Lindsay's Ramblings

I've recently been reading the blog of Bret Contreras, a well known certified strength and conditioning specialist who is apparently known as "the glute guy". His area of expertise is on glute training, and he has  tons  of great articles about building and strengthening the glutes. An exercise he is all about is heavy glute bridges/ hip thrusts.  Here's one of his articles showing some strong women doing  heavy hip thrusts. I want to be able to do that! http://bretcontreras.com/2012/04/a-strong-booty-is-a-healthy-booty/ This is an exercise I have never included in my workouts. I have done tons of heavy squats, lunges, step ups, and deadlifts, but never glute bridges or hip thrusts, which may be part of my problem as to why I'm having these hip and lower back issues now. I may be able to squat 210lbs...but I have weak glutes! So I'm going to start adding these into my training. So tomorrow I'm going to get a massage to see if t...

At the gym my husband manages there is this older couple that I always see there working out together, and it is just the cutest thing! They've got to be in their 70s, but they both look super fit and in shape. What I love is that they come in and do every exercise together at the same time, and I always see the man helping her with her form.  I also love the fact that they aren't just walking on the treadmill like most people their age, but they actually realize the importance of strength training. I can only hope that someday that will be me and my husband! Instead of wasting away on the couch, I want to be active and live life to the fullest in the last years of my life. I believe strength training is the fountain of youth(along with healthy eating), and while we never know what can happen, I believe that the things I am doing today are not just for my looks but are an investment in my future health and quality of life. THAT is what it's truly all about.

"So many things that money buys, but really nothing I can find like sunshine and love...."

I am a planner, I'm a listmaker. I like things to be structured. Therefore, my training lately has been driving me crazy . I've been trying different things, trying to figure out what I can and can't do with my legs, what exercises make it feel better or worse. Since I can't do a full leg workout, I've been trying to figure out different types of splits I can do-upper/lower, push/pull, or full body. I don't like to just go into the gym without a plan, and I don't like just doing random exercises. I think that's one of the reasons why I've had success. I've always planned and logged my workouts. I know sometimes it's good to just relax about it, but in my head, I feel like if I'm not on a structured plan that I can be consistent with, I won't get results. So this is my training plan for the next month or 2: Mon-upper heavy(3-5 reps) + tabata finisher Wed-snatches, upper pull+ full body finisher Thurs-upper push Sat-Snatc...

People always want to know what and how I eat, and I’m more than happy to share.  However, the way I eat works for ME, but may not necessarily work the same way for someone else. I have a naturally high metabolism, so I can eat higher calories and tolerate higher carbs than most women probably can.   Also, the fact that I have built so much muscle over the years and am already lean means that I can eat differently than someone who has 20-50 pounds to lose. My activity level is also higher than most average women, and the intensity is probably higher as far as the weight that I lift, therefore, I can afford to eat more.   My goal is to build muscle, which means I can consume more calories than I burn-NOT ideal if fat loss is your goal. With that being said, I am very mindful of what I eat. I stick to my planned meals every 3-4 hours, all of which consist of 20-30 grams of protein, a healthy carb, and fats at each meal.  I try to stay away from snac...

I KNOW you want results, but seriously, throw out the scale. Stop being obsessed with that stupid number, please . It means nothing. How many times do I have to say this? What I want you to focus on is being consistent with your strength training and pay attention to how your body is changing and how you are getting stronger. Are your legs starting to firm up, are your biceps starting to show a little more? You've reached your goal of getting a pullup and can do 10 real pushups? That's great, that's awesome ! So what if the stupid scale hasn't budged?  Those are some terrific accomplishments! Continue on with that, and you will continue to see results over time. Enough with the yo-yo dieting, the hours of cardio every day, the "quick fix" strategies! The people who care about nothing else but weight loss are usually the ones who will eventually gain all of it back after they've reached their "goal weight". Those who choose to make fitnes...

It’s sad how much people can change. I know it’s just part of life…but it still makes me sad sometimes. It’s sad how close my sister and I were growing up, how we would laugh and talk and share our secrets and have so much fun together…. and now we see each other maybe once every 3 months. The light in her eyes is gone, the girl who used to always make me laugh is sad and depressed.   She was my best friend, and now it’s like I don’t even know her, almost like I don’t even have a sister anymore, really. It’s sad to see the life that she’s chosen for herself, when I know she deserves so much more. Sometimes I wish I had a sister who I could just call up to go shopping with, or go out to lunch with, or whatever-just normal things sisters do together. But she lives too far away, doesn’t have transportation, can’t be away from her boyfriend for 5 minutes, and doesn’t have any money. I hope that someday things will change for her, but I may just have to accept that this is the way...

The Ten Commandments of Lifting: 1. Use whole body lifts, rarely isolate a muscle 2. Constantly strive for more weight on the bar and move it faster 3. The best anabolic is water 4. Did you eat breakfast? If not, don’t ask me anything about nutrition 5. If you smoke or don’t wear your seat belt, please don’t tell me the quick lifts are dangerous 6. Go heavy, go hard 7. Keep it simple. Less is more 8. You have to put the bar over your head 9. Put the bar on the floor and pick it up a bunch of different ways 10. Know and love the roots of your sport *By Dan John, shared from Mike Burgener's Facebook page*

For those who have been reading my blog for a while, you probably know how much I hate shopping.  Like, I really HATE it. I hate spending money, I hate trying to put outfits together, and I hate being inside the mall. I could think of much better ways to spend my time. But there is one exception...fitness clothes! I spend 95% of my time in workout clothes so I don't feel bad for spending money on them because they get so much use. I buy almost all of my workout clothes at Target and Marshall's because I am all about not spending a lot of money! Dick's is WAY too expensive for me! I am so happy that I discovered Marshall's because I always find great workout clothes and sports bras for such great prices. I went a few days ago and bought some workout tanks. I am loving the loose-fit tanks to workout in. They're so comfy! I don't know about you all, but I have never been someone to just work out in a baggy T-shirt ...

"W ho controls your life? You!! You become what you believe...so why not be - unstoppable, exceptional, powerful, dedicated, intelligent, creative, focused, persistent ...and moving in the direction of your dreams?" -Erin Stern

Happy Friday! And it's a beautiful one here in KY! I'm looking forward to the weekend-putting up our pool, going out for pizza and icecream, cruising around in the jeep, and just hanging out with my two favorite boys! :) Today is a rest day...and I just wanted to address something. It seems that a lot of people think that they have to kill themselves in the gym every  day.  Well, the thing is, your muscles don't grow in the gym--they grow on your  REST days! That is when they rebuild themselves and get bigger and stronger . Trust me, I love being in the gym, but I know that recovery is just as important for results. I actually have 3 days off  from lifting, where all I do is take Asher for a walk and stretch/foam roll. If your diet is on point, you don't have to have work out every single day. Even if it's not, you still shouldn't try to kill yourself with intense workouts every day. And training more to make up for a bad...

Sooo...I think I probably shouldn't have done another leg workout yesterday, after not having done a full leg workout in a while and then still being a little sore from training legs a few days before...Yeah, that was dumb on my part. My lower back and hips are hurting today. Nothing excruciating or anything, but I know I still need to take it easy. And let me tell you, taking it easy is NOT easy for me.  With the intensity I train with, most girl's workouts would be my warmup. I am just so anxious to get back to my upper/lower split that I loved and start training legs regularly again!!  I think I'm just going to either go back to the 4 day push/pull split with some legs mixed in or a 3 day full body split, since I've never done that before. Today I did upper body, which basically consisted of about a million pullups mixed in with some other things! Okay, maybe only 57 pullups if ya wanna get technical. ;)

The ocean is the best backdrop! So of course I had to get in some "posing pics". Thanks to my husband for being my awesome photographer! ;)

Today was leg day! Hopefully I'm not rushing into training legs again, but I felt good after my last leg workout, so I figured I'd try it again! I'm still going kind of light, which is SO hard for me to do. I did front squats today with only 105lbs for 6 reps. Then I did one of my favorite but toughest exercises-bulgarian split squats! After not doing them for over a year when I did CrossFit, I'm still not back to the weight I used to be able to use. They are hard enough even without weight! Here I'm just using a 25lb plate in one hand. Just as a side note, I seem to get a much better leg workout with my tall socks and booty shorts, haha . ;) So I was just thinking about some of my goals today...and after looking at some of my beach pics, I've come to the conclusion that I need a bigger booty. So it is now "project big booty" time! My quads have definitely improved over the years and my butt has grown some, too, but I want it eve...

Oh, man am I missing the beach! Morning walks along the ocean, the sand beneath my toes, the hot sun on my skin, the sound of the waves crashing, and the ocean breeze blowing through my hair...ahhhh, nothing compares. I just can't stop looking through all my pictures over and over again! I'm so obsessed with pictures. At least the weather here is nice. It's going to be  HOT  this week, which is just fine with me because that means we can put our pool up. Let the floating begin! Have I ever mentioned how much I love summer??  I'm so glad the dreaded winter is over and summertime is finally here!:) So anyway...as far as my training goes, it's been a little less structured with my hip/back issue and then being on vacation. I've still been taking it easy with training legs(as much as I hate it!), and while on vacation I just did a couple of not too strenuous full body workouts with what I was limited to at the hotel's gym. Basically I just did bodyweig...

"Read the Bible. Work hard and honestly. And don't complain." -Billy graham

I'm back! We had an amazing time in St. Pete beach, Florida. We just got back Wednesday night, and I miss the beach already! The weather was perfect every single day, and we had some beautiful sunsets. It was really nice to have some time away from the "real" world and not have anything to worry about besides getting too much sun. ;) It was sooo relaxing. I also really enjoyed not being so strict with my diet and not having to think about the carb/fat/protein grams in every meal! I enjoyed some not so healthy meals, and a just maybe a couple (virgin)pina coladas... Our days consisted of: Morning walks on the beach.... Soaking up the sun by the pool... Going out to dinner in the evening... Watching the sunset... And that's pretty much it! We did work out in the hotel's gym a couple of days and just walked every other day. We also went parasailing, which is something that I have always wanted to do! I was able to t...

Yesterday was 5 years since my husband had his brain tumor removed. I can't believe it's been 5 years already. What a journey we have been on in these last 5 years! I thank GOD every single day  that my husband is alive and healthy. We are so fortunate that he had no complications in surgery and that he is brain cancer free! Going through something like that changes your mindset on life. You learn to appreciate things much more and not take your life and health for granted.  Thank God for the peace and the strength that He gave us to get through that time. Take time to thank God today and every day for your health and your life, because you never know what could happen. Your world could change in the blink of an eye.

I'll be flying to Florida in a few days, yippeeee!!!  So I know I'll be having a few more "treats" than normal, since it IS vacation, after all. :) But I do like to try to eat at least somewhat healthy while flying and not have to eat airport food. Here's what I'll be packing in the cooler for my husband and I while we're flying: -Empty water bottle to fill up at the airport-always need water! -Hard boiled eggs -Almonds -Protein pumpkin & oats bars(Jamie Eason recipe) -Apples -Almond butter sandwiches on 1/2 thin buns(I know, flour is not the heatlhiest, but oh well) -Baby carrots So here's where I'm supposed to write about ways to eat healthy on vacation....well, I'm going to be honest and admit that when I'm on vacation I don't try to eat perfect. I'm going to try not to eat horrible at every meal, but I'm also not going to try to order extremely healthy meals at restaurants and all that. Which you can  defi...