Category Archives: Man Biceps
What’s in a name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
– Juliet (Romeo and Juliet)
When people hear the name “Paleo Diet” or “Primal Diet,” they scoff and say, “Oh that is that crazy Caveman diet right?”
BUT if I tell people, “Oh I eat only whole, natural foods and avoid gluten, processed foods and vegetable oils” they nod their head in agreement.
UHM HELLO!?! Basically what I’m doing is eating the exact Primal diet that they scoffed at!! The only difference is…..
I DIDN’T CALL IT PRIMAL!
One word can define how people view a diet, workout program even a way of living!
Once mainstream media deemed the Primal/Paleo diet the “Caveman diet” people began to scoff at it even if they will nod in agreement when you list off all of the principles of the diet.
The same thing is true if you say you eat a “low-carb” diet.
People instantly say, “Oh like Atkins?” or “So you don’t eat fruits and veggies?”
BUT if you say you avoid “unhealthy carbs,” again people nod in agreement. (Of course my definition of unhealthy carbs is most often different from theirs, but still…)
There are just so many things that annoy me with the above situation.
For one, if people did any research, they would know that Atkins has now changed and DOES allow carbs as well as a plan to help you add them back in to an appropriate level after the initial weight loss.
For two, why does low-carb instantly mean to people that you cut out fruits and vegetables!?!
Trust me you can eat low-carb but still eat tons of fruits and vegetables! Honestly, I eat more fruits and vegetables since going “low-carb” than I ever did when I ate lots of carbs and low-fat!
In one cup of broccoli, there is only 6g of carbs versus one cup of brown rice in which there are 45g of carbs!
So I could eat 7 cups of broccoli throughout the day and still eat fewer carbs than if I had ONE cup of brown rice!
And personally I think having just two cups of broccoli is better nutritionally than one cup of brown rice (AND fewer carbs!)
And diet isn’t the only place that I see “names” being misconstrued.
Honestly, I believe that the same thing has happened as Crossfit has become more and more popular.
It is so funny the different reactions I get from other trainers when I say “intense circuits” versus “Crossfit-style workouts.”
To me, Crossfit means pushing your limits. Trying new things. Constantly varying up the workout. Lifting heavy things and sprinting often.
It means intense circuits that are never the same and constantly challenge your fitness level.
But that isn’t what it means to most trainers.
To most trainers, Crossfit means injury and Olympic lifts with bad form.
But what in this DEFINITION of what Crossfit TRULY is supposed to be says that?
CrossFit describes its strength and conditioning program as “constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement,”with the stated goal of improving fitness (and therefore general physical preparedness), which it defines as “work capacity across broad time and modal domains.”Workouts are typically short—20 minutes or less—and intense, demanding all-out physical exertion. They combine movements such as sprinting, rowing, jumping rope, climbing rope, weightlifting, and carrying odd objects; they use barbells, dumbbells, gymnastics rings, pull-up bars, kettlebells, medicine balls, and many bodyweight exercises.These elements are mixed in numerous combinations to form prescribed “Workouts of the Day” or “WODs”. Hour-long classes at affiliated gyms, or “boxes,” typically include a warm-up, a skill development segment, the high-intensity WOD, and a period of individual or group stretching. Performance on each WOD is often scored and/or ranked to encourage competition and to track individual progress. Some affiliates offer additional classes, such as Olympic weightlifting, which are not centered around a WOD.
Uhm I swear I’ve heard the exact trainers that condemn Crossfit utter this exact same phrase to describe their strength and conditioning program “constantly varied, high intensity, functional movement,”with the stated goal of improving fitness (and therefore general physical preparedness).”
Am I wrong?
Nope!
But because a few people practice something in a way that some consider “wrong,” a whole movement gets condemned.
There are always going to be people who do things that you don’t agree with….in any movement or facet of life.
But that doesn’t mean you can just ignore and belittle something without learning more!
How many things have you not tried because of one word associated with them? How many times have you not done the research to find out the principles behind the diet/lifestyle/workout?
Also, can we ever really accept that one word represents an entire movement? Let’s face it…Primal SHOULDN’T mean the exact same thing to ever person. Neither should “low-carb” or “Crossfit”……
Surrendering to Aging
I’ve heard “older” women say, “My body just can’t look like that or do that any more. I’m just past the point of being able to have the body I want.”
That is completely and utterly bogus.
Why just surrender to the aging process? Why not work against it?
I mean people buy all those stupid face creams and get plastic surgery so why would they workout hard to help keep their body young and supple?
Yea, it’s hard.
BUT IT ACTUALLY WORKS!
You can have the body you want at any age. Getting older doesn’t mean you can’t have toned defined arms. Getting older doesn’t have to mean that you can’t do all the activities you love and enjoy!
The Man Bicep Mom is a great example of this. She lifts weights and does plyometrics. She goes on long hikes. She even sprints after her dog if necessary and goes stand up paddling. She has no problem taking on any new challenges! (Even if I ask her to do pull ups!)
She also looks great! She looks young, lean and toned.
The Man Bicep Mom is the exact reason that you can’t just surrender to aging, people!
You can also look great and be physically fit at any age!
Actually this post was encouraged by a recent story the Man Bicep Mom told me.
The Man Bicep Mom was standing in her driveway with one of her friends when Charlie, her dog, ran off. The Man Bicep Mom went sprinting after him and grabbed him and picked him up.
When she was walking back, her friend says, “Oh my gosh, Jamie! Your arms look amazing!”
The Man Bicep Mom then told her friend about all the weights she does.
Her friend says, “Well I used to have muscle, but since having my last child, I just have lost all tone. I just figured I would have to accept it since I was getting older. But I used to have tone like that!”
Of course what the Man Bicep Mom’s friend also didn’t realize is that the Man Bicep Mom is older than her.
Her friend was actually shocked and couldn’t believe that the Man Bicep Mom was 62. She even said she didn’t think that there was any way you could look that good at 62.
BUT YOU CAN!
If you commit to a healthy diet and workout routine, you can have the body you want at any age!
Age is just a number! You don’t just have to ACCEPT physical decline!!!
Don’t just surrender! Fight back! Lift and be active! Enjoy life!
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
I’m not sure where this really goes, but I found it on Facebook and thought it was awesome.
The Good
- Ryan saw this video and I thought it fit well with my post from yesterday. Most of the functional training we SHOULD be doing isn’t NEW…it’s actually some of the oldest forms of training!
- AWESOME! While I’m still working on holding a one-handed handstand, I’m also going to start working on this! A kip-up!
- The Crossfit games were this past weekend. Can I just say, “AWESOME!” To me there is no better test of true fitness than having to do activities and exercises that you haven’t necessarily prepared for! Annie Thorisdottir, you are amazing!
- Awesome! 86 years old!
The Bad
- Hmmm…The OMG Diet….Get Skinnier Than All Your Friends…Uhmm…
- Wow. This is disturbing!!! Is there a conspiracy!?!
The Simply Stupid
- Seriously!?! The Paleo Diet is Uncivilized!?! I love how this woman can claim her information is CORRECT because she is an RD. She is still biased! She is a vegetarian!!!
- This pictures isn’t stupid. The fact that people actually think this way is the stupid part!
Fitness Magazines
So I used to read a ton of fitness magazines, but probably now haven’t bought one in over a year.
They do, however, come in useful when you need some packing material!
Why haven’t I bought one in over a year?
BECAUSE EACH AND EVERY ONE BASICALLY STATES THE SAME THING!
And in general I don’t agree with the diet and exercise programs prescribed in them.
They all try to seem like they have some “secret” to effortless weight loss and a toned, fit body.
But they don’t.
Maybe this will be a secret in next month’s issue! “Clean the lint out and drop 3 lbs in 5 minutes!”
They don’t have any secrets because THERE ARE NONE!
If an article’s title has one of the following words or phrases (effortless, quick, 15lbs in 1 week, blast belly fat), drop the magazine and run.
There are no secrets, people!
Let’s face it…If you want real results, you are going to have to work really hard.
There is no secret to TRUE quick weight loss, especially healthy, maintainable weight loss.
So how about you stop buying fitness magazines and go eat some whole natural foods instead of all the processed crap the magazines advertise!
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
The Good
- I love the Olympics. I love the Olympic trials. They make me want to go and workout and be really really good at something!
- Ross the boss has been providing me with all sort of great inspirational photos recently. (Ross the boss is also known as Monkey Knuckles haha). She more than anyone should be proud of where she is today! Right before we went paddleboarding her father told her, “Remember you aren’t a jock like those other people.” Uhm sorry Ross the boss’ pops…BUT SHE IS! She’s a heavy lifting, paddleboarding, sprinting, rowing, rock climbing!?! JOCK! AND best of all…She’s lovin’ it!
- I LIKE IT! Active at 85!
- Great deadlift workout with some of my favorite lifting ladies! Both ladies set new lifting PRs! AMAZING!
Oh yea sweat and biceps! Beautiful! 🙂
- Also, I think I’ve mentioned this at least once before…I LOVE SUMMER! Fresh, local, delicious fruit!
The Bad
- I think is potentially my diet nightmare – “The Starch Solution.” I love how low-carb diets are called “fad diets” while this diet by Dr. McDougall’s isn’t considered a fad diet because it has helped thousands of people. Well, low carb diets have helped thousands of people too. And if you do the research, low-carb diets have been around for a lot longer AND helping people for a lot longer. So how are we defining fad diet here? Also this kind of sounds like a “fad diet” claim : “The Starch Solution is a groundbreaking program that will help you shed pounds, improve your health, save money, and change your life.” I am curious though what research studies this book is based on….I looked at the site but I didn’t find many studies. I found news articles, which seemed more promotional than informative. I also did find an article called “Posthumous Interview with Tim Russert.” Uhmmm….this is not PROOF that your diet is right!!!
The Simply Stupid
- OH MY GOSH! Did I really just see this!?! Diet tips from the Jersey Shore girls!?!
This isn’t really a good, bad or simply stupid thing. It is just an interesting article and the doctor cited in it was a member of the gym I work(ed) at. I especially like it because it isn’t against fat and it bashes the low-fat diet. Of course it isn’t flattering about low-carb diets either but I don’t think a Primal diet full of fruits, veggies and some non-gluten carbs would fall under what they define as a low-carb diet. Actually I wonder what their definition of “low-fat” and “low-carb” truly is…
Another random thought, do you ever see an infomercial for something and think, “That is super cool” and then right after think, “That can’t be healthy?” I saw a commercial for Slushy Magic and thought about just how amazing a slushy drink would taste during the warm summer months (or year around in sunny California!). I then thought, “But how can something that turns any liquid into slush in one minute be good for you?” I seriously wonder what is in those cubes that can turn any drink (or even yogurt) into slush in under a minute.
Have I mentioned before I love warm weather!?!
So no post today…
I was too busy working out, paddleboarding and eating delicious local seafood!
A big “Thank you” to Snay, Monkey Knuckles and Ryan for a PERFECTLY WONDERFUL day!!!
A no stress, active day in the sun with wonderful people.
Honestly, what could be better!?!
Sometimes I hate the grocery store
So Ryan and I pretty much only go to Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods or The Meat House. We will soon be going to more farmer’s market, but that is tomorrow’s post.
There is, however, a Stop and Shop right by our house. We usually only go there when we want junk food for a cheat day or when we need more toilet paper, paper towels or some other non-food necessity.
But today we decided to stop there since we didn’t have any nitrite free bacon to cook our weekend potatoes in.
For one, the store only had one nitrite free bacon. AND it was WAY more expensive than the other bacon packages.
No wonder people think eating “healthy” is so expensive.
We then walked down a couple of other aisles.
Down one aisle were these “Honest Teas” which are supposed to have less sugar than the usual tea drinks out there. If 20g of sugar is “less” sugar per serving, I don’t want to know what the other tea drinks have!
Also, right next to these “healthy” tea drinks were 20 oz Red Bulls.
Let me just say, “OUR SOCIETY IS OVER CAFFEINATED!!!!”
A 20 oz Red Bull!?!
You shouldn’t even drink 1 oz of that crap!!!
Anyway, we then walked down the next aisle, which of course was overloaded with cereal advertising how healthy it is.
HA!
We of course then were more than ready to leave and didn’t even feel like looking around to see if there was anything else we needed.
On our way out, we ran into Smart Balance butter and marshmallows.
Conventional wisdom has you believing that these two foods are pretty good to consume. I mean marshmallows are fat-free and Smart Balance butter isn’t real butter and is infused with Omega-3s! Both are good things right!?!
AH! I looked at both of those products and just thought about how I couldn’t believe that I used to buy both on a regular basis!!!! I used to think they were both healthy enough!
AH!
With stores like Stop and Shop, where crap is everywhere and the good stuff is WAY more pricey than the bad stuff, no wonder people think eating well is expensive.
With aisles full of cereals that say they are healthy, no wonder people are so confused about what is good for them!
I mean shoot! People see fruit roll-ups in a commercial that tells them that fruit roll-ups are a fat-free food with vitamins and minerals. They then see that same claim on 100 billion products lining the shelves around them so of course believe it must be true!
No wonder people eat crap with stores like that!
Me after my Stop and Shop experience. Look my hair even went blonde it made me so crazy!
Why wait?
So Ryan had this guy say to him the other day, “I always suggest to my students to follow their dreams. So that is what I’m doing at age 58.”
My question is, “Why not follow your dreams now?”
Why say, “I’ll start losing weight tomorrow?”
Why say, “I’ll go to the gym to get stronger tomorrow.”
Why say, “I’ll start my own business/go on trip/do something I’ve always dreamed of doing TOMORROW.”
Why wait till tomorrow?!?!
Do it now!
There is no time like the present. Plus wouldn’t you feel worse if you never risked anything to follow your dreams?
I mean I would feel way worse never risking anything to follow my dreams than I would failing 100 times trying to achieve them.
So my question now is, “What are you waiting for!?!”
GO DO IT!
Letting Go – Making a Change
I think the hardest thing to do is CHANGE.
Change is hard, but this quote is spot on!
It’s part of why it is hard for most women to start weight training. It is why it is hard for most people to ditch conventional wisdom and start eating Paleo/Primal.
It is why a lot of big life decisions are hard in general! To make big changes, to get big results, you can’t be afraid to let go of what you know, think or believe. You’ve got to be ready to take risks and suffer some consequences.
Below are the 10 most important “changes” you need to make to become a stronger, fitter, more empowered you. Of course this is my opinion…but then again, I’m always right, right!?! 😛
- Ditch the disbelievers. This one is first because I think this is probably the hardest thing for me. I hold onto people even when they are holding me back. If you want success though, sometimes you have to go it alone. Don’t give in and cheat on your diet just because your friends are trying to get you to eat badly. Don’t be afraid to lift those heavy weights even though your friends tell you that you will bulk up. Don’t be afraid to ditch the disbelievers and go it on your own! You can do it! You are strong enough!
- Try something outside your comfort zone. If you really want to find out what you are made of, try something new. I know it’s scary, but the only way to find out what you are truly capable of is to try something you either haven’t done or aren’t comfortable with doing!
- Keep an open mind about EVERYTHING. Be willing to try new things! Experiment! There is always new information coming out about everything. Research everything. Read different points of view or find out works by trying it on yourself! If you weren’t somewhat open-minded already, you probably wouldn’t be reading this site! 🙂
- Have confidence in yourself and try something just beyond what you KNOW you can do. While it’s nice to stick with what we know we can do, you will never find out just how truly strong you are if you don’t push beyond what you’ve already proven you can do! This doesn’t mean just lifting a heavier weight in the gym. It also means tackling an activity that you’ve maybe never done before or are unsure if you can do!
- Admit to yourself that you don’t, and can’t, ever know anything for certain. Deep huh? This one actually kind of sucks, but it’s true. I like to believe I know everything, but deep down I know I don’t. Nothing is ever set in stone. Everything can change. We are constantly learning or at least we should be. If you think you know everything, you are wrong. Be willing to change and adapt your beliefs as you learn and you will grow as a person.
- Accept that you will be wrong and enjoy your failures. This one is hard. No one ever enjoys failing. I most definitely hate it. I don’t like failing or being wrong. BUT I know that I will be at times. I know that I will fail, BUT I know that each time I get back up and try again, I become stronger. As cheesy as it sounds, look at each failure not so much as a failure, but as a learning experience. If you want to accomplish something persistence is key!
- Learn. Learn every moment of every day. Learn by doing research, experimenting, failing and achieving success. And the thing is, by doing all this learning, you will learn more about yourself. Through all of my “learning” I’ve developed a stronger identity. It may always be a slightly shifting and growing identity, but the more I learn, the clearer it becomes!
- Forget, but never forget. Learn to let go of the negative emotions surrounding a failure. Forget the emotions so that they don’t hold you back. You can’t change what happened. You can only move forward. But even though you need to release the emotions, NEVER forget how hard you worked. Never forget what the goal meant to you. KEEP PUSHING ONWARD! Change your game-plan but never give up!
- Accept your fears. This is another one that can be hard. This is a random story BUT…I’m afraid of snakes. I hate them. I have no idea why, but I really really really (I could go on with the reallys) hate them. I almost didn’t go on a hike in Red Rock Canyon because it was prime snake season. But I did go despite the fact that I was sure I was going to be bitten and die in Las Vegas. Most people fear dying in Vegas for a ton of other reasons…but not me…I was sure a snake would get me. And if I hadn’t gone on that hike…I would have missed out on one of the best memories I have during my life!
- Build a network. These 10 changes come full circle. As you develop the “new” stronger, fitter, more empowered you, you have to build a new network of people who support and push you to grow further. The “push” part of that equation is very important. You always want people around you that challenge you and motivate you to achieve your goals not just stand still! An example of a network that has helped me grow is my lifting classes. Those ladies, and my two Man Bicep Males!, have helped me grow so much. I also pride myself on believing that I’ve helped them also grow into stronger, fitter and more confident individuals!
So what changes have you made toward becoming a stronger, fitter, more empowered individual?
Do you really see yourself clearly?
People come to me confused about why things aren’t working. Why they aren’t losing weight. Why they aren’t gaining muscle. Why they aren’t getting stronger/fitter/faster.
The first thing I ask them is to take a closer look at what they are TRULY doing. What does your diet or workout program truly look like?
You know what I most often hear back?
Not the facts. Just excuses.
Well I had only a little bread. Oh well I couldn’t come in on Wednesday for an hour because of work. Oh I was tired. Oh I didn’t feel 100%. Oh well I was hungry. Oh well someone brought in snacks. Oh well….
Oh well nothing!
Seriously I’m sick of excuses. I’m sick of whining.
Freaking just do it people! Stick to the diet. Don’t just have a “little” bread. Stick to the workout program. Don’t go easy because you are a “little” sore or you have too much work that day.
There will always be excuses – there will always be things that can get in the way.
But if you want results, you need to work to get them.
I was inspired to write this post because of all the whining I’ve heard recently and this old Nike ad.
Next time you whine, think seriously before you do it!
Man Bicep 