Category Archives: Show me yours
All or Nothing
I’d love to tell you that every day I wake up wanting to workout intensely and eat well.
But I don’t.
I don’t think anyone does. (And if you do, consider yourself lucky!)
It can be hard coming back from an injury or a vacation to get back into the groove. Shoot…it can even just be hard to motivate yourself because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed!
There is a way though that we can get ourselves to do and eat the right things even when we are totally unmotivated – we can take BABY STEPS.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing!
Sometimes we can go right back to the workout intensity that we were at before we went on vacation or took some time off.
But sometimes the idea of an intense workout can prevent us from starting up our workout program again. Sometimes we take an extra week off or stop working out all together because we feel unmotivated to work out at the same intensity we were before.
So what do you do to get yourself back on track?
DON’T FORCE YOURSELF TO WORKOUT AT THE SAME INTENSITY!
TAKE BABY STEPS!
So you get back from vacation and know you should workout the next day. You don’t have to go right back into your lifting and circuit routine.
Start out with just 10 sprints. Or just do half of what you usually do.
Anything is better than nothing. AND once you get through that first workout, you will reawaken the desire you had before you took time off.
The same goes for if you’ve had a long day and don’t feel like hitting the gym before going home.
Do something short. Something is better than nothing and it will still keep you on track!
Not every workout has to be the toughest thing you’ve ever done. Short and relaxed workouts can be a great way to get back into something or to keep yourself on track if you are feeling unmotivated.
You can do the same thing with diet that you do with exercise. Sometimes you can just go cold turkey and stop eating all of the crap food you’ve been consuming.
Other times you need to ween yourself off all of the wonderful foods you’ve indulged in.
If clients have a hard time changing their diet, I’ll tell them to give up one thing at a time. Big changes can occur when someone simply gives up soda if they drink it each day.
Making small changes is great. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing!
That is really what it comes down to. You can take baby steps and reach your goal. You don’t have to be “perfect” all of the time.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
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.
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!
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
So I’m not trying to brag, but I feel better after 16 hours of spin than I do after one of my own tough 30 minute lifts.
My taking-on-16-hours-of-spin face!
Honestly, no muscles are sore or even really tight. The ONLY pain I have besides a slightly bruised crouch is one knee that doesn’t like going up and down stairs too much.
Be it the ice bath, my diet with no gluten or my workouts (or all three combined), I feel perfectly normal today…just like I do after any other week of working out.
Anyway, all I can say is you definitely don’t need to carb load with crap gels and gluten to survive endurance cardio!
The Good
- Ice baths are amazing! They really do aid in muscle recovery. AND Tim Ferriss has done the research, and found the science to prove that ice baths may also help you lose fat!
- Get a healthy dose of Vitamin D! This just shows how important going out in the sun is! We all fear skin cancer, but some sun is good! And of course if you can’t get sun, you can always take a supplement! BUT anyone else seem to feel WAY BETTER when they’ve gotten some sun? I definitely do!
- Cool?!? Good news for me I guess! What do you think?
- I’m glad the FDA didn’t let them call high fructose corn syrup “corn sugar!”
- Thank you Therese for taking up the challenge of trying something new! Great job with the monkey bars!
-
These are not easy and Therese is killing it!
- Our Jump Rope Slide is done!
The Bad
- Caffeine is not an alternative to sleep people! I’ve seen too many people over the last couple of days guzzle down espresso shots and Red Bull rather than sleeping enough. I know it is hard to get enough sleep sometimes, but seriously nothing is more important! Your body recovers and rebuilds when you sleep!!! So stop drinking your Starbucks bazillion shot coffees and Red Bulls and instead go to bed!
The Simply Stupid
- Is this really an article on WebMD?
- There is this girl on Fiverr.com saying she can give you flat abs in 3 days. How are people this stupid!?!
- This honestly sounds like something a client has said to me at some point…
And lastly, Happy Father’s Day people! All you Dad’s out there who are reading this…you better be supporting your women and making sure they lift heavy!!!
Drowning out the noise
Sometimes I think the hardest thing is focusing on yourself.
And I mean this in two different ways.
I mean that sometimes it is hard to say “no” to other people and instead put yourself first and focus on your own wants and needs.
And two, that sometimes it is hard to drown out all of the criticism and doubts that come from other people.
But whether or not it is hard to drown out all the noise, there are times when it is absolutely necessary that you do.
Sometimes you just need to focus on you and say screw the world!
And it isn’t easy to do that.
I still haven’t mastered how to say “no” to people when I really don’t want to do something. I get myself into situations where I’m overstressed and finally just crash because I can’t handle it all. Usually that crash involves lots of tears and maybe a chick flick or two.
But I really can’t let it keep getting to that point. And logically I know this.
So what am I going to do about it?
I’m going to remind myself that if I never say “no” I’m doing anyone a favor. Most of the time when you do something for someone when you don’t want to, you will end up not giving it your all.
So I just have to remind myself that saying “no,” even just every once in a while when I feel myself about to crash, will keep everything from totally falling apart. I will be able to give everything my all since I won’t ever crash since I will have occasionally looked out for myself.
This is a VERY important point for MOTHERS to consider. I know a ton of women who put everyone in their life ahead of themselves. Many of these women NEVER take time for themselves and they end up crashing because of it.
And crashing can mean a ton of different things for different people. It can be emotional breakdowns. Stress eating. Weight gain. Weight loss. Illness even.
None of these things are good.
And all of them could have been avoided if the person just said “NO” every once in a while.
So think about taking some time for yourself. It could help not only yourself but also everyone else in your life.
I mean think about it….which is worse, saying no to one thing or finally crashing and potentially being out of commission for a while? I know it always takes me a couple of days when I’ve become totally mentally drained to get back on track…..
Now…the second part of the drowning out the noise equation –Â Ignoring the criticism and negativity that comes from other people.
This isn’t easy. It isn’t easy to brush off the negative comments that other people make about you.
My question to you is, “Why should you listen to them?”
You shouldn’t. People that need to criticize and never compliment you aren’t worth listening to you.
Why aren’t they worth listening to? Because they are obviously jealous or insecure themselves and are just TRYING to hurt you.
And here I’m not saying you shouldn’t listen to the advice of others. I’m just saying you need to block out the comments that are obviously just meant to put you down.
I’ve gotten criticized by other trainers for my diet and even my workouts. But I don’t let them make me insecure about what I’m doing.
I’ve gotten great results and so have all of my clients. No I’m not saying my program will work for everyone, but it DOES work.
I won’t let the fact that another trainer doesn’t like it or that they are insecure about their own training program deter me.
I won’t let their negativity hurt me because I BELIEVE in myself. I have CONFIDENCE.
Of course developing this confidence is a whole other post, but it starts with occasionally taking a step back and DROWNING OUT ALL THE NOISE.
That is what it all comes down to – Focusing on yourself if even just for a minute and ignoring everyone else around you.
To help myself drown out the noise, I do something FOR myself.
I plug in my headphones and bust out an intense workout that just totally drains me. Or I watch a mindless movie and ignore all of the chores that need to be done.
Or I even just simply sit somewhere quiet and write a post for Man Bicep.
It’s not self-centered to take some time for yourself! It is honestly absolutely necessary!
How do you take time for yourself? How do you drown out all the noise?
Man Biceps Unite!
Ok I’m in a weird, but HAPPY!, mood today if you can’t tell from the title.
Anyway, I told you a few days ago that I joined the Under Armour What’s Beautiful competition.
And I also told you that I usually don’t like these challenges.
But I have to say, I’m really enjoying it. Actually I’m a bit obsessed and I’m sure Ryan has heard more than he wants about it over the last two days. (Of course, he is always supportive, but I do feel bad about the constant chatter!)
One of the challenges in the competition is to get other people to join.
I don’t endorse things I don’t believe in. While there are ads on my site, none of them are things I posted.
While I love p90x, when Beachbody contacted me about promoting products (but I wouldn’t get to try them first), I turned down the offer.
I don’t endorse things I can’t vouch for – things that I haven’t TRIED.
But I like this competition.
Under Armour has created a social network full of wonderful people who are all there to achieve their fitness goals. The competition provides a great support network AND provides ACCOUNTABILITY!
It is a great opportunity for anyone looking for a little extra push to achieve their goals.
I would love if you all joined the competition with me and sent me your picture, with the Man Bicep showing of course! Show me yours and show the world “What’s Beautiful!” 🙂
Leading by example
I’ve always been a firm believer in leading by example. I won’t ask anyone to do something that I don’t or won’t do myself.
And I constantly ask people to push their limits – to take on challenges that may be outside of their comfort zone.
So here’s me stepping outside my comfort zone.
I don’t like entering competitions like the Under Armour “What’s Beautiful” challenge.
I don’t know why I don’t like doing things like this. I just don’t ever feel comfortable doing them. They make me super nervous.
This sounds silly, right? I mean I’m the person that has freaking photos of herself up all over the blog and post about herself every day.
But it’s true. These competitions aren’t comfortable for me to do.
But I think Under Armour has created something great here, which is why I’m challenging myself to participate. This a chance to show what it means to be a true female athlete.
Each participant must state a goal. And most of the goals people set have an end date – a clear conclusion. Compete in a triathlon. Run a 5k. Do an Ironman.
But what if your goal is just to be able to do everything – to be a renaissance fitness woman? What if your goal has no end date?
What if what you really want to prove is that a TRUE female athlete is a woman who has the drive and determination to take on any physical challenge that comes her way?
Then you come to this conclusion….My goal is:
I will be S.T.R.O.N.G.E.R. I will SUCCEED. I will be TENACIOUS. I will be a ROLE MODEL. I will OVERCOME OPPOSITION. I will NEVER LOSE HEART. I will GROW. I will be EMPOWERED. I will be a REAL WOMAN.
I hope you all will support me on my journey to show just how STRONG all of us REAL female athletes are!
P.S. If you search for me, I’m listed as Cori L.
Feeling Tired
I love feeling completed exhausted after my workouts. I love that feeling of just wanting to sit on the couch and not move for a couple of hours.
I especially love that feeling when it takes me less than 30 minutes to get it!
Like today, Ryan and I went down to the gym in our apartment building. This honestly is one of the most ridiculous gyms I’ve ever seen. Four treadmills, two recumbent bikes, a bench press machine, a leg extension machine and one functional trainer (aka a cable machine with a pull up bar). It also has medicine balls up to 10lbs and 3 kettlebells ranging from like 2lbs to 20lbs. Not exactly a personal trainers dream gym.
BUT that didn’t stop us from getting in a killer workout in the very small space that we had. We mostly wanted a cardio workout after doing the 300 yesterday.
So we did:
4 rounds as fast as possible of:
400m Run
20 Burpees (Chest touches the ground on each one)
20 Sit-ups
1 minute wall sit
Great workout that took less than 15 minutes. I got a nice sweat going and my legs started to burn during wall sits especially after the 50 deadlifts yesterday!
Yep..A great cardio session in less than 15 minutes. So why are you spending an hour on the treadmill?
Below is another great workout although it took a bit longer between the heavy lift and the circuit. Still under an hour though (I didn’t really pay attention to exactly how long).
Strength:
Back squat 5×5
Auxiliary Lift circuit: 5 rounds as fast as possible
500m Row
15ea 1 Leg Squats
30 Box Jumps
30 KB Swings
30 Jump Knee Tucks (Jump as high as you can and bring your knees to your chest as much as possible)
Also, an awesome “Show Me Yours” photo from Francine. A different way to show off her Man Biceps and Man Lats!
Nice back muscles!
Now go workout and have a great Sunday and a great Easter or Passover! 🙂
More Seepage
http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf
The video above was a very interesting segment on 60 minutes last night called “Is Sugar Toxic?”
In it Dr. Robert Lustig states that he believes sugar is toxic.
I agree!
The question now is….Is this the end of the low-fat diet?
I don’t think so. Even though in it a doctor states that low-fat items are bad because they just sub out fat for sugar, I still think people are too afraid of fat.
One story like this on one network doesn’t have the influence that a red meat scare played over numerous networks does.
However, I have enjoyed showing people this story…especially people who show me every new study that comes out against red meat or saturated fat or low carb!
Anyway, check out the video AND enjoy the biceps below! Then go do the workout of the week!
The awesome Linnea bicep!
An awesome bicep shot from Shannon!
And finally a Man Bicep from newbie powerlifter Ilana! LOVE IT!
AND one of my clients, which she took while on vaca!!!!
Thank you Rebeca!
Now go workout!
Weekly Workout #7
Strength:
Bench 5×5
Auxiliary lift circuit: 3 sets completed as quickly as possible with little to no rest
30 reps OH Press
30 reps Box Jumps
30 reps Push Ups
30 reps Knees to Elbows
Some Friday Ramblings
So it is almost the end of March, which means you only have 1 more week to get a FREE, CUSTOMIZED 2 month Man Bicep diet plan! In April, I will be launching a new second Man Bicep site for online training. YAY!
Have I mentioned yet how much I love warm weather?!?
This week it’s been warm enough for Ryan and I to BBQ (great recipes to come!). It has also been warm enough to tempt me to eat ice cream, which I’ve only avoided by indulging in one of my favorite healthy treats….Want the recipe? Check back tomorrow!
This past week I started my new workout program, which I’m EXTREMELY sore from. Try this week’s weekly workout and see how you feel afterwards!
And some motivation to get you going…
A 10-year-old girl sets powerlifting world record for all age groups!
AND an awesome bicep from Jill!
Jill's Man Bicep!
Weekly Workout #6
Strength:
Front squat 3×10
Auxiliary lift circuit: 3 sets
50 KB swings
50 Burpees
50 Double unders
50 Sit ups
Man Bicep 