Category Archives: Man Biceps
What I found and thought this week…
First off, please wish Candy good luck!!! She has to undergo the second round of cuts for Roller Derby on Sunday! You can do it Man Bicep Sister!!!
And I thought this cartoon was funny…
Now on to some links and random thoughts!
- Calories aren’t created equal…we all knew that. BUT just how important is getting the right kind of calories? According to this article it is very important to our mental functioning and our feelings of sleepiness. I obviously agree with this article…which is why I posted it! 😉
- I thought this was a rather funny article and an interesting question…Can you be overweight and still be fit? What defines a person as fit? – “To be Fit or be Fat, That is the question.”
- Can we say YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! There was a recent study done that supports carb cycling (and low carb diets in general)! Check it out!
- And what was that one stupid list about Paleo not being a good diet? Well this article says that a low carb, high protein diet is the most effective weight loss diet!
- Studies about diet are interesting…there are just so many contradictions and uncertainties. Look at some of the other articles on the site “Science Daily,” which I’ve linked out to a couple of times in this post. On the one hand, there are studies supporting low carb, high protein diets, but on the other hand, there are studies saying that low carb, high protein diets may be bad for your gut bacteria…So which is it? Personally, I think you just have to pick something to believe and hope that your way is right (and have enough proof to back it up!).
Why oh why?
Why is it that when you absolutely, positively can’t have bad food that you want it the most?
Seriously the cravings that I’m having this week are awful. And I can’t indulge…It’s not even that I just don’t want to…I literally can’t because I can’t gain weight before Sunday.
With all the traveling and the holidays, I’ve had to stay very focused and eat super clean to make sure that I’m definitely within my weight class for the powerlifting competition this Sunday (boy am I nervous!!!).
I also just want my body to feel good. And bad food definitely doesn’t make my body feel good.
BUT only two more days! I can do it!!!
Is not eating until the afternoon bad?
I don’t do intermittent fasting every day, BUT I do think it is a very effective fat loss tool.
Of course, people thought I was crazy yesterday when I worked out in the afternoon without eating and didn’t eat till around dinner time.
One person even told me, “That it isn’t healthy.”
And yes, conventional wisdom tells you that you NEED to eat breakfast and not skip meals so not eating till dinner time does seem a bit crazy.
But is it?
In my opinion no, Intermittent Fasting (IF) isn’t crazy…especially if you aren’t eating a high carbohydrate diet and can be patient enough to get over the hunger pangs that occur when you first change your eating schedule.
If you are eating a high carbohydrate diet, then yes…it may seem like more of a challenge to get used to IF.
If you eat a high carb diet, you will experience more energy fluctuations throughout the day than someone on a lower carb, high fat and high protein diet. Your insulin will spike after each high carb meal, making you feel energized. Of course after the spike, your energy levels will dip, making you feel sluggish and tired.
When your energy levels dip, usually you feel hungry. This feeling of hungry caused by a high carb diet, and skipping those meals that your body feels it needs, does make doing IF more challenging and can make you feel light-headed at points.
Trust me…I’ve tried this and it wasn’t near as easy to get used to IF as it was with a high-fat, high-protein diet.
BUT if you do eat a lower carb diet that includes lots of fat and protein, you don’t have the constant energy dips and hunger pangs, which makes IF easier to do and an effective way to burn fat and gain muscle.
Just like calorie cycling and carb reloading (with potatoes and non grain carbs of course), doing IF every once in a while can keep your body guessing and stoke your metabolism.
Intermittent fasting can be challenging on either diet if you are used to eating at specific times of day. After a week or two of adjusting from your set meal times, you will feel like you have more consistent energy on IF.
Yesterday, I never felt hungry or like my energy was sagging. I got in a great workout too. All while on an empty stomach.
So tell me…how is that not healthy compared to a high carb diet with set meal times where you feel constantly hungry especially if you skip a meal?
If you need more convincing read this piece by an IF expert. Leangains wrote a great article debunking the Top Ten Fasting Myths.
What if Dwight Schrute was your trainer?
First off I just want to say that I think I watch too much TV.
But that fact aside…What if you joined the Dwight Schrute Gym For Muscles and Dwight Schrute was your trainer?
If you joined the Dwight Schrute Gym For Muscles (in its early stages), you would have gotten to do some workout moves that Mark Sisson would have been proud of.
You would have strengthened your legs by squatting a log with two pails of stones dangling from it.
Or you would have worked your core by whacking a large tire with a sledge-hammer.
But just like Primal/Paleo/Crossfit, the mainstream wasn’t ready for Dwight’s gym.
So he brought in the traditional equipment and tells Darryl he will help him lose some weight. Dwight tells him, “Your path from obesity starts right here.”
Like any good trainer, Dwight first shows Darryl the proper way to stretch.
Of course you must always stretch your pelvic-bowl...
Then like any great motivational trainer, Dwight yells at Darryl to encourage Darryl to continue benching.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d join the Dwight Schrute Gym For Muscles…The sad part is…there are lots of Dwight Schrute Gym For Muscles out there AND lots of under-qualified trainers like Dwight.
Be careful when selecting a gym and a trainer! You don’t want to end up training with someone like Dwight…
Welcome to the gun show! I wouldn't want him to be my trainer. He DEFINITELY doesn't have Man Biceps.
One week
So next Sunday, I will be participating in my first powerlifting competition (the outfit I’m going to be wearing will be interesting looking). AND I’m super nervous and excited!
Numerous people have asked me why I’m doing it.
My question is why not?
- I love lifting heavy weights. And I’ve been doing heavy powerlifting-style training semi consistently for the last few months.
- The competition is only an hour away.
- It will be a new experience (and potentially a very humbling one!).
- And again…I love lifting weights soo…why not?
Also, if I love it maybe I will really start seriously training and do more!
If I don’t like it…well on to the next exercise challenge!
I must admit though…if I were to do another one, I would make sure I wasn’t traveling as much the two weekends before.
And super random, but can someone please explain to me why so many people feel the need to stand and crowd around their gate at the airport while they wait to board? They create confusion as to where the line to board is and just make everything more chaotic. AND THEY DON’T GET ON THE PLANE ANY QUICKER!
Spam Mail
I thought this was funny!
So of course around Black Friday the spam mail seems to double. But what really caught my attention was all the health and fitness spam mail that I received.
I got a bazillion “Eat This, Not That” emails along with emails from Men’s Health and Women’s Health with some sort of line about how to lose 10 pounds in just seconds! (haha ok a bit of an exaggeration but that is how stupid most of the emails were!) I even get emails from Runner’s World Magazine and as far as I know…I’ve never read Runner’s World Magazine.
And two years ago…I would have opened and read each and every single one of them. I would have opened them knowing that I already knew everything they were going to say BUT hoping that one would reveal something, ANYTHING that would be the key to quickly getting the perfect body.
Now…well now I delete them without even opening them. I should really unsubscribe to those email lists since most of the time I don’t even want to open the emails to make fun of the stupid tips they provide.
But I don’t.
I think partly I keep them in case I get writer’s block and need something to rant about and partly because I think I, like everyone else out there, secretly wishes that there is a quick fix.
Even though I KNOW that there isn’t some part of me does hold out hope. I mean who doesn’t want get the perfect body or be able to lift a bazillion pounds in ONLY 30 days!?!
Squat form – Babies can do it, but most adults can’t
If a baby can do it...
When do we lose the ability to perform a perfect squat?
As children, we all have perfect form, but I can tell you that most adults don’t. Usually during the first couple of sessions with a client, I have to work on a client’s squat form. Which always shocks me because of how often we perform squats throughout the day.
We squat to sit down in a chair. We squat to go the bathroom. We squat to pick something up off the floor (or at least we should be squatting instead of just bending over).
But if you watch adults squat to sit down, they don’t have near as good of form as children do. Most adults lean forward and don’t keep their weight in their heels. Most let their knees fall together or flare out. Most adults let those toes flare out.
Most adults have lost the ability to squat. They don’t know how to activate their muscles to squat down properly. Why is this? Is it because the more we sit around, the more our muscles forget how to move properly? I mean inactivity and all the sitting we do can result in tightness and altered muscle length-tension relationships, which can cause bad movement patterns…but when do we start losing the ability to move properly? Maybe this phrase is true – use it or lose it!
I mean you really do have to teach most adults all the steps to squatting that a baby is born knowing.
I have to tell them to stand upright with their feet pointing straight ahead, about shoulder-width apart. I have to tell them to push their butt back as they lower themselves to the ground, keeping their weight in their heels. I have to tell them to keep their chest up and head in a neutral position. I have to tell them to tighten their core to stabilize as they sink down. I have to remind them that if they are sitting back correctly their knees won’t go past their toes.
I have to remind them of everything that the baby above is doing without thought. Seriously, does anyone else find it sad that what a baby can do, most adults can’t?
Maybe play and recess need to be kept a part of the school day for longer so that we don’t lose our ability to move correctly (like until college at least…or maybe we should get recess at work….).
Jillian Michaels – I don’t want you representing women’s fitness
Jillian Michaels trying crossfit (Sorry I for some reason couldn’t get the video to embed!)
I was very disappointed with Jillian Michaels after watching this video. She honestly looks AWFUL performing every one of these exercises. Shouldn’t a famous trainer make sure she looks good doing exercises before she tries them on TV?
Also, I was disappointed to find out that Jillian really can’t even do more than one unassisted pull up. WHAT!?!
I find it kind of sad that Jillian, who doesn’t seem that strong and looked pathetic performing those exercises on TV, represents female fitness in mainstream media.
Sorry Jillian, but I think you sold out and now are a disappointment to the world of women’s fitness. Did you ever really have a passion for fitness? If so…where did it go because I don’t see it.
What do you think about this video? Does it upset you to find out that she really doesn’t look athletic when exercising?
Can we please elect someone like Annie Thorsdottir or Lindsey Smith the female fitness rep. for mainstream media?
Lie to Yourself to Build Mental Strength
So true! Build mental strength to build a positive future.
Recently I’ve gotten into a ton of discussions about mental strength.
I think mental strength, which I define as having confidence in yourself and believing that you can succeed (and have the ability to overcome adversity), is one of those things that can be developed by lying to yourself.
Yep you did just read that…lying to yourself can help you develop mental strength. Ok, maybe it’s not so much lying as telling yourself how wonderful you are even when you don’t totally believe (I call it lying to yourself because it does really feel that way at the beginning).
Its sort of like imagery – like picturing yourself playing well so that you then go out and play well (which has been shown to actually help athletes perform better). BUT instead of picturing yourself doing something well, you are telling yourself all the things you are good at and why you should have confidence in your skills.
I started developing confidence in my tennis skills by lying to myself about how good I was. Every time I walked out on that court I told myself that I was going to play great. I didn’t tell myself I was going to win, but I did tell myself that I was going to play smart, and play well. I constantly told myself that I could beat anyone on any given day.
And guess what? I barely ever lost during our spring seasons. I think I lost under 20 singles matches my entire college career during the spring. One year I lost only two matches the entire season.
And how did I accomplish this? Because I had tricked myself into having confidence in my skills EVEN when I was facing opponents that were ranked higher than me or having an off day.
Me during college tennis
This may all sound like a load of crap, but it works. Think about how much you focus on the outcome of something…How often do you tell yourself “I don’t want to lose” or “I don’t want to do badly”? How often do you criticize yourself for mistakes that you make?
Now think…how often do you tell yourself “I can do it”? How often do you praise yourself?
You probably don’t say half as many positive things to yourself as negative. I know at points I’m definitely guilty of that.
We sometimes get stuck focusing on the negative, which…guess what…only makes us do worse or feel worse.
You need to start finding the positive in everything and praising yourself for it.
It’s what I’ve started doing with dieting and lifting since apparently I’ve been repeating too many negative things to myself. These negative thoughts have thrown my diet off at points and kept my lifting from progressing. They’ve kept me from believing that I can overcome plateaus or fully reach my goals.
So back to the grind of lying to myself.
If you are looking to getting mentally stronger, it can help to start with generic praise like “I’m pretty” or “I’m strong.” As you get more comfortable with it, try praising yourself for specific things right when you do them. If you hit a new max or stick perfectly to your diet one day, praise yourself for it.
Or if you are stuck on the negatives, try thinking about what others have praised you for. Repeat the positive things they’ve said to you to yourself until you come up with your own.
Like with Candy…this was a great text from her mom when she was going through a rough patch and struggling to see the positive. (In this text Candy’s mom is right…we work to strengthen all our other muscles, but too often forget to strengthen our minds or even recognize our own mental strength!)
good morning baby. I finally had a chance to read that email you sent to me...don't forget the mind can be strongest muscle. Physically you are stronger than any woman I know but it's not just physical strength that's important, it's also having strengthen in the knowledge of who you are and how you want to be treated. It's also being able to see things as they are...not just the way you want them to be. Those were my weaknesses. I was too young and immature to start life the way I did..with no knowledge or experience to be able to make good choices. I hope that you can see that as much as we are alike, we're different in that way. You have a good head on your shoulders and can take pride in yourself and your knowledge..in other words, your mental muscles are in very good shape! lol I love you more than words can say baby. Hope you have a good day.
Weekly Ramblings and wonderful links
Haha I guess "balanced" isn't the right word for the 80/20 rule...
- Did you know that stressed is desserts spelled backwards? I just saw this the other day and I LOVE THIS FACT!
- Here is a great article about the8 People Who Will Ruin Your Attempt to Lose Weight. Do you know any people like this? I definitely know people like this..they both sabotage your diet and their own!
- Also, I’ve been looking at some article about fitness trends for 2012…I was glad to see strength training on there! But sad to see that “training for obese youth” was also a trend. This needs to change! We need a Man Bicep class for kids (which will include lots of dodgeball and climbing in trees!). 🙂
- What truly is “functional fitness?” I see a lot of different workouts being called “functional” and some of them don’t seem like they are training your body to handle real-life situations AT ALL…
- I think this may be why our youth is fat. Pizza is NOT a vegetable!
- I’m definitely guilty of trying to convince people that my diet is the best BUT I try to do it by questioning them on why they do theirs not by raving about mine (unless they ask for details of course…or I’m posting to Man Bicep!).
- I am AWESOME! 🙂 I found this link on Fit and Feminist the other day (She beat me to posting the pizza is a vegetable link too!) 🙂 and I think it makes a great point. A lot of us don’t praise ourselves enough. SO start today by saying, “I’m AWESOME!
Man Bicep 