Category Archives: Workout
Bikini Season Calls
It’s getting warmer outside and stores are advertising all the summer fashions.
You can tell people are starting to get that “get in shape for summer” itch.
Of course, do people start eating well and working out for bikini season now?
NOPE!
They wait until it’s no more than a month before they are going on vacation/wearing a swim suit/buying summer clothes to start working toward “their ultimate beach body.”
When really they need to start working toward their bikini body months in advance! I know it sucks, but guess what!?! IT’S TRUE!
I hate this crap. Really!?! Two weeks till my ultimate beach body!?! OMG!
While it is possible to drop quite a few pounds in just a month, your results won’t be as good (or as easily maintainable) as they would be if you started NOW.
Actually, I take that back. I would even recommend starting earlier than now if you want to be in tip-top shape the second the pools open Memorial Day weekend.
For one, if you are looking for great results in just a month, you are going to have to do something drastic. Drastic to me usually means UNMAINTAINABLE.
And when something is unmaintainable it means that the second people reach their goal, they will start backsliding and potentially backslide to a point that was worse than before.
They haven’t created a habit or taught themselves to live a healthy lifestyle. All they’ve done is stressed out their minds, bodies and self-control for a month.
But I’m not saying you can’t diet intensely to reach your goal. There is a difference between that drastic one month diet plan and a “cutting phase” or an intense month of dieting.
From January 1st until March 1st, I did a cutting phase. I dieted INTENSELY, but it wasn’t DRASTIC. I still gave myself cheats. AND while it wasn’t something I could maintain forever, it built a base that I could then MAINTAIN.
Also, those two months weren’t that extremely different from what I was doing previously. I didn’t go from eating fast food every day to eating an apple, oatmeal and plain chicken breast.
Yes it was a change. And no at points it wasn’t fun (especially with the low carb flu at the beginning), BUT it wasn’t a SHOCK.
I cut out indulgences and was more regimented than I would be during a maintenance phase, but again IT WASN’T DRASTIC.
It wasn’t a “depriving myself of everything that I love for a month so that I could barely stand it and couldn’t wait to binge for the next three months” diet.
It was more of an “ok I can’t have the foods I like whenever I want and I wouldn’t want to do this forever, but the slight sacrifice is worth the results” diet.
Don’t get me wrong…when you are cutting it isn’t necessarily fun and it is more intense than you would want to diet on a normal basis, but it gets you results quickly in a realistic fashion – it helps you create a base which you can then maintain!
And it isn’t a one month process. I had to spend at least two months (and I had a solid base before) to get truly great results that could be maintained
Anyway, the point of all of this is that you can’t really get the results you want in one month. Even if you reach that goal weight, I guarantee you don’t look near as good at that weight after one month of dieting as you would if you spent two or three months working to reach the same weight. And you will be way more likely to gain all the weight back after that one month crash diet than after the two or three months of cutting!
So next time you want to drop a few pounds or tone up for bikini season, don’t wait till the last minute! Actually this goes for any event that you want to look your best at!
I recommend this same thing to all of the brides I work with. Don’t decide the month before that you want toned arms in your strapless wedding dress! You should have a workout/diet program mapped out for the entire year you spend planning your wedding!
Tomorrow, I’ll post some great recipes that you can eat during a Man Bicep cutting phase (And guess what!?! Two are BLTs!)
And below is a workout you can do to help you get a great beach body!
Strength:
Deadlift 5×5
Auxiliary lift circuit:
30-25-20-15-10-5 (Complete the set number of reps for each exercise before moving to the next rep range. Ex: Do 30 reps of all exercises then 25 of all the exercises.)
RDLs (Straight leg deadlifts, Romanian Deadlifts)
Burpees (chest hits the ground)
Split Squat jumps (Lunge, jump up and switch legs..Also it is the rep number per leg..ex: 30 per leg, 25 per leg…)
Ab roller (ouchie!)
P.S. I haven’t forgotten about the foam rolling video. I apologize I haven’t gotten one up yet! It will be up by next weekend!!!!
Surprised that she loved it
So this is the second week of my lifting class (sorry Francine that I couldn’t do one at a time that worked for you!).
And I’m loving it. But the best part is…SO ARE THEY!
And I don’t think all of them expected to…
I have one participant, Lois, who is also one of my personal training clients. We started working together in August and I’ve watched her get stronger and fitter and more confident in herself each and every time we meet.
And while Lois never gives up and is always willing to give an exercise a shot, I have to admit that I was blown away by her strength and determination in our lifting classes so far.
We’d stuck to a lot of functional weight training in our personal sessions together and hadn’t yet done barbell bench press, barbell deadlift or barbell back squat.
But last week, Lois attempted all of them for the first time and excelled! I was more impressed/excited/proud than I could even express to her at the time.
And she continues to impress me. At the class today she deadlifted with the best of them. And she survived the killer auxiliary lift circuit we did, making the necessary modifications, but never giving up.
And the best part is that after both workouts, she has walked up to me and said that it was hard, but that she enjoyed it!
I think it surprised her actually how much she enjoyed lifting super heavy weights!
So if you’ve been shy about heavy lifting, give it a shot! I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how much you love it.
Also, I just want to give a big shout out to all of the members of my class. You all are AWESOME! 🙂
P.S. Lois if you read this post since I know you occasionally visit Man Bicep….KEEP IT UP! I’m so proud of you! 🙂
Getting Back into the Groove
Rebeca…this post is for you!
So you’ve gotten into a great rhythm. You’re eating well and going to the gym numerous times a week. You are so in the groove that it isn’t a challenge to keep your healthy lifestyle going – it has become a habit.
But then, you go on vacation.
And when you come back, your rhythm is gone.
You can’t drag yourself into the gym and you’re not sure you even know what healthy foods look like anymore. You’ve undone the habit in a quarter of the time it took you to create it.
So how do you get back on track?
It is by no means easy, but you did it once before and you can do it again! Remember that!
Also, remember that the quicker you get right back into it after vacation, the easier it will be. The longer you wait, the more you will regress. Just think about how hard you worked to make all that progress in the first place! You don’t want to lose it all!
I know how hard it can be to get back into the groove. When I come back from vacation feeling like a slug from bad food and inactivity, I don’t want to workout or eat well. But I remind myself of how great I feel once I start…and how crappy I feel when I continue my sluggish ways.
It’s all about the mindset! Your mind is the strongest muscle in your body so use it to push yourself to get right back into healthy habits!
For more great tips, check out my post about how to change your lifestyle and stick with it!
If you need more motivation to get back into working out and eating well after a vacation, email me. I’ll keep harassing you until you do!
You’ve been warned Rebeca!
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! 🙂
“I know what I’m supposed to do….
But for some reason I just can’t get myself to do it consistently.”
We know that we should be exercising and we know what foods we should be eating, but for some reason it is sometimes hard to make ourselves do it!
AH! Not logical! But we do tell ourselves that sometimes!
Why is there sometimes a gap between what we know we should be doing and what we actually make ourselves do? And how do we close that gap?
I think we can have issues making ourselves stick to a healthy diet or workout program for numerous reasons.
Self-control, stress, schedule, support and resources all influence how easily we transition to a new lifestyle and maintain it.
Honestly, you can name a thousand reasons as to why we don’t eat the way we know we should or workout as much as we should. You can even claim you don’t truly know what is healthy because of all misinformation out there about health and fitness.
But if you truly want something, only you can make it happen. No matter how many excuses you can come up with, only you can CHOOSE to commit to a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some tips to help you transition to a new healthy lifestyle and STAY COMMITTED:
- First determine which works better – slowly eliminating bad foods or going cold turkey. Don’t go cold turkey if you know that it will make you feel so deprived that you feel the need to cheat in only a couple of days. For some, it works better to do a looser version of a diet and slowly become more strict. For instance start eating whole natural foods, but keep in rice and potatoes while you eliminate grains if you eat lots of carbs currently. Then maybe slowly lessen the amount of each that you eat. OR if you are a sweets person, don’t cut out all treats. Maybe just allow yourself only “healthy” treats like dark chocolate or berries or the Man Bicep whipped cream! If however, you are the type of person that just needs to go cold turkey, don’t tease yourself with little treats…GO COLD TURKEY!
- Write up a plan. It’s easy to cheat on some vague idea, but when you have a solid plan written down, it is a lot harder to cheat on it. Outline what foods you want to eat or what workouts you want to do on certain days. Also plan out how long your program or diet will run. If you set an end date, you can REWARD yourself when you succeed. Treat yourself to something when you accomplish your goal (preferably not food related!). I found it motivating to know that I would get a treat like a massage or shopping spree if I stuck to my plan! And yes, we are striving for a lifestyle change, but if you make up a plan for three months and stick to it, you will find that after that you’ve made it enough of a habit to go it on your own!
- Display your plan and let others know what you are doing. If only you know about your plan, you are much more likely to cheat…especially if you hide it away in a drawer. Display your plan on your door or in your kitchen on the fridge. If you can see it every day, you are a lot less likely to cheat. And if you tell others about your plan, they will help keep you in line. Both their support and just the fact that others know will make you want to succeed so that you don’t let them down!
- Don’t DEPRIVE yourself! When you feel deprived, you are most likely to cheat. So don’t starve yourself! Eat till you are satisfied…not stuffed just content. Also, allow yourself days to indulge a bit more. For one, it will help you stay committed. For two, calorie cycling can help you lose that last little bit of fat since your metabolism won’t slow from constant calorie restriction! For me having one day each week where I eat as much as I want of “healthy cheats” allows me to recharge. Also planning in full cheat days helps me remain committed because I know that even if I feel deprived, it won’t be for long! Remember, the 80/20 rule. Eat well 80% of the time and indulge 20%!
Workout partners and trainers are also definitely good motivation…Anything else help you stay committed?
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
Support
I’m a health and fitness addict, but I’ve surrounded myself with people who support my lifestyle.
It is very hard to commit to a healthy lifestyle when you go it alone – when everyone around you in someway tempts you to “cheat.”
I sympathize with clients who are trying to lose weight but their husbands refuse to diet or exercise with them. Their husbands won’t force them to eat badly, but watching someone else eat something you WANT while you stick to your diet, isn’t easy. Going to the gym while your significant other sits on the couch or sleeps in isn’t easy.
And the worst part about all of this is…You can’t just brainwash your significant other into committing to a new and healthy lifestyle….Can you?
Ok you can’t brainwash them, but here are some ways to try to convince (or trick) them into supporting you.
You don't want to be the hubby that looks like THAT behind a confident, sexy, fit woman do you?
First off, it usually isn’t hard to convince men to eat steak and bacon, which is more than acceptable on the Man Bicep diet. Actually it is usually harder to convince women to eat fatty cuts of meat.
Just look at Ron Swanson...the epitome of manliness. He ONLY eats red meat, bacon and eggs!
Our society definitely associates manliness with meat – especially red meat. So serve your man some meat and I guarantee he will be more than happy to be eating healthy with you. He will be so happy in fact that he may not even realize that he is eating well! It seems you would have way more trouble convincing your spouse to eat vegan than you would to eat red meat…at least it seems that way based on the fact that vegans feel the need to put out videos about “manliness.”
Don’t make exercise all about going to the gym. Find active hobbies that you both enjoy! This will make working out less of a chore for you and a way that you two can still spend time together! You can simple go for a walk or a hike together. Or you can try something like kayaking or rock climbing. It can honestly be anything. Being active together is a great time to bond and get your spouse to realize how much FUN being active can be!
Get results. As hard as it may be to go it alone, the end results are worth it. If you can go it alone long enough to start seeing results, trust me…he will see results too. And there is no better encouragement for him to support your lifestyle than seeing you look great, have more energy and feel healthier. He may realize he needs to change his lifestyle just to keep up with you!
Ok and let’s face it…the best way to convince them that they should support you boils down to….SEX.
- Eating crap like simple sugars and grains lowers your testosterone levels. That means you are less interested in sex than say when you are eating tons of meat and bacon, which actually raises your testosterone levels!
- Working out makes you look better and FEEL BETTER about how you look. If you like the way you look, don’t you think you will want to show off? Plus, who wouldn’t be turned on by their significant other looking sexy and lean!?!
- Eating well and working out usually combines to make us not only look better, feel healthier but also be more confident. I don’t know about you, but when I feel like I look good, I’m much more apt to show a little skin. I want to strut my stuff!
So don’t let your significant other sabotage your diet and exercise plan!
10 Phrases I wish I’d NEVER Hear Again
Sometimes this is how I feel when I rant.
These are 10 phrases I hear all the time that I wish would never be uttered again in my presence. They aren’t in any order…I hate them all equally
- I use the adductor and abductor machine. I need to work on my inner thighs. That is the stupidest machine out there. Why waste your time on that machine working one muscle group when you can do slider side lunges or sumo squats and work numerous muscle groups at once while still targeting your add/abductors? Seriously, if you don’t want to waste your time in the gym and you actually want to burn some calories, you should do a compound movement. Plus why can’t people understand you CAN’T SPOT REDUCE!
- I had a bagel this morning, but it was whole wheat! When people tell me this, I have to resist the urge to slap them. (I promise I’m not a violent person!). I’m always surprised when clients say this to me since they know my stance on nutrition. I THINK WHOLE GRAINS ARE JUST AS BAD! Did you know that shredded wheat is higher on the glycemic index than table sugar? So don’t walk up to me and tell me your breakfast wasn’t bad because you only had a bagel…
- I didn’t have time to workout. HA! If you want to workout, you find the time…30 minutes is more than enough to get in a great workout!
- This weight is too heavy. If your form isn’t breaking down and you can do the exercise, the weight isn’t too much. Muscle burn is a good thing people! I always remind my clients, “Your mind will give up before your body has to!” We have to train our mind to push beyond that initial fatigue because, trust me, your body is stronger than you think!
- I can’t do this. CAN’T…Maybe the worst word on the planet. Ok maybe I hate this one the most. I love when people are doing the exercise and STOP to tell me they can’t do it. I’ve honestly wanted to shout at people, “You were just doing it easily! What do you mean you CAN’T do it!?!”
- I’ve tried everything and nothing works. Really? You’ve tried everything? Sounds to me like you were too lazy to fully commit to anything enough to actually find out if it works!
- Training is too expensive. Probably only trainers will sympathize with me here. Yes training can add up but it is for your HEALTH. You spend money on movies, dinners out and new clothes. You even spend money on medicine. Why wouldn’t you spend money on something that keeps you healthy so you can do all the things you enjoy!?!
- I don’t want to get too bulky. Yes, I hear this more often than I would like to. I’ve even been told by a woman that my workouts were in fact making her too bulky. Of course she wasn’t yet strong enough to lift over 5lbs, but the push ups were doing it to her…I almost rolled up my sleeve and flexed my bicep and asked, “So this is too bulky for you then?”
- I’m hungry all the time and only ate like 1,000 calories so I should be losing weight. I’m not hungry…like ever. Ok maybe at the end of a fast or after a really hard workout. But I never feel like I’m starving myself. If you feel hungry all the time and are barely eating any calories, do you really think that diet is natural? Is that really something you can maintain? No? Maybe you should try a diet full of whole, natural foods and lots of protein and fat. Then you don’t have to count calories because you are only eating healthy foods that make you feel full!
- My body composition hasn’t changed and I only cheated a little. Really? If you aren’t seeing any progress, it is your own fault. You are to blame. “I only cheated a little” isn’t an excuse. If you don’t follow the diet, than you can’t blame the diet for not working. Anytime you “cheat” on a diet program, YOU are changing the way the diet works. My clients who follow my diet, lose the weight that they want/need to. Most even lose about 10-15lbs in the first month. This is no ultimate loser weight loss, but it is a healthy amount to lose in that time period – it SUSTAINABLE. So don’t try to blame the diet by saying you only cheated a little!
Anyway, that is my tired rant for the day. Any phrases that you hear all too often about diet and exercise that you would like to add to this list?
Travel
I have lots of clients that travel often and have used it as an excuse to either not eat well or not exercise.
But traveling is no excuse.
Some of my clients who have long plane rides to different countries claim that the problems all start because of jet lag.
Can I just say…”THAT IS A FREAKING LAME EXCUSE!”
Just because your body is tired and a bit out of whack doesn’t give you the excuse to eat crap and not move. AND your body doesn’t have to feel like crap when you travel if you FAST.
Yep! Studies have proven that fasting may help with cancer, weight loss and even JET LAG!
An article called “A “Fast” Solution to Jet Lag” states:
Dr. Clifford B. Saper and colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston now think that food — or, more specifically, the lack of it — may resynchronize body rhythms faster than light and dark. They have studied a second “master clock” in mice, located in a cluster of brain cells called the dorsomedial nucleus, that can take over when food is scarce. Sure, humans aren’t mice, but both have a dorsomedial nucleus that responds to hunger. The researchers reason that because food is as essential for survival as sleep is, hunger can influence circadian rhythms as much as changes in light/dark patterns do.
So maybe if you fast to help reset your “master clock” you won’t suffer from jet lag…aka you have no excuse to eat crappy and not workout!! Here are suggestions from the article about how to make fasting work to prevent jet lag:
So, why not manipulate your feeding clock, rather than your sleep clock, the next time you try to fend off jet lag? Specifically, as Saper has discussed in the press, you can try fasting both before and during your long flight, then eating in a pattern that puts you in sync with local time. For instance, if you’re taking a 14-hour flight from New York to Beijing, it would work like this:
- Avoid all food from the time you get to the airport (i.e., about two hours before departure)
- Don’t eat during the flight — but still drink plenty of water
- Eat soon after you land, as close to a local meal time as possible
Because it is hard to workout when you are staying in a hotel, right?
WRONG!
There are exercises and workouts that you can do anywhere…including a hotel room, office or even outside. I even wrote a post about the 10 Best Exercise to do ANYWHERE!
You can even bring your own resistance equipment with you if you don’t want to miss a strength training workout. Resistance bands are easy to pack in any piece of luggage and weigh next to nothing. And they aren’t expensive. It is about $30 for a set.
Shoot you don’t even have to do strength training when you travel to remain active and healthy. You can even just go out for a walk around the hotel and get in some nice slow cardio!
And if it is too cold outside to walk or run, most hotels either have a pool or a small gym with a treadmill. Why not go for a swim or walk on the treadmill and enjoy a nice light magazine?
Honestly, there is no excuse to be a huge lump when you are traveling. I mean just even walk around and go sight-seeing for goodness sake!
Now…eating when you travel…
This section isn’t for the person planning a family vacation or taking a nice relaxing vacation. If you are going on vacation, of course indulge and enjoy. IT’S A VACATION.
This section is for the person that travels often and uses this as an excuse as to why they can’t be healthy/in shape/lose weight or WHATEVER.
For one, you don’t have to buy a crap snack at the airport. You can bring your own healthy snacks with you. You don’t even have to put your snacks in a separate bag when you go through security.
Second, almost every little snack shop in the airport at least has nuts – you don’t have to grab those Reese’s no matter how tempting.
Third, almost all restaurants have at least ONE thing you can eat.
Take Cheesecake Factory for instance. They have steaks, which aren’t breaded or fried. Yes, some come with french fries, but how hard is it to sub in mashed potatoes, veggies or a side salad?
NOT HARD.
And trust me, most people WON’T realize you are on a diet if you are eating a steak because most of society still follows the low-fat mantra.
And if you’re not feeling a steak? Try a Cobb Salad with Vinaigrette dressing!
There are a ton of different options at most restaurants. Yes, some restaurants, like Italian restaurants, are harder to find things at, but trust me it is possible.
Just take a look at the menu BEFORE you go out. This way you will be prepared for the options and know what you can and cannot eat. You will also be less likely to cheat once you get there and are hungry if you know ahead of time what you can order.
And with all of this I’m not saying you can’t try some “local” cuisine. I’m just saying, you CAN eat well when you travel. You CAN be healthy.
If you want to make something work, you will find a way.
So stop making excuses and try some of this advice. It might make traveling more fun since you’ll be energized from eating well and relaxed from working out!
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 