests that raw milk may improve lactose tolerance, prevent the
development of asthma and allergies, and may be more digestible than pasteurized milk for
people who have difficulty digesting fat. Pasteurization decreases the content of iron, copper,
manganese, and iodine in milk, and may diminish the bioavailability of calcium and phosphorus.
It causes major losses of biological activity for vitamin C and folate, substantial losses for
vitamin B6, and may have similar effects for other vitamins. The available data for the
prevalence of foodborne illnesses associated with specific foods are extremely poor in quality
and rich in bias. Even taking these data at face value, however, raw milk may have the potential
to protect millions of people from asthma and prevent hundreds of asthma-related deaths without
causing major increases in the total burden of foodborne illness. (Realmilk.com)
Honestly we didn’t even start pasteurizing milk because it was dangerous in and of itself. We started pasteurizing it when we started keeping cows in crowded DIRTY pens and we started feeding them waste. Then their milk was blue and we added chalk to make it look new.
No wonder people started getting sick and we figured we should start pasteurizing it!
So it wasn’t the raw milk but all of the awful practices we had that made the milk dangerous….I guess I would understand why we wouldn’t allow raw milk from the cows on some of our big conventional farms since those cows are kept in disgusting conditions and fed crap, BUT I don’t understand how we can’t allow raw milk from naturally raised, grass-fed cows when it has benefits such as more vitamins and improved fat digestion.
Why? Why don’t we want to explore the healthiness of raw milk? Why do we just ban it WITHOUT doing any true studies?
Hmmm…maybe because we don’t want to actually change the problem, we just want to do a superficial fix. It is easier to just pasteurize milk than it is to make all of our farming practices better so that we don’t have to….
One last Twinkie?
Everyone seems to be talking about the shutdown of Hostess.
Some people worry they will never get another Twinkie while others talk about how this may help the obesity epidemic.
Honestly, I have no desire for a Twinkie AND I don’t believe the shutdown of Hostess will have any effect on our nation’s obesity rate.
It’s the same thing as McDonald’s and other fast food places offering “healthy” foods – If people really want unhealthy food, they will still find a way to get it.
I firmly believe that eating healthy is a CHOICE we can make, no matter our backgrounds or economic status.
If we CHOOSE to eat well, we will buy healthy foods no matter how much money we have or what we ate when we were little.
People claim that if there are more healthy options available then people won’t choose the crap.
I completely disagree. There are healthy options out there. They are pretty easily available – even markets like Walmart now have local, organic produce.
PEOPLE STILL DECIDE TO EAT CRAP!
It is PEOPLE that aren’t making the healthy decision.
I mean shoot even people I know who haven’t eaten Twinkies in years are getting one because it may be the last!
We are in control. We decide whether or not we are going to eat well.
What do you think?
Not everything’s a circuit
So I’ve always loved circuit training. You can get your heart rate up and work your entire body quickly and efficiently.
But circuit training isn’t necessarily the best way or the only way to get great results.
I think most often circuit training is our go to for workouts because it is easy to great a program using the model and usually the workouts are KILLER.
But a “killer workout” doesn’t necessarily mean that it is helping you reach your specific goals.
Just because you don’t feel like death after a workout doesn’t mean that it wasn’t amazing and even more beneficial than one that completely destroyed you.
Anyway, I’ve definitely been playing around with program design recently. I always think that if you are open to learning, you will continually find better, more efficient ways of reaching your goals.
You just can’t be stuck on having to do a workout that “destroys you” every time.
One great design I’ve been using more often is supersets either with strength and stabilization or strength and power OR, as I mentioned in a post a month or so back, even just sticking with one exercise for a period of time before moving on to the next.
So on that note, I just wanted to share my wonderful workout from today, which is actually courtesy of Aaron the owner at Innovative Results! Honestly the only part I wanted to “die” on was the Versa Climber…but we have a love-hate relationship anyway….
Workout:
Warm up (foam roll!, band walks, lunges, locomotion)
Kettlebell Jerks (30 seconds right arm, 30 seconds left arm, alternating 5 minutes)
Rest
Battling Ropes (30 seconds intense waves all the way down, 30 seconds easy sidewinders, alternating for 5 minutes)
Rest
Kettlebell Snatches (30 seconds right arm, 30 seconds left arm, alternating 5 minutes)
Rest
Stage Coach Ropes (double arm waves) (30 seconds intense waves all the way down, 30 seconds “punching” rotational work, alternating for 5 minutes)
Rest
Kettlebell Long Cycle aka clean and jerk (30 seconds right arm, 30 seconds left arm, alternating 5 minutes)
Rest
Battling Ropes (5 minutes)
Rest
Versa Climber (30 second sprint, 30 second rest for 5 minutes)
DONE!
Walk around until you don’t feel like you are going to fall over and not get back up and then foam roll!
A great workout that is challenging, gets your heart pumping, works on full body strength and explosive power and even works on patient endurance!
It does it all…And it isn’t just a workout that “murders you.”
P.S. If you haven’t ever done snatches or long cycle (aka clean and jerk) with a KB before, please check out the videos on the site I linked to above. Kettlebell lifts are way safer than Olympic lifts but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some technical guidance before attempting them!
Friends, Family and Food
So this weekend was my final big cheat until Thanksgiving and boy did I do it up right.
I celebrated with a Halloween party last night and a big brunch with Ryan’s sisters this morning.
We are a society where food, family and friends seem to almost be inseparable.
We sit down to dinner as a family for some “family time.” We meet up with friends for a meal to “catch up.” We celebrate with parties centered around food.
At the heart of most of our socializing is FOOD.
Does that make sticking to your diet, especially around the holidays, easy?
HECK NO!
But that doesn’t mean that you can just give up!
Sure use a few get-togethers and specific holiday gatherings as cheat days, but choose them wisely. Choose ones that are meaningful and satisfying.
Don’t just eat bad food to eat bad food. Don’t just be lazy and take the easy way out.
DON’T JUST GIVE IN TO EVERY TEMPTATION!
I know it is difficult to turn down bad food. I know there are tons of articles with special tips about plate size and drinking water to supposedly help you avoid overeating.
But let’s face it…Once you eat a few bad things at a party and have a drink or two, your inhibitions will be lowered and you probably won’t end up eating only a “bit or two” of the bad food.
So instead pick and choose events to eat badly at.
PLAN AHEAD.
Even if that planning is just knowing that you are going to have a few big cheats over the next few months, but are going to eat super clean in between them.
Think about which events you will really feel deprived if you don’t indulge at and plan to cheat at those. Come up with a plan of action at the others to help you stick to your diet if you don’t want to cheat at them. (This will prevent you from losing all willpower after a drink or two at the party.)
If it is at a restaurant, check out the menu ahead of time. If it is at a friend’s house, there is no harm in asking what the menu will be like.
I always find that when I’m aware of the food choices beforehand, I can create an action plan to keep me on track while enjoying the party and not feeling like the odd man out.
Family, friends and food – You don’t have to miss out OR give up on your diet!
Sorry, but I’m not Paleo
I’m sort of sick of being called Paleo with a negative connotation attached. I’m sick of having my diet dismissed because of a term someone else attached to it.
So while I’ve discussed the great components of both the Primal and Paleo diet, but I’m really not either.
I mean let’s face it, no one really eats Paleolithic food so no one is really Paleo.
It is just a name. A way to describe a “philosophy.”
The name has either become a source of pride or something to mock. People either blindly follow the name or won’t give the diet a second look because of it.
BUT, even though I wouldn’t define myself as perfectly Paleo or Primal, I respect the message of both of the diets – EAT WHOLE NATURAL FOODS!
All diets THAT ARE ACTUALLY HEALTHY, no matter what you call them, should follow that basic rule – Eat whole, natural foods. Get plenty of healthy fats, proteins and vegetables and avoid process crap and gluten.
I personally believe that if you avoid gluten and vegetable oil, you will avoid the two leading causes of inflammation, which can cause serious health problems.
I also believe thought that it doesn’t mean you can just eat a ton of gluten-free products.
You also need to avoid as much processed food as possible because frankly, it is CRAP.
But whether or not corn or dairy or peanuts or beans are bad is all up to you. Certain diets say they are bad, but honestly, I think it comes down to how you feel when you eat them and the studies you choose to believe. Because, let’s face it, you can find studies to basically support anything.
At some point you have to make an educated decision about what studies to believe. And then you experiment to find what works for you.
I’ve found that corn tortillas are something I really enjoy. And they can be all natural with no crap. I find that they help me get the perfect amount of carbs to perform well and feel great.
The Primal diet doesn’t promote eating corn, but it works for me.
I also like to include full-fat cheeses and minimal cream in moderation. I don’t have a problem with dairy SO I EAT IT.
Of course, if you have a problem with dairy or follow strict Paleo, you probably won’t.
Then the amount of fat and types of fat you choose to consume are also up to you.
I’m not afraid of some saturated fat. NATURAL products contain it.
HOWEVER, I’m going to choose grass-fed or naturally raised animal products because they have a natural, appropriate ratio of omega 3s to omega 6s. Just because I’m not afraid of some saturated fat doesn’t mean I’m going to eat grain-fed, conventionally raised animals.
They do not contain the same healthy ratio of fats!
But again, it is up to you and HOW YOU FEEL! Maybe you are still a bit more fat-o-phobic even though you eat whole natural foods.
Anyway, stop worrying about the name of your diet.
Whatever you call it, if you eat whole natural foods, you are on the right track! Then it just comes down to exactly what foods you choose to include.
Also, this leads me to a quick fasting update….I used to do intermittent fasting almost every day. Now I’ve varied it up more and I’ve found I’ve gotten even better results. I train fasted still, but only in the mornings. At night, I generally train after eating a small meal.
I’ve found that I get the best results training in this way. I also find that I’m listening to my body more by not forcing myself to fast till a certain time every day.
Again though….it is up to you to find what works! You can find a bazillion suggestions, articles that tell you to never fast and articles that promote fasting for 24 hours at a time. But it comes down to what works for you – to self-experimentation (which I’ve written about so many times!).
Oh she’s healthy – She’s a vegan
WARNING: I will be insulting vegetarian and vegans in this post. If you can’t handle it, don’t read it.
I hear this statement all of the time, “She eats so healthy. She’s a vegan.” They say it as if I’m also going to believe that being vegan is the epitome of health – that everyone believes that being vegan is healthy.
It annoys the crap out of me.
I even sometimes have a hard time not saying, “ICK!”
Well frankly I don’t agree. Maybe it works for you, but based on the research I’ve chosen to follow, vegan DOES NOT equal healthy.
Why is it that it seems like only vegetarians or vegans make that comment (or the people who seem to worship that diet)?
Is it the fact that this diet seems to symbolize extreme self-control because the person doing the diet is able to cut out an entire food group?
I mean seriously, what is this attraction to a diet that can cause serious health problems and cuts out an essential food group!?!
People rail…I mean RAIL against low-carb diets because they claim that you are being too restrictive with a whole food group.
BUT mainstream media promotes being a vegetarian or vegan and they are even more restrictive eliminating almost all sources of complete protein from their diet!
While there are way more consequences to cutting out all animal protein sources like iron deficiency, lowered immune functioning and more than there are too eliminating many carbs, that isn’t even what annoys me the most about the statement that assumes a vegetarian or vegan diet is therefore healthy.
What gets me the most is the fact that MOST vegetarians and vegans eat so much processed crap – more so than most of the people who I know that switch to a more Primal style diet.
I mean just look at all the freaking processed crap created and marketed to the vegetarian market.
Soy nuggets. Pre-frozen veggie patties (that aren’t made out of whole natural ingredients).
FAKE MEAT!
Like that is good for you!?!
Also, chips are vegetarian. Chocolate is vegetarian. There are even baked goods made for vegetarians.
In other words….YOU CAN EAT CRAP AND STILL BE A VEGETARIAN OR A VEGAN!
So just because you are “Vegetarian” or “Vegan” doesn’t mean you are healthy.
Yea sure…If you eat all locally grown fruits and veggies and such, sure that is pretty healthy.
But honestly…I probably know only one vegetarian who actually spent the time to cook all fresh produce meals.
And I don’t see how anyone can claim that their “soy nugget” is better for them than my local, grass-fed, NATURALLY RAISED beef!
Oh and please don’t comment on this post and say something about “environmental impact.” We aren’t discussing environmental impact here. We are talking about health. Trust me…don’t even get me started on environmental impact.
(And yes…I do realize that vegetarianism and veganism are two different diets…but heck…they both stink…Sorry)
Taking a risk
On Saturday, another trainer from Innovative Results and I went to Santa Ana to train some of the OC Roller Derby Girls.
It was a ton of fun aside from the whole getting really really lost on the way there thing.
But it gave me and the other trainer a bit of time to talk when I wasn’t freaking out about being lost.
He would love to make the Olympics in rugby. He is a great player….the problem is he would have to make huge life changes in order to get there.
The question is…should he make those changes. Should he make a huge change and dedicated tons of hours to a dream that he isn’t guaranteed will happen?
There really was no answer I could give him. All I could say was, “Do you really want it?”
He said yes.
So I said, “If you really want something, than isn’t it worth the risk?”
The best things in life don’t come easily unfortunately. Sometimes you have to take a risk.
I mean any time you want to make a big change, any time you want to reach a goal, you will have to take a risk.
We risk “failing.” We risk falling short of whatever it is we hoped to attain.
But is trying but not attaining really worse than not trying at all?
I don’t think so.
Other than maybe some embarrassment at our failure, at least we tried!
I personally would rather take the risk and fail than never try at all.
I would rather throw myself into something whole-heartedly than always look back and wonder “what if.”
But hey…I don’t see “falling short” as true failure – it is just a learning experience.
True failure, to me, is never trying at all…
What do you think?
Starbucks Diet…
So some woman lost weight doing a “Starbucks diet.”
Whoopie.
Someone also lost weight eating Subway while another person lost weight eating only fast food.
Basically you can “lose weight” eating just about any old crap. I mean heck I could even go eat only M&Ms and frozen yogurt and even lose weight.
Losing weight on the scale is all about calories in vs. calories out. If you take in fewer calories than you consume no matter where those calories are from, you will lose weight.
BUT that doesn’t mean that you have good body composition OR are healthy.
Weight lost on the scale doesn’t mean instant good health and the body composition of your dreams!
Losing weight is easy.
Losing fat and being healthy is the difficult part.
I hate all of these articles about these fad diets because they make people associate losing weight to be “skinny” on the scale with health. When in reality, the two don’t necessarily go hand in hand.
I know many people hate the term “skinny-fat” but that is really what you become if you eat crap but maintain a weight that says you are skinny by BMI standards.
YOU AREN’T HEALTHY JUST BECAUSE YOU FIT INTO THAT SIZE 4 JEANS LADIES!
Health means eating the right stuff day in and day out regardless of what the stupid dang scale (that you should have thrown out the window by now) says.
AND if you eat the RIGHT FOODS day in and day out you will also be able to achieve optimum body composition if that is what your goal is.
Anyway, if you just want to “lose weight” go eat whatever you want.
If you actually want to be HEALTHY and change your BODY COMPOSITION, let’s talk about eating whole, natural foods and cutting out the processed, sugary crap.
So think twice before you start that fad diet…Think about whether or not “losing weight” is TRULY your goal…
Being one of the guys
So I got this great comment from Steph the other day:
hi, i love this blog and find such great feelings of accomplishment from lifting heavy and seeing myself grow stronger, and enjoy reading your insight.
In the next few weeks can you post something about the BENEFITS of being a woman? I feel like in the last few posts you have (understandably) been ranting about the struggle to be taken seriously as a strong and knowledgeable woman. but I think it has taken on a slant of “trying to be one of the boys” and trying to prove yourself as not just some girl. while i understand your frustration at the Ikea Girl and the frustration of seeing some women taking on the role of helpless weakling, I feel like in some areas you are thinking as yourself as having to catch up to your male counterparts- as if maleness were the norm, and being a girl is “other”
i am very interested on your thoughts on this, as i have had similar struggles as a bike mechanic- customers looking over my head to have “one of the guys” look at their bike, or asking one of my co-workers the exact same question to double check my answer… this left me feeling inferior and caused me to be frustrated with my femaleness, constantly falling short of my attempt to be a guy. It took some work to see that I had so many strengths that my co-workers did not that I think customers appreciated – such as taking the time to explain the problems with their bike, etc. I am still struggling with this- especially as i have become more interested in body building. I get so mad at myself that my boyfriend- (who does not work out) can still lift heavier things and beats me everyday on out bike ride to workwould love to hear what you think!!
And her comment got me to thinking because my intention was never to sound like I wanted to be “one of the guys.”
The intention of my last couple of posts is to show that I’m proud to be a female and that a female can be STRONG and still be FEMININE. Strength IS feminine.
I’m frustrated because people still define things like strength, competitiveness and command as MASCULINE qualities.
Which they aren’t.
I’m a woman of strength, power, competitiveness. I’m not afraid to command a room. I’m not timid. But I consider myself to be feminine. I’m not frustrated by my femaleness.
I’m frustrated by others’ view of femaleness.
But the only way to change that is to continue to be strong and spread the word.
To embrace all of the qualities that society deems to be “masculine” as feminine qualities. To be a powerlifting, dress wearing, bad at putting on makeup female. To help other women find strength in the weight room and empowerment through working out.
To embrace who I am and help others do the same.
I try to see the situations I’ve encountered over the last week as opportunities for change – not as blows to myself as a woman. I share the stories to make others aware and to hopefully lead to some change!
So Steph, be proud of your strength. Be proud of your knowledge. They define YOUR femaleness! 🙂
P.S. I also get mad when guys who workout less and are “less fit” than me can lift more than me. I also get frustrated when girls who are taller can naturally lift more than me. AKA I just hate in general when anyone can lift more than me!
Man Bicep 