Bis, Tris, and Abs - Oh My!

I wanted to share with you what I did to train my triceps last night at the gym, but I never got around to submitting another post on my blog. I showed up at Obie’s after work to train biceps, triceps, abs, and perform HIIT cardio on the Arc Trainer (this time a hill interval). Both my bis and tris are pretty damn sore today (tomorrow will be even worse!), which I LOVE! No pain, no gain!

For biceps, I did a total of 4 exercises for 4 sets each and anywhere from 8 to 12 reps. I started with EZ-bar Curls, followed by Seated Dumbbell Curls, Preacher Curls, and Cable Curls.

Moving on to triceps… I performed my first-ever giant set, which I LOVED! I will definitely do something like this again. I placed a rope attachment on one side of the cable machine and a cambered bar on the other. I started with the following:

20 rope pushdowns (pull apart at the bottom)

20 rope pushdowns (hands together)

20 overhead rope extensions

20 cambered bar pushdowns (hands close together)

20 cambered bar pushdowns (reverse grip and hands further apart)

I repeated this 3 times. My triceps were burning! Of course, I used lighter weight than I normally would because I was going for higher reps and I wasn’t resting between exercises.

After, I performed only one set of 50 reps of Overhead Extensions. Then I did 3 sets of 30 (drop set 10 each – so performed 10 reps with the heaviest weight, then dropped the weight and performed 10 more reps, and dropped the weight once more and did a final 10) V-Bar Pushdowns. I finished tris with 3 sets of 12 reps of Dips.

I did all my ab exercises to failure.

If you’re looking to burn out your triceps, then I definitely suggest trying this workout! Happy lifting!

How Have You Been Treating Your Workouts and Diet?

It's summertime and I've noticed I've become lax on my diet and have even skipped some workouts to go do other things instead. After all, living in Maine, summer lasts from June to September and of those months June is usually a wash out with rain and it starts cooling off by early- to mid-September. I am a summer person (I HATE winter with a passion). I enjoy my time at the beach as well as spending as much time outdoors as possible. Unfortunately, my diet and exercise sometimes suffer. I think I've gotten that out of my system in the past three weeks though.

I hit a funk and was only working out 3-4 times a week as opposed to the usual 6 times a week. My diet was actually pretty good during the week, but as soon as the weekends hit, I allowed myself one too many cheat meals and one too many Whipped vodka drinks. Mmmm, but who can resist? Well, I have to now. I have to get back on track and motivate myself to get to where I really want to be. If I don't, my body will suffer and in turn I'll feel like crap about myself and hide under sweatshirts and long pants. Who wants to live life that way? Not me!!

I think it helped not training as hard these past three weeks because it really gave my body time to recuperate and rest. I went into the gym tonight and trained shoulders and I was in beast mode - I killed it! I left the gym feeling so accomplished. I showed the weights who was boss tonight. Yeah buddy!!!!

First, I have to mention... I really was discouraged and didn't have any intentions of going to the gym after work (that's why I really need to get back into the routine of going in the mornings again). BUT I downed my Super Pump 250 and got the energy and motivation I needed. I showed up at World and the parking lot was FULL. Screw that! I drove over to Obie's instead. Thank God.

I started my warm up and then I got into it. I did 4 sets of 10-12 reps of seated dumbbell (DB) shoulder press. I made sure I chose a weight that I was struggling to get the last rep. I took about 30-45 seconds of rest in between each set. Then I superset 4 sets of 10-12 reps of the Arnold press and rear delt flye. My next exercise I superset 4 sets of 10-12 reps of lateral raise and alternating front raise. Finally, I did 4 heavy sets of 10 reps of the E-Z bar upright row.

In between the last three exercises, I would train my abs. I just did them all until failure - woodchop, decline sit up, russian twists, lemon squeezes, weighted crunch.

Finally, I moved on to HIIT cardio on the Arc Trainer. I put it to the highest level (10) and set the time for 20 minutes. At 17:30 I started my high intensity and just sprinted for 30 seconds. Back to low intensity for a full minute, then immediately to high intensity for another 30 seconds... I kept doing this until I hit the 2 minute mark. I stopped and cooled down. In only 20 minutes, I ended up burning 272 calories. Had I kept going at the low intensity pace for 30 minutes, I would have only burned about 300 calories, if that. I felt great! Awesome thing about HIIT is that even after I'm done my workout, I'm still burning fat and calories and will continue to do so into tomorrow. That's also another reason why I prefer HIIT to regular cardio.

My diet was ok today. I definitely did not drink nearly enough water and I didn't eat enough. I had tuna and two rice cakes, two cups of coffee with Stevia, chicken salad with eggs and cottage cheese and tomatoes and some light cheese and balsamic vinegar, almonds and gummy bears, protein shake post-workout, and about a cup of baked ziti with meat sauce. Definitely not ideal, but the morning started off on the wrong foot, so it threw my eating off. No excuses, I know! Tomorrow will be a much better day as far as diet goes.

All I know is that after tonight's workout, I feel amazing! I can't wait to hit the gym tomorrow morning with my trainer, Jamie. We'll be training legs! My other favorite body part train other than shoulders.

Get out there and train and eat well, and be sure to drink plenty of water!!!!

Getting Out Of That Gym Funk

I think I recently told you about the funk I was in regarding the gym. Well, I’ve finally pulled myself out of it and have gone full force into working out again. I went back to see my trainer, Jamie, yesterday. She offered me a spot that opened up and at first I said thanks, but no thanks (I’m trying to cut back on extra spending so I can focus on saving as much as possible). But as it neared 5pm and I kept thinking about how I had to go to the gym to workout, I slowly started talking myself out of it. I immediately text Jamie and asked her if she had it open still. Actually, what I really said was: “Fuck it… You still have 6:15 open?”

I got to the gym at 6 and did 15 minutes of HIIT cardio on the Arc Trainer. Normally, I would save the cardio for after I workout, but I was a few minutes early and I wasn’t about to just stand there and wait for her. I might as well utilize my time and get to burning some calories! In 15 minutes, I burned more than 150 calories. Not too bad! Beats doing regular cardio for 30 minutes and burning about the same amount.

I told Jamie I wanted to work on my hamstrings – and boy, did we ever! I performed a glute-ham raise (first time I’ve ever done this exercise). She held my feet/ankles down while I fell forward on my hands and picked myself back up using only my hamstrings. I loved that exercise because I really felt my hamstrings working. Next, she had me superset the glute-ham raise with single-legged prone leg curls (aka lying leg curls). Eventually, we moved on to a wide-stance single dumbbell deadlift, two-part lying leg abduction superset with phsyio ball hamstring curls, straight legged deadlifts with my feet on a plate, and good mornings.

It was definitely a great hamstring workout! My hammies are tight today and starting to get sore. I bet tomorrow they will be the sorest. Usually the second day is.

This morning my alarm went off at 5 and I contemplated sleeping and going to the gym after work. I started looking at motivational workout pictures and reading motivational workout quotes. That was enough to get me out of bed. I was at the gym by 6 and completed a full hour of heavy lifting for back and biceps. After, I performed another 15 minutes of HIIT cardio.

For back, I did wide-grip lat pull downs, reverse grip lat pull downs, one-arm row, seated low row, pullovers, and straight-arm pulldowns. For biceps, I did alternating dumbbell curls, preacher curls, hammer curls, and 21s with the E-Z bar. I wanted to get to abs, but I had no time. I drove over to the other gym I train at and showered and headed into work.

It’s such a wonderful feeling working out first thing in the morning for a few reasons: great start to my day, I feel energized throughout the entire day (no 2pm crashing), and when I get out of work at 5pm I don’t have to worry about working out! (Although I wouldn’t mind doing another bout of cardio!) I will definitely stick to the morning gym routine from now on until I get bored with that and need to switch it up and start going at night again.

Already I feel much better having worked out with my trainer and performing HIIT cardio. My diet has been on point, too. On my way to my best body! I can’t wait until I’m there. My goal is to be there within the next eight weeks. We shall see!

Keep Your Muscle As You Get Older!

So my mom suggested I write a blog about exercise for the older folk, so here it is! As you get older you could experience sarcopenia, which is muscle loss that occurs as we get older. This actually starts in your 30s! Ahhh really? I’m damn near 30! That’s not cool! Good thing I’ve been taking good care of my body and have been investing a lot of my time with weight training and cardio! I recently read, “people who are physically inactive can lose as much as 3% to 5% of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. But you still experience some muscle loss, even if you are active”. (Source: WebMD) Ok I’m not really happy reading that, but it’s the truth! Thankfully, we can rely on resistance training (aka lifting weights) for the best means of prevention.

The older you get, the more you might have to work at maintaining your muscles. This means that men and women generally over the age of 60 have to lift weights more often than younger people to maintain muscle mass and size. Here’s a 30-minute workout routine I came across during a recent search for my older readers out there:

This is a short-burst, high-intensity workout which will boost your metabolism and tone your muscles. It incorporates cardio training and resistance training for each major muscle group.

1: Start with beginner squats (thighs) – stand against a wall with an exercise stability ball at your low back, feet hip-width apart, and out in front. Slowly lower your body by folding at the hips and bending at the knees, dropping glutes toward the floor; slowly move back to the starting position. Make sure your knees remain over your heels. Perform 10 repetitions of these! 

Ball Squat

2: Squats (thighs) – if you’re ready to challenge yourself a bit more, try squats without the ball! Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your back straight. Bend your knees and lower your butt as if you were sitting down, keeping your knees over your ankles. Perform 10 reps! 

Regular Squats

3: Forward Lunge (thighs) – Standing with feet hip–width apart, take a big step forward with one leg, then lower your body toward the floor, front knee aligned with ankle, back knee pointing to the floor. Return to the starting position, and repeat by stepping forward with the other leg. For a more challenge, hold a free weight in both hands and complete the lunge with a rotation in the torso, twisting the body toward the forward leg. Perform 10 repetitions on each side.

Forward Lunge

4: Romanian Deadlift (hamstrings) – This is one of my favorite leg exercises! To perform a deadlift holding a body bar or free weights, stand up straight with feet hip–width apart. Fold at your hips, moving the hips backward as you lower your upper body parallel to the floor. Keep the legs straight without locking the knees, and keep the back level and the spine in neutral. Lower the weight to just below your knees, then slowly return to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

Romanian Deadlift

5: Bridge (hamstrings) – The bridge works the glutes, hamstrings, and core. Lying on your back with knees bent and feet hip-width apart, peel your spine off the floor, starting at the tailbone, forming a diagonal line from knees down to shoulders. Slowly return to the starting position. For an extra challenge: Target your triceps by holding light weights, lifting your arms ceiling-ward as you raise your hips. Bend your elbows to lower the weights towards the floor. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bridge

6: Push-Ups (chest & core) – Push-ups strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles. Lying face-down place hands a bit wider than your shoulders. Place toes on the floor, creating a smooth line from shoulders to feet. Keeping core muscles engaged lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows. Too hard? Place knees on the floor instead of toes. To boost the workout, add an exercise ball under the hips, knees, or feet. Perform 10 repetitions.

Push-Ups

7: Chest Press (chest) – Instead of push-ups you can try the chest press with weights. Lie face-up on a bench, with knees bent or feet on the floor, spine relaxed. Press a body bar or free weights from your chest toward the ceiling. Extend your arms but don’t lock the elbows, and move slowly in both directions, keeping shoulder blades on the bench. For an extra challenge, do the chest press with your head and upper back on an exercise ball. Perform 10 repetitions.

Chest Press

8: Bent-Over Row (back & biceps) – The bent-over row works all the major muscles of the upper back, as well as the biceps. Begin the exercise in a bent-over position with your back flat, one knee and one hand on the same side of the body braced on a bench. Hold a free weight in the other hand with arm extended. Lift the weight toward the hip until the upper arm is just beyond horizontal, see right. Then slowly lower weight to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bent-Over Row

9: Shoulder Press (shoulders) – A shoulder press works the shoulder muscles and can be performed standing or seated. For extra back support, use a bench with a back rest. Begin with elbows bent and weights at shoulders. Slowly reach toward the ceiling, keeping the elbows under the hands and the shoulders away from the ears; slowly lower back to the starting position. Perform 10 repetitions.

Shoulder Press

10: Pull Down (upper back or lats) – For the last upper body exercise, do the cable pull down, which works the upper back. Using a cable machine, sitting straight with a neutral spine, grasp the bar with arms extended. Slowly pull the bar down past the face and toward the chest. Only go as far as you can without leaning back, and control the weight on the way back up. Perform 10 repetitions.

Pulldown

11: Bicycle (core) – Lying on your back on the floor, fold knees toward the chest and curl the upper body off the floor. With hands behind head, slowly rotate upper body to the right while drawing the right knee in and reaching the left leg out. Then rotate left and pull the left knee in and extend right leg out. Focus on bringing the shoulder toward the hip (rather than the elbow to the knee), and keep the opposite shoulder off the floor. Perform 10 repetitions.

Bicycle

12: Side Plank (core) - For another abdominal alternative, lie on your side with a bent elbow directly under your shoulder, and use your torso muscles to lift the body up into a side plank. Then lift the hips higher, then back to the plank, then lower. Do as many as you can with proper form, then repeat on the other side.

Side Plank

Congratulations! You just completed a 20-minute resistance training session! Now, on to some cardio! You want to try to vary the intensity during your cardio workout. Use intense intervals, taking about a minute to get from moderate speed to intense (this is the HIIT cardio I’ve discussed in previous blogs). Whether you're on the stair-stepper, the elliptical trainer, or the treadmill, do:

• 30 seconds of the highest speed you can tolerate, then 30 seconds of normal speed.
• Then 30 seconds of the stiffest resistance you can handle, then 30 seconds of normal.

Keep moving back and forth between speed and resistance until you've completed 10 minutes.

You can perform this entire 30-minute workout every other day or even two days in a row with a one-day rest in between. Be sure to keep yourself hydrated with plenty of water!!

A Delicious Protein Recipe & My New Diet!

So I’ve been looking recipes to start making my own protein bars and came across a really yummy-looking one by Registered DietitianGeorgie Fear, author of Ask Georgie.

These are called Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars – mmm, mmm good!

Ingredients:

• Pam cooking spray
• ½ cup plain oatmeal
• ½ cup unsweetened soymilk
• ¼ cup egg whites (or 2 whites)
• ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 scoop chocolate whey protein powder (or 1/3 cup)
• ½ cup Stevia (or 12 packets)
• ¼ cup milled flaxseed
• 2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons natural peanut butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8” pan with Pam cooking spray.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, combine oats and milk; cook for 60 seconds. Stir and allow cooling; mix in egg whites and vanilla extract.

3.   In a large mixing bowl, combine the whey protein, Stevia, flaxseed, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

4.   Add oatmeal mixture to dry ingredients; mix just until everything is moist. Spread batter in pan.

5.   Place peanut butter in microwave safe bowl and heat for 45 seconds or until melted. Spoon peanut butter over batter in pan and swirl with knife tip.

6.   Bake for 10 minutes; allow cooling completely before cutting into 6 bars. Wrap each individually in plastic wrap and store in the freezer or refrigerator. Unwrap and microwave 30 seconds to warm.

These bars make 6 servings.

Nutritional Facts:

Per serving:

195 calories

11 g total fat

2 g saturated fat

5 mg cholesterol

14 g total carbohydrate

4 g dietary fiber

12 g protein

218 mg sodium

You can cut the bars into different sizes depending on how substantial a meal/snack you want your bars to be. Because I’m working on leaning out and I’m in my cutting phase, I will probably only have these as part of a cheat meal. But this would make for a great, delicious, and healthy snack/meal for anyone!

I can’t wait to try these! Share with me if you decide to make these, too! Let me know what you think of them!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

My New Diet


So after putting on some muscle mass, I'm starting my cutting phase like I mentioned in last night's blog. Below is a sample of what my diet looks like now. Of course I substitute some of the meals for other foods that are equal so I don't get bored with the foods.


Meal 1:


1 scoop Whey Protein
1 serving of Gummy Bears
(this is my post-workout meal)


Meal 2:


3/4 cup egg whites (1 yolk)
1/4 cup Oatmeal
1/2 cup berries
(sometimes with this meal I make these as protein pancakes and I add cinnamon and use sugar-free syrup - so good!!!)


Meal 3:


1 scoop Whey Protein
1 tbsp all natural Peanut Butter


Meal 4:


4oz. chicken, tuna, turkey, haddock, or tilapia
3oz sweet potato
1 cup veggies


Meal 5:


1 scoop Whey Protein
1 tbsp natural Peanut Butter


Meal 6:


4oz chicken, turkey, bison steaks, haddock, salmon, tilapia, or tuna
small green salad
oil & vinegar, lemon juice, or sugar-free Maple Groves dressing


Meal 7:


3 egg whites


Again, this is just a sample of what I'm eating and I'm combining this with weight training and cardio. Tonight I trained shoulders (my favorite!), abs, and did cardio on the Arc Trainer. I performed:


Seated Shoulder Press
Standing Front Raise
Standing Lateral Raise
Upright Row with EZ Bar
Bent-over Rear Delt Raise


For abs I did:


Captain's Chair
Lemon Squeezes
Plank
Mason Twists


WHAT DID YOU DO FOR A WORKOUT TONIGHT AND WHAT ARE YOU EATING?

Want Ideas For Some Workouts?

Are you looking for free workouts? Ones that you can take with you to the gym or even perform in the comfort of your own home? Have no fear, I’m about to share with you where you can do a little research yourself and find exactly what you’re looking for. After all, this is where I get most of my information from!

Magazines

As I’ve pointed out before, I’m subscribed to Oxygen and Muscle & Fitness Hers and these two magazines are filled with plenty of workout exercises! What’s even better, they place a lot of their tips and exercise routines right on their websites: Oxygen and Muscle and Fitness Hers. Check ‘em out - they’re FREE!

LiveStrong

LiveStrong is filled with hundreds of articles regarding lots of training and even nutrition – it has nearly everything!

Bodybuilding.com

I’ve said it before and will say it again; I’ve found LOTS of workout ideas and routines on BodyBuilding.com! You can even sign up for a Bodyspace account and track your progress. I’ve yet to do this – just another thing I’ll have to keep up with, and I truly don’t have the time to do so right now.

BodyRock.tv

Ever hear of BodyRock.tv? If not, check it out! There are daily workout videos husband Freddy and wife Zuzana post!

Follow Your Favorite Fitness Gurus

I’ve “liked” so many fitness people, magazines, and gyms on Facebook my News Feed is full of constant updates! They are great for tips, advice, motivation, contests, nutrition, workouts, etc. Reading my blog is helpful for you, too, right? I’m not famous, but I have a lot of tips and advice I can post that I share with all of you, like this blog here!

Where do you find your fitness information and workouts? Share with me!

Sometimes A Break Is What Your Body Needs

Alvin's Gym in Savannah, GA

It's been a while since I've last posted because I took a much-needed, well-deserved vacation! I took a break from work, from Maine, from my blog, from my clean-eating diet... BUT not from training. Whatever I do, working out will always be part of my life. It IS my lifestyle. Personally, a break is something I believe we each need!

I traveled south to Savannah, GA to visit my awesome boyfriend - and I had a BLAST! I'm sad to be back in Maine and away from him, but I am glad to get back to my clean-eating diet!! To say I didn't gain weight (which is most likely a bunch of water weight) would be a lie. I let myself indulge because I knew once I returned that I was going to be 100 percent focused on my diet and start my cutting phase. I've gained the muscle mass I've been wanting to gain and now I'm ready to start leaning out - losing body fat and maintain the muscle I've gained will not be easy; I will have to do it very slowly. I'm hoping in 6 to 8 weeks I'll be where I want to be. Scratch that, in 6 to 8 weeks I WILL be where I want to be and where I see myself!!

I got to Savannah on a Friday and we hit the gym hard that Saturday. Sunday and Monday we celebrated Independence Day (the right way - lots of delicious food & drinks!). The remainder of the week we went to the gym and trained hard. I only did HIIT cardio once. I didn't watch what I was eating at all. I'm not going to lie! I also felt like complete shit. It felt good to return to healthy eating today; I immediately felt better! And so the cutting phase begins!

I am increasing my cardio (perform HIIT 3-4 times a week and regular cardio 2 times a week) and I am still training the same way I have been - 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps for each exercise I perform. I am very mindful of everything that goes into my body, too. I am strict with eating 6-7 small meals a day every 2-3 hours. Protein is in every meal and I refrain from eating carbs after 3pm. The only thing I'll allow myself to have as far as carbs go past 3pm is a small salad.

Needless to say, a break is what I needed from my every day routine. I let myself recharge my body and get prepared for what will be a pretty intense and challenging next step - and I am SO ready for this! Plus it feels good to get back to blogging again!

If you have any questions about anything, please don't hesitate to ask!!! I appreciate your support with reading my blog. You guys ROCK!

Happy 4th of July!

So much fun shooting!!!

Enjoying a night out!