Category Archives: Workout
Strength grows from vulnerability
Sometimes it is hard for me to want to do things that I know I’m bad at.
I don’t like failing.
But if I don’t make myself vulnerable to failure, if I don’t attempt the things I’m bad at, I will never grow stronger.
It sucks, but it is the hard truth.
And I want to be strong. AND you are only as strong as your weakest point.
So I work on my weak points. Sometimes I want to cry or puke. Sometimes I just want to give up.
But every time I push through, I get stronger.
Not only do I get stronger physically, but I also get stronger mentally. I become more empowered every time I make myself vulnerable and overcome an obstacle.
I actually think sometimes we focus too much on the physical obstacle without realizing how much pushing ourselves to do something will make us grow and become empowered as a person.
And honestly, isn’t growing stronger as a person really the most important part? I mean who really cares if you lift 45lbs or 300lbs?
No one.
The point is to OVERCOME something CHALLENGING to you. The numbers don’t matter. The exercise doesn’t matter.
All the matters is that you take on the challenge and make yourself vulnerable.
That in and of itself is success.
And sometimes that success is very hard-won and comes about in a form in which you didn’t necessarily intend. But that success is strength.
You made yourself vulnerable.
You took the risk.
You got stronger.
Why would you want to lift heavy?
So last night I met with one of my clients, Juliana, who also does my lifting class.
Juliana has gotten super into the lifting and has grown by leaps and bounds. Her movement patterns have improved and she is now lifting human beings! 🙂
She seems to enjoy the lifting and seems to like the way she looks!
But then this week, a situation that has happened to almost all of us female lifters, occurred. It is a conversation that can scare off many beginning female lifters.
The “you don’t want to get bulky do you” conversation. Juliana had two people start-up that conversation.
Luckily I didn’t even have to convince her that they were wrong! She already knew what she was doing was right!
Lifting heavy won’t make you bulky people!!!!! COME ON!
Having extra fat is what makes you “bulky.” Eating crap so that you have bad body composition is what makes you “bulky.”
Not leaned toned muscle mass!
I’ve gained about 17 pounds in the last two years. I still wear the same clothes I wore when I was 17 pounds lighter. Actually some don’t fit as well now because I’ve shrunk in certain areas…like my waist. I’ve shrunk because I’ve lost FAT. I haven’t become any bigger by adding muscle because I cut off the fat that was previously holding its spot!
If you don’t believe me because you know I’m biased, take a look at this Women’s Health Magazine article! Mainstream media even agrees that lifting heavy is good for you! (Of course as I go to post this and click on their link from Facebook it says “Page not found”….Maybe I shouldn’t yet think so highly of mainstream media!)
BUT here is a quote from what was up there.
Lift Heavier Weights! A recent study showed that women who lifted a challenging weight for eight reps burned nearly twice as many calories as women who knocked out 15 reps with lighter dumbbells.
See burn more fat and look LESS bulky by lifting heavy weights!
I wish I could workout twice in one day!
Trust me…you don’t want to.
Yesterday I did my lift and circuit and then last minute had to sub a cardio kicks class (cardio kickboxing).
I don’t teach cardio kickboxing so it was definitely a different experience.
I also wasn’t planning to teach and was more than fatigued from my workout earlier.
In the locker room, I was talking to one of my clients about the fact that I was sweating more than anyone else in the class and that I was super tired after two workouts.
One of my other clients and her friend said, “I wish I could workout twice in one day.”
My response to them was, “No you don’t.”
I’m not saying that it can’t be fun to have a super active day, but honestly there is never any reason that you need TWO workouts in one day.
If you workout intensely for 30 minutes, that can be more than enough for one day!
Workouts don’t have to be super long to get results. A lot of times shorter, more intense workouts are truly better!!!
The good, the bad and the simply stupid
The Good
- Vin Goat is a wonderful little shop that carries artisan and farmstead cheese and cupboard essentials. They also host lectures each weekend about their products. The other weekend Ryan’s parents went to a lecture by Anne Willan, a founder of a famous French cooking school among other culinary achievements. In her talk, Anne Willan supported the use of raw milk to make cheese (saying it made the cheese better!) AND talked about cooking with butter or lard NOT vegetable oil. All in all her lecture was apparently a Primal/Paleo eaters dream. Glad to know there are people out there supporting the consumption of raw milk and fat!
- Here is a little preview of a jump rope video Ryan is helping me making for the Under Armour Challenge. It was also part of my “do something new” workout challenge for this weekend. I’m by no means an awesome jump rope-er so this was definitely a challenge! If you want to do your own jump rope slide and send it to me, I’ll add it to the video!
- Coconut oil is about as close to a magical health pill as you get. Fat-a-phobs shy away from this oil because it contains saturated fat, but what they don’t realize is that the “saturated fat” in coconut oil is a form known as lauric acid, which has been proven to protect your heart by reducing total cholesterol and enhancing HDL cholesterol levels. Even Dr. Oz says so….WOW something he is right about!
The Bad
- I like dried fruit as a treat on occasion. BUT you have to be very careful when purchasing dried fruit as many have added ingredients. Actually I was surprised by how many WEREN’T simply dried fruit when I was at Trader Joe’s. It actually is more difficult than you think to find pure dried fruit. Next time you buy dried fruit make sure you are getting exactly what you want! Read the ingredients list!
- Just another reason to take medicine! NOT! Common painkillers tied to lower skin cancer risk! Ok but to get the benefit you must take these medicines in large quantities. BUT the large quantities have proven health risks. “The drugs have also been linked to an increased risk of kidney cancer and come with known bleeding risks.” So here we have an article telling our population to take painkillers to reduce their risk of skin cancer but we still don’t know if the benefits of taking large quantities of the medicine are worth the risks that have already been linked to the drugs…Hmmm…I think I’ll pass on the painkillers…
- Every time I think Paleo/Primal is becoming more accepted I see stupid articles like this one on IndyStar.com. I can’t believe a dietitian claimed that the diet is not only low carb but also lacking in some vitamins and minerals. Uhm hello!?! When you stop wasting calories on grains, you eat more fruits and vegetables…So how can the diet be “lacking?” If it is lacking in vitamins and minerals, than what word do we use to describe the average American’s diet…Non-existant in vitamins and minerals!?! (Ok I know that doesn’t work…but hopefully you get my point.)
The Simply Stupid
- Dennis, Ryan’s brother, sent this to him. Definitely a healthy breakfast…NOT!
The back of a Nutella jar.
Ok this isn’t simply stupid…It is actually awesome…
The moves you love to hate…
So one of the challenges for the Under Armour challenge was to film the move you “love to hate.”
It was sort of hard to pick one…just kidding…but not really…
There are so many moves that I really don’t like doing, but at the same time I love them because I know that I only hate them because they are super good for me.
Usually the moves I love to hate are moves that never seem to get easier and almost always leave me feeling tired and sore the next day. They are moves that the masochistic me likes.
The Top 10 Moves I Love to Hate!
- “Walking Lunges” – So these are in the video I made for the challenge. I wear a weight vest while doing them, which only really makes them more “lovely.” To do them you jump up and slightly forward as you switch and lunge on the other side. There is something about this plyometric “walking” forward that is torturous. Your legs burn and you get winded. Definitely a move to love to hate.
- Balance Lunges – These are always uncomfortable and painful. Maybe it is just that my balance isn’t awesome but I never have fun doing these. With these, your back foot is up on a bench and you are balancing in a lunge position. Like with the split squat, you just lower the back knee to the ground without going forwards or backwards.
- Dips – These are also in the video. I did them with a weight vest. They suck enough without it though. These for me are just frustrating. There are some days when I can easily bust out ten in a row and other days when one seems impossible. A great upper body and core exercise though!
- Step ups – I can’t explain why I hate these so much, but it might have to do with the cardio aspect of stepping up and down quickly with weights while my legs burn. I like isolating one leg when I do step ups. I don’t alternate legs and I make one leg do all the work while climbing.
- Overhead presses – I think I don’t like these because my shoulders are weak. Also the burnout of such a small muscle group always gets me. Try not to arch your back too much as you press weight straight overhead.
- Planks – I always seem to do planks after I’ve done shoulders, which makes planks extremely un-fun. Plus I hate any exercise where you have to hold a pose…Maybe that is why I “love/hate” yoga….
- Wall sits – Again…I have to sit still why my legs burn and begin to shake. Who doesn’t love/hate that!?!
- Burpees – So if I’ve killed my upper body, my arms hurt a bit during burpees. If I’ve killed my legs, my legs hurt during burpees. If I haven’t killed anything, I get out of breath and my lungs hurt during burpees. Anyway you look at it, burpees are torturous for some reason!
- Rowing – I’m honestly not sure why I hate rowing so much…Maybe it is the fact that my legs feel like they won’t function and I feel like I’m going to puke when I’ve gone all out on the erg…Yea…I think that might be the reason…
- Pull ups – So actually I love pull ups. Sometimes they frustrate me, but I still love them. I feel like this exercise though is definitely one that most women love to hate…or well just hate for that matter!
What moves do you love to hate?
P.S. Foam rolling video coming at the end of this week!!!
Getting our Vitamin D
It has been nice outside the past few days so Ryan and I have gone outside to workout. A great way to get our Vitamin D for the day! (More about the importance of Vitamin D later!)
Our favorite outdoor workout spot is down by the Charles River. There is a little outdoor workout area with pull up bars and places to do abs, push ups, inverted rows, plyometrics and more.
Last year we did the Murph down there.
This year our first outdoor workout was:
1 round as fast as you can:
50 Pull ups
50 Push Ups
50 Inverted Rows
50 Dips
50 Burpees
50 Sit ups
The 1.5 mile walk down to the river felt good, but the 1.5 mile walk back wasn’t near as fun. The workout was definitely a bit harder because we aren’t yet used to the heat and humidity.
What made the walk back more rewarding was a nice BBQ meal with some delicious Cider Sangria.
We grilled up some delicious Grass-fed Buffalo Flank Steak courtesy of The Meat House!
No sauce needed! Just seasoned with cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper!
SOOOO GOOD!
Spin To Cure
From June 14-16, Candy, Brian and I will be participating in a 16 hour Spin-a-thon to raise money for the PMC (the Pan-Mass Challenge).
We will all be riding all 16 hours.
Will we survive?
I’m not sure.
I’ve participated in the Spin-a-thon every year. The first year I did only 2 hours. Last year, I did all 12. And this year, I will attempt all 16!
And I’m prepared for my butt to be extremely sore for days afterwards!
I’m not a huge fan of cardio, but because it’s a challenge and because it will raise money for a GREAT CAUSE, Candy, Brian and I will do all 16 hours.
I would love for any of you in Boston to join me and the Man Bicep Team and ride in the Spin-a-thon! And if you can’t ride, you can always donate to support the Man Bicepers by clicking here! In the notes section, write that you are sponsoring the Man Bicep team!
If you have any questions, email me at manbiceps@gmail.com!!!
Playing in the Park
So yesterday was beautiful outside so Ryan and I went to the park for a little outdoor workout session.
Some “rock climbing.” And some nice graffiti too…”FREE.”
Some handstand holds and push ups maybe? 🙂
We compiled a few things into a video for one of the Under Armour What’s Beautiful challenges. The challenge was to come up with an excuse to not accomplish your goal and then show yourself defying it.
My excuse was “noise” – doubts and negativity from other people and my own self doubts.
But I overcome all the noise by putting on my headphones and focusing on my workout!
P.S. Can I just say I love to swing on the monkey bars!?!
I love bright colors but I SERIOUSLY HATE BARBIE WEIGHTS!
When Ryan and I were out in California, I couldn’t believe how many women we saw out running or walking with Barbie weights in their hands.
WHAT THE HECK!?!
While I love this color, they will not be my new walking accessory.
And then one of my clients said to me, “I think that running with light weights is the best way to tone my arms!” Mind you…this is also the same client that told me that push ups were making her bulky.
I’m sorry but walking with weights IS NOT the best way to tone your arms.
Women who run with weights are IDIOTS who are AFRAID of getting bulky!
I know why people supposedly do it….Extra calorie burn and toning, but I’ll let you in on a little secret….It really doesn’t do either!
For one, you can’t spot reduce an area and part of being “toned” is low body fat. Even if walking with weights did make your arms stronger, it wouldn’t specifically cut the fat off your arms!
Secondly, yes the dumbbells could result in a few extra calories being burned but not if you have to slow down to walk with them. Plus if you simple walked/run and then did a weight workout you would burn even more calories than if you walked/ran with weights.
OR you could do a quick circuit that included weights and cardio and, in half the time you spent on your cardio with your stupid dumbbells, get twice the results!
Thirdly, swinging dumbbells when you run or walk really doesn’t build muscle. For one, if the weight isn’t challenging it isn’t going to do anything. You need to use CHALLENGING weights to get results! Also, the movement of swinging your arms isn’t really specific enough to be used to build or tone muscles.
And lastly, carrying the dumbbells may alter your movement patterns and could create imbalances and lead to injuries.
And why risk injury or imbalances if there is no chance of you seeing any results!?!
Seriously, go for a walk then head to the gym and do some true strength training!
Man Bicep 