Does the spark ever fade?
So since college, I’ve only played tennis a handful of times.
And honestly, over the past year, I haven’t hit once.
I got involved in other things. Lifting became my passion. It is what I trained for.
And I didn’t seem to miss the tennis at all. Which was funny since I’d loved tennis and it had been a HUGE part of my life since a very young age.
I just didn’t seem miss it. I loved all of training that I was doing.
I even started to question if I ever really loved tennis. Almost every other college athlete I knew went through “withdrawal” when they first stop playing.
But then two weeks ago, I began coaching again and even started hitting.
Suddenly that spark I’d thought I’d lost was re-ignited. Suddenly I wanted to play again and be good.
I wanted to be a top player again. But why? I then thought, “Will I ever truly be able to be as good as I once was and do I honestly want to dedicate the time and energy to become that good again?”
My answer was simply, “No.”
I didn’t want to spend hours a day hitting to try to get back to where I once was. I mean what truly would be the point?
I have no chance of going pro or really making it a profession outside of coaching. So why waste the time?
Yes, I love the sport, but I can satisfy that love by hitting just even a few times a week (even if it is sometimes frustrating that I’m only a shadow of what I once was).
But even though tennis will never play the same role in my life again, the spark is still there.
And I know realize, the spark never actually even faded.
While I love tennis as a sport in and of itself, what my passion, what my spark was really all about was more than just tennis.
My love for tennis stems from my love of competition, of learning and mastering a skill. From my love of physical activity where you are solely dependent on yourself, your skill and your mental toughness.
Because of all the reasons I loved tennis, I feel in love with lifting and all of the competitions that go along with it.
Anyway, this whole thought process started when I was thinking about athletes who get injuries that prevent them from ever again competing in their chosen sport.
While it is most definitely than simply graduating because it is a FORCED separation, the point is the spark is still there in both.
The key though is to use that spark to become great at something else that fills the void.
Once an athlete, always an athlete. No matter your age, you never lose that spark.
Huevos Rancheros
So before starting this week, I wrote out a meal plan breaking down calories, fat, carbs and protein for each and every day.
My goal is always to keep my carbs under 150 grams per day, which honestly I don’t find too difficult.
I also like to cycle my carbs. This week I had two days close to 150 grams, one day near ketosis and the others in that safe range that keeps me energized.
Here was my breakfast/lunch from this morning. (And one of the very rare times that I do in fact eat beans…Rare…But it happens.)
Huevos Rancheros
May I just say, “YUM!”
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 homemade corn tortillas (Visit the Recipe Box for how to make your own!)
1 1/2 slices bacon
2 tbsp mashed pinto beans
5 slices of jalapeño diced
Shredded cheddar cheese
Cook the bacon. Remove once it is browned to your liking. Using the bacon grease to then heat up your corn tortillas.
While the tortillas are cooking up, mash up pinto beans. Remove tortillas once crispy and slightly brown. Put one tablespoon of beans on each tortilla. Sprinkle on jalapeños.
Once you remove the tortillas, cook the eggs in the remaining grease. Once eggs are cooked to your liking, place on top of the beans. Top the eggs with bacon pieces and some cheddar cheese.
Enjoy! (Or at least I did!)
What do you read?
HAHA…this isn’t at all relevant. Just funny.
So I’m not a fan of fitness magazines. They basically reuse the same old crap over and over again and just package it differently each time. (Hey sometimes they put in some “new” stuff…After it has become mainstream….For a year or so…)
BUT that doesn’t mean that I don’t like reading other fitness publications.
If you are a fan of learning and are a fan of finding the BEST way to get GREAT RESULTS, you may want to check out the blogs and videos provided by some of these innovators.
I probably go to this website at least once, ok probably twice, a day. I watch the videos to add new moves to my library (or remember moves I haven’t used in a while). I read the articles to find out what some of the great minds in the fitness field are doing.
Basically, I LOVE My Mad Methods. You may at first look through it and think, “Well I’m not a fighter or a strong man.”
BUT THAT DOESN’T MATTER! Think about the strength and mobility that both of those two professions need. Think about how functional their training is. So even though you aren’t a fighter or a strong man doesn’t mean you can’t implement some of those moves or workouts in a way that benefits you.
Plus they present a new way to do things that isn’t just the simple moves and bogus “tips” you find in fitness magazines.
I also like Nick Tumminello’s site and all of his videos. He works in more traditional fitness realms and even uses some of his incredibly innovative to help bodybuilders and fitness models. (See you don’t have to do the traditional fitness workouts to look AMAZING!)
Nothing crazy, but he does make you constantly think about movement patterns and the best, most efficient ways, to do things. He has created variations of the bird-dog, an oldie but goodie, and he as provided me with a variation of the deadlift, which I call the explosive deadlift rotation. Talk about a great way to develop explosive power while working on your deadlift, core strength and shoulder strength.
He has also provided me with two of my favorite moves – the Pivot Pulldown and the 1/2 squat, 1/2 deadlift. The Pivot Pulldown is probably my FAVORITE exercise to work the upper back and even improve lat strength (and your pull ups!). It is a great way for anyone to improve their posture!
I also love the 1/2 squat, 1/2 deadlift because it is a great way to work your legs (and even your back) with little impact on the knees. I think one of the hardest things is training people with knee injuries. THIS IS A PERFECT EXERCISE TO USE! Because the knee is just barely bending less strain is put on it! A great way to build leg strength if you have bad knees or even if you don’t! I also find it is a great way to teach beginners the RDL.
Anyway, there are more sites I could share, but those two are probably my favorites at this point in time so I’ll start you there. Not all of the information will be new, but that isn’t the point. Sometimes it is just good to read those sites because it reminds us of things we haven’t used in a while!
So now you have no excuse to not do a little research and learn something new. I know I always say that you should and now I’ve given you a couple great places to continue your learning! 🙂
What are your favorite fitness sites?
Pinterest Weddings
So Pinterest is great if you need inspiration for planning anything, even a wedding.
It also can provide you with inspiration to get in shape for your wedding.
BUT it can’t actually make you do it. And it can’t help you get results or stay on track.
However, a proper plan can!
First, set a goal and a target date. This date shouldn’t be the day of your wedding. It should be a few days before your final dress fitting.
If you don’t know how long you have to accomplish something, you won’t be able to set realistic goals OR set up a program that will lead you to success.
Once you set your long-term goal and have a clear timeframe in which to accomplish your goal, you need to break that goal down into short-term goals that will help you track your progress. An easy way to do this is to set target weights based on your dress fittings.
Now you have to figure out HOW to accomplish your goal.
Do some research and think about WHAT WORKS FOR YOU…Not what your friends say work or some magazine says is the key to success…Think about what works for you…And what DOESN’T work for you.
Do you enjoy working out at home more? Or will you not do the workout if you don’t have an appointment with someone and go out to a gym?
Do you need guidance or will you keep yourself dedicated and motivated?
Have you dieted and had success in the past? Or do you need diet recommendations?
There are some people who can go it alone and once they have a goal set will stay committed. However, there are also people out there that need some outside motivation.
The question is, which are you?
Once you know, pick a program.
In terms of workouts…Find an in home workout program that will help you reach your goals or meet with a trainer to have them design a personalized program for you.
Of course, I’m biased but I think that it is always best to have a program designed specifically for you. Even if you want to go it alone with the personalized program, getting something designed FOR YOU by someone trained in the fitness field may just help you reach your goals more quickly and efficiently.
No matter where you get your program, it should go through a progression. You shouldn’t just be going at 100% the entire time.
There should also be some weights, some slow long cardio and some short intense cardio intervals. You can’t ignore any of the pieces of the puzzle! Just running or doing cardio for hours won’t get you there!
HOWEVER, when picking out your own program or talking to a trainer, you also want to consider the types of activities that you enjoy doing. (If you enjoy running, don’t stop doing it, BUT do add in some strength training. It will not only make you look better on your wedding day, but it will also help your running!)
Don’t only consider your workout progression though, also think about how you will use your diet to reach your goals.
Read some of the great information out there about different diets and look at studies. Don’t just believe what mainstream media says!
At the beginning of your diet even experiment slightly, varying your diet. High carb, low carb. Gluten-free. High fat, lower fat. Vegetarian.
When you pinpoint something that has some success, stick with it. Develop good habits and stick with them. Then at points go a bit stricter.
You don’t want to deprive yourself. Yes there will be points during the months leading up to your wedding that you will want to be stricter about what you eat, but you never want to feel fully deprived.
Just like with your workout program, plan out a progression so that you are eating to promote great workouts while working toward your goal.
So now you have a timeframe, a long-term goal, short-term goals to check up on your progress and a clearly laid out program with a clear progression.
Now implement it! 🙂
If you need any help creating your own plan for your wedding (or any goal that you may have), let me know or contact a gym in your area.
If you happen to be anywhere near Costa Mesa, stop in to the gym I work at called Innovative Results.
Also, I’m going to start writing Bridal Transformation blogs for the site so if you want more help to get you ready for your wedding day, check them out!
Stress Eating – Healthy Munching!
So one of the most common excuses I hear about why people can’t lose weight is…
“Well, I eat when I’m stressed. I just can’t help it.”
It makes me want to laugh/cry.
Well I would love to eat when I’m stressed too, BUT I DON’T!
Ok but I do understand the lack of self-control and a desire for SOMETHING to comfort you after a long stressful day. And hopefully you can teach yourself to use other things as an outlet…A good workout, reading a book, sitting and chatting with a loved one.
But as you transition to better habits, or on those days when you really can’t resist eating to relieve your stress, that doesn’t mean you have to turn to BAD FOOD.
I have found what I consider to be one of the BEST SNACKS EVER – KALE CHIPS!
Let’s face it, when we stress eat we consume unneeded calories that are really really bad for us.
BUT I have a snack that will keep you from destroying your diet even when you need to munch a bit when you are stressed.
Kale Chips
Ingredients:
Kale
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Salt
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry kale (make sure it is dry!). Tear into pieces and put it on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and spices. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Grip Strength
So I must say, I’m now spoiled by having a car.
No more long walks back to my apartment with huge heavy bags of groceries that make my forearms burn (sometimes it was a huge mental battle making it back to my apartment without setting everything down to readjust!).
But just because I don’t have long walks back with heavy groceries doesn’t mean working on my grip strength isn’t important.
BECAUSE IT IS!
It is essential to so many activities!
And I hate hearing people say they can’t deadlift more because their grip gave out.
You are only a strong as your weakest link!
So work on your grip strength!
Now you are probably thinking “How do I work on my grip strength?”
Here are 10 ways that you can strengthen your grip:
- Farmers walk – Walk holding heavy dumbbells (sort of like you are carrying super heavy groceries!)
- Fat gripz – Make the farmers walk harder by making the heavy dumbbell harder to grip. The fat grips don’t allow you to wrap your hand as easily around the grip.
- Hang and hold – You can hold at the top if you want to make it more difficult or hold at the bottom (you can even do knees to elbows if you want to work your core even more). The point is by hanging and gripping the bar, you will work on your grip strength. (You can do pull ups with so many different grips off of so many different things! You can even do them by just gripping with your finger tips!)
- Grip strange stuff – Ok not very specific. This could include doing pull ups by holding onto a rope or towel. It could include holding a weight hanging from a towel or rope. It could even include doing battling ropes. Doing work while holding something that isn’t perfectly fitted to your hand will challenge your grip strength.
- Plate carry – Like the farmers walk but using a “pinch grip” to hold plate weights as you walk.
- Rock climb – A workout in and of itself, there is no better (or in my opinion fun) way to work on your grip strength.
- Be patient – Seems simple! But it’s not! Try doing kettlebell swings for five minutes with a challenging weight. Don’t put the kettlebell down for the full five minutes! Your forearms will be on fire! You can also do a deadlift and then just hold the bar at the top for long periods of time.
- Rice – So a traditional way to work on grip strength, and something I did all the time at college, was grip exercises in a big bucket of rice. You take a bucket of rice and stick your hand deep down in it and squeeze. Your hand gets tired in no time! Another way I just learned, using the rice, is to take a dumbbell and stick it into the rice. Gripping one end of the dumbbell, twist the dumbbell as deep as you can into the rice. Added weight and rice….OUCH!
- Awkward weight – There is no better way to toast your grip and even your shoulder than by doing a bottoms up carry with the kettlebell. It takes a lot of grip strength to keep that awkward weight balanced!
- Roll up weight – So not something I use that often just because I feel like in general you get more bang for your buck with some of the other exercises, BUT if you have a little rod and attach a string and a light weight and “roll up the weight” you will really work on your grip strength!
Fat gripz
Great for grip strength. We hang these on hooks and can even do pull ups from them!
Look at those forearms working!
A wrist roller….better than my name of “roll up the weight!”
For more great ways to strengthen your grip, check out these links (one is linked to the picture). John Brookfield is SO COOL!!
http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/GripTips/Sudden_impact.html
This picture was just so cool I had to show it and attach the link to it!
The Heroine or the Rescued?
One of my favorite fairy tale books.
When I was little my mom always read me fairy tales in which the leading lady rescued herself (and sometimes even the prince).
The women in these story were never the rescued, they were the heroines.
Whether or not its having a strong mother or the women in these stories (or both!), I’ve always been my own heroine. I’ve had no delusions that someone else will come along and solve all of my problems for me.
But in a society where women usually are the rescued, where do women like me fit in?
And even though we logically know we can and ARE our own heroines, why is it that we still sometimes want to be rescued?
I know this seems random and not directly and obviously related to the usual content of my posts, but it really got me to thinking….
Is this whole “being rescued” thing part of the reason why women are so afraid of lifting weights and being bulky?
Is this why even the women who do lift weights sometimes question their own femininity?
Honestly, I’m asking a ton of questions because I don’t have the answers.
I see all of this duality in my own life.
I LOVE lifting heavy weights. I preach their importance to just about every woman I meet.
I tell them they won’t get bulky, and I believe it.
Yet sometimes, in those moments of self-doubt, I question my own femininity.
Are my arms too big? Shoot aren’t my shoulders just so broad….
I see this confusion between being my own heroine or “the rescued” even in my confusion over my future.
I’m driven. I want a successful career. I love working, in great part because I love what I do.
I feel like I would be selling myself short if I ever gave up my career ambitions.
BUT I’m also a firm believer that at least one parent should stay home with children if the couple decides to have kids.
And I’ve always wanted to be the parent that gets to stay home with my kids, but I also feel like this is partly me wanting to be “rescued.”
So now my question is, does it have to be one or the other? Don’t we all want to be heroes or heroines? Don’t we all at points want to stop fighting and have someone else save us?
Anyway, excuse the slight digression and ramblings. But hopefully it gets you to thinking about your own life and even why you or so many women you know are against lifting heavy because they fear getting bulky!
Physical Fitness – Double Standards!?!
Today Ryan and I were watching a show about 9/11 Fireman.
It got me to thinking about the physical fitness test that firemen have to pass in order to be firemen.
It led to a discussion of the standards for firemen and policemen and whether or not the standards were easier for policemen, which led to a discussion of standards to enter the military. (I’m really really paraphrasing here because I don’t want people to get hung up on this part of our random conversation).
Anyway, we got on to military physical fitness standards and I started thinking about the fact that women and men are held to different standards.
And it actually bothered me that they are.
If we set a standard on what we believe a person needs to be able to do in order to protect our people and country, how can we then set a different standard that allows someone in who is weaker?
If we want the people who protect our country to be able to do 10 pull ups, how can we then say that it is “ok” for certain people, because of their sex, to only be able to do 1 chin up!?!
Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that regardless of sex people should be able to apply and perform any job for which they are qualified.
BUT if we believe that a certain standard of fitness is required for certain jobs, how can we truly set a double standard to supposedly accommodate more women?
I mean I’m slightly offend that we aren’t held to the same fitness standards! If I was going to join the military, I would freaking train my butt off to make sure I could attain all of the standards required of a male undergoing the test.
Sure if I’m applying to a desk job, maybe I should be held to a different standard (and maybe that is why women have lower fitness standards to join the miliary…) but seriously if someone is having to do a physical job that requires a certain amount of strength and endurance, HOW CAN THERE BE DIFFERENT STANDARDS!?!
P.S. I haven’t done a ton of research on this, but anyone know of any “firewomen?”
Not everything’s a circuit
So I’ve always loved circuit training. You can get your heart rate up and work your entire body quickly and efficiently.
But circuit training isn’t necessarily the best way or the only way to get great results.
I think most often circuit training is our go to for workouts because it is easy to great a program using the model and usually the workouts are KILLER.
But a “killer workout” doesn’t necessarily mean that it is helping you reach your specific goals.
Just because you don’t feel like death after a workout doesn’t mean that it wasn’t amazing and even more beneficial than one that completely destroyed you.
Anyway, I’ve definitely been playing around with program design recently. I always think that if you are open to learning, you will continually find better, more efficient ways of reaching your goals.
You just can’t be stuck on having to do a workout that “destroys you” every time.
One great design I’ve been using more often is supersets either with strength and stabilization or strength and power OR, as I mentioned in a post a month or so back, even just sticking with one exercise for a period of time before moving on to the next.
So on that note, I just wanted to share my wonderful workout from today, which is actually courtesy of Aaron the owner at Innovative Results! Honestly the only part I wanted to “die” on was the Versa Climber…but we have a love-hate relationship anyway….
Workout:
Warm up (foam roll!, band walks, lunges, locomotion)
Kettlebell Jerks (30 seconds right arm, 30 seconds left arm, alternating 5 minutes)
Rest
Battling Ropes (30 seconds intense waves all the way down, 30 seconds easy sidewinders, alternating for 5 minutes)
Rest
Kettlebell Snatches (30 seconds right arm, 30 seconds left arm, alternating 5 minutes)
Rest
Stage Coach Ropes (double arm waves) (30 seconds intense waves all the way down, 30 seconds “punching” rotational work, alternating for 5 minutes)
Rest
Kettlebell Long Cycle aka clean and jerk (30 seconds right arm, 30 seconds left arm, alternating 5 minutes)
Rest
Battling Ropes (5 minutes)
Rest
Versa Climber (30 second sprint, 30 second rest for 5 minutes)
DONE!
Walk around until you don’t feel like you are going to fall over and not get back up and then foam roll!
A great workout that is challenging, gets your heart pumping, works on full body strength and explosive power and even works on patient endurance!
It does it all…And it isn’t just a workout that “murders you.”
P.S. If you haven’t ever done snatches or long cycle (aka clean and jerk) with a KB before, please check out the videos on the site I linked to above. Kettlebell lifts are way safer than Olympic lifts but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some technical guidance before attempting them!
Don’t put the blinders on
I’m opinionated.
I’ll admit it. (Of course I’m always right though….just kidding!)
But I can accept that there are people out there with opinions that differ from my own. And I have no problem respecting their opinions as long as they also respect mine.
What I can’t handle is people who spout off about things when they aren’t willing to have someone believe something different.
What I can’t accept is when people don’t do the research to understand their stance.
When I state I don’t believe in eating gluten, I don’t expect everyone to just agree with me. And I actually hope that when people read that statement they either cruise around my site or the internet in general to really understand WHY.
I don’t want them to put blinders on and not realize all of the different opinions out there.
I don’t want them to BLINDLY ACCEPT what I’m saying!!!!
I don’t want people to have blinders on when reading new information.
Like the other day a friend posted a study on Facebook, which in my opinion was an awful study because it wasn’t really truly testing what it proposed to be testing. (Someone actually even beat me to pointing this out.)
Anyway, the point is my friend posted this study because it supposedly supported something he believed in. He didn’t even think to really look at and analyze the way the study was done.
He had his blinders on.
Please don’t just blindly argue a point or believe something just because someone you trust even said it. DO THE RESEARCH! ANALYZE THE DATA!
Man Bicep 