Lindsay's Ramblings

  Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili   Ingredients: 1 onion, chopped 1 16-oz can black beans 1 16-oz can kidney beans 1 8-oz can tomato sauce 10 oz package frozen corn kernels(I used canned)  2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies 1 packet taco seasoning 1 tbsp cumin (I forgot this!) 1 tbsp chili powder (forgot this, too!) 24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts Directions: Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours. Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. *I don't post recipes very often, unless I make something that I really like! Well, I made this recipe yesterday that I found on Pinterest, and it is SO good.  Hubby loved it, too. Great fall recipe and super easy. Gotta love the c...

Just thought I'd share what I do as far as supplementation, for those who may be interested! I've never been big on supplements. It was actually only a few years ago that I even started adding whey protein to my diet, which I do think really helped in terms of bulding muscle because I wasn't getting near enough protein back then. But besides whey protein, I've never been one of those people who take a TON of supplements, and I have never taken any type of fat burner or anything of that sort. Here's what supplements I currently use: -Whey protein -Creatine -Fish oil -Vitamin D -Multi-vitamin I just bought ZMA recently, but haven't began using it. I know a lot of bodybuilders/figure competitors have cabinets FULL of supplements that they take....And I've often wondered if I'm at the point now where taking some supplements would be beneficial for me as far as building muscle, or if it really wouldn't make that much of a difference. The way ...

"If you can't see the sun you will be impressed with a street light. If you've never felt thunder and lightning you'll be impressed with fireworks. And if you turn your back on the greatness and majesty of God you'll fall in love with a world of shadows and short-lived pleasures." -John Piper

For as long as I can remember, I've been self conscious about my legs . I've always I thought that they were too scrawny and hated my bony, knobby knees! I have this memory of going shoe shopping with my mom when I was probably somewhere betwen 9 and 11 years old, and I remember specifically trying to find shoes that didn’t make my feet look too big for my legs! Well, now, women tell me they want my legs. Now, people see my legs and say, "You must workout!" The bodypart I always hated the most has turned out to be one of my best features. Because of the muscle I have built through strength training, I don't have to be ashamed of my legs anymore. I can honestly say now that I am kind of proud of my legs! So, because I have bashed them and said some hateful words to them in the past, today I 'm going to give my legs some love. ;) My legs .... They are long and lean. They have muscle and definition. They are FAST an...

I had an awesome but brutal leg workout today! Oh, leg day. How can I love something so much and also hate it at the same time?? Squat jumps: 8-7-6 Squats: 155x5/165x5(woohoo-without a spot!)/135x10 Barbell glute bridge : 135x10/155x8/176x6/175x6(heaviest I've ever gone on these!) Bulgarian split squats : w/ barbell-50x10/50x10/w/ dumbell held at chest-40x9 (I HATE these!!!) Smith machine calf raises (4 sets of 15), superset with a couple sets of  RDLs Ball ab pikes: 4 sets of 10, 40 seconds of jump rope between sets Today my husband and I made tacos for lunch, which we haven't had in FOREVER, and they were soooo good. Great meal after a tough leg workout!  :) So it has been SO gorgeous the past few days-80 and sunny!! This is my kind of weather, and I want it to stay!!!! It's so amazing. The weather over the weekend was beautiful, also. Here are a few pics from our stroll through the woods at a local park on Sunday: I've got to e...

When I first started eating more whole, unprocessed foods, I admit, it was hard. Going from frozen meals, canned soups or a bowl of cereal for a meal to having to cook “real” food was not easy. I mean, for one thing, I didn’t really know how to cook! Plus, it took a lot more planning and preparation.  I mean, lets face it, p ouring a bowl of cereal or heating up a can of soup is just easier than cooking fresh chicken! At first, planning meals seemed to consume my mind.  I will admit that I had anxiety over food for a while. I was constantly thinking about what I was going to eat for my next meal. Over time, however, it just became second nature. Once I learned certain strategies, such as cooking food in bulk, chopping up vegetables ahead of time, and  having my "go to" meals, it made ALL the difference! Now, I have all my food cooked and know that it is there for me when I want it. I no longer worry or stress over what ...

We all have days when we just don't feel like going to the gym-yes, even ME ! While sometimes you should listen to your body and take an off day if you feel it's needed, there are times when you just need to suck it up and force yourself to get up and go! Tell yourself you'll just do ONE exercise; maybe a few sets of squats, and then I can almost guarantee that you will do more and it may turn out to be a great workout! If you're feeling a lack of motivation and energy today(because it is Monday, after all), here are some of my fave motivating and inspiring videos to get you pumped up and ready to train hard! Ashley Horner training Legs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFOi8ndNLgE&feature=plcp Erin Stern Intensity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXwENBSC4TM&list=FLx4ga3se4FG07pq2AcKuwug&index=8&feature=plpp_video Beauty in Strength, CrossFit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zvqNHDTf8Y&list=FLx4ga3se4FG07pq2AcKuwug&index=23&feat...

WOD of the Week Strength: Push Press 2x 8 warm-up 8-6-4-2-4-6-8 (75-85-95-105-105-95-85) WOD: 13 Min AMRAP 15 Pull-Ups 12 Box Jumps 120ft Bear Crawl shuffle (forward, backward 2x) Score= 4 rounds + 9 pullups Yeah....so including the warm up, I did  99 pullups yesterday. Yes, 99. I'm surprised I'm not more sore than I am today! The bear crawls were a killer, and I hated them.

I just  loved  this article and had to share. :) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/magazine/31stockton.t.html?_r=2 "Every inch and ounce of her body refuted the common wisdom that training with weights turned women manly and musclebound. She was splendid as a work of art but undoubtedly, thrillingly, flesh, blood, breath. " "In real life, strength is not a rocket shot or exposure to a wizard or a spider bite: you’re not weak one moment and superheroic the next. It’s a decision you make daily. "

*Fall...I love it. Just love it. It has been sooo beautiful here lately! *I can't believe what I posted yesterday...A part of me wants to delete it and pretend it never happened.....but I won't. ;) *I saw these at the store the other day and just HAD to buy them!  And OH my gosh. SO GOOD. *New favorite meal: Ezekiel french toast with turkey bacon, fried egg white, mozzarella cheese, and slice of tomato. Pretty amazing. *Exercise I want to try in my next training cycle: f ront loaded reverse lunges . As many lunge variations as I have done it the last 10 or so years...I have never done this one! Looks fun! *My plans for the upcoming weekend: go to a haunted house to get scared silly(I hope!), eat lots of pizza and pumpkin cupcakes, and go on a hike.  Yes, this is going to be me in just a few short days, don't be jealous: Okay, maybe just 5 slices, not 5 boxes! ;) *Great verse I came across recently: The Lord said, “Go out and...

This really crazy thought has been popping up in my head lately....                                                                    that I should do a figure competition. Ohmygosh, I can't believe I even "said" that out loud! I told you it was crazy!! I don’t know WHY this thought has even crossed my mind, since I just wrote a post a few months back about all the reasons why I choose NOT to compete. There are just so many things I hate about the fitness world. But the thought just keeps coming back to me…. and whenever you get a feeling about something that won't go away, I think you should pay attention to it. I just feel that I have been blessed with a good metabolism, which makes it somewhat easier for me than others to get and stay lean(but also harder to build muscle). Because of that I know th...

I have days when I feel small and puny. I have days when I think that my legs will never grow. I have days when I think that I've gained all the muscle I'll ever gain. I have days when I feel skinny fat. I have days when I feel weak. I have days when my mind is filled with self doubt and negativity. What do I do when discouragement sets in? I remind myself how far I’ve come-how my shoulders are rounder, my back is thicker, my abs are leaner, and my legs are fuller than they were 2 years ago. I think about how strong I am- how I can bust out 13 pullups and throw my bodyweight up over my head.   I think about how awesome it makes me feel to train hard-seeing what my body is capable of, pushing myself to the limit, feeling my heart racing, my muscles burning, the sweat dripping from my face.   I dismiss all negative thoughts and replace them with positve thoughts. I tell myself, "Your legs WILL grow, you DO have muscle, you are HUUGE!" I visualize mys...

18 Min AMRAP:   6 Deadlift(75lbs) 3 Hang Clean 6 Split Jerk (3 Per Leg) 9 Lateral Burpees Score = 9 rounds, 6 deads, 3 hang cleans   Then: 2 prowler pushes ( down and back=1)      

3 years ago I accomplished my goal of reaching 10 pullups(which you can watch  here ). It took me a long time and a LOT of work to reach that goal, and it felt amazing to accomplish something I'd been striving for for so long! Since then, I really haven't maxed out on pullups. I do a TON of them, but I never ever go to failure. My reps usually are between 5 and 10, depending on what grip I use. And I stop when my reps start to slow down. So the other day at the gym I just thought I'd give it a try and see how many pullups I could get. My goal was to get 12 reps, and I ended up getting 13(barely)! It feels great knowing that I am so much stronger than I was 3 years ago! 3 reps may not seem like much, but for those of you who do pullups, you know how hard they are, and that just squeezing out one extra rep is tough! I love making progress and improving. It keeps me motivated to continue training and to push myself harder. I'm getting better e...

As I've mentioned, lately I've been a little less strict with my diet than I would say I have been for the past couple of years. Less strict meaning not tracking anything as far as macros or calories, eating more carbs, and having a few extra treats here and there. I may have a tiny bit more body fat, and, yeah, I don't have shredded abs, but I am at a happy place right now. I feel good pretty about myself(most of the time!). It got me thinking... There are so many women out there who are obsessed with getting leaner and leaner; getting those coveted fitness model abs. I get it, I've been there. But the thing is, once you get there, what is it going to do for you? What does it prove? That you can diet really well? That you can deprive yourself? That you have really great willpower? Is it going to make you any happier than you are right now? I know that for myself, striving for 6 pack abs did not bring much satisfaction, but rather ...

It turned out to be a nice (although somewhat chilly) weekend, so my husband and I decided to head to the pumpkin patch.  As you can see, I got my pumpkin donuts! SO GOOD! Then, at the urging of my husband, we made at stop at Krispy Kreme on the way home to do a comparison. ;) I think the ones we got at the pumpkin patch were better! 

"One of the sins of this generation is to make religion a private thing. It never was meant to be private, and the discomfort of making our faith public proclaims God’s control in our lives.   Do we shrink from this? Then who is in charge? You don’t have to buy a bullhorn or pass out tracts, but you do need to stand out as one who is ready to acknowledge Jesus to those around you. Jesus doesn’t hold back on this truth and neither should we." -David Whitehead

It's Friday, oh yeah! :) Today's supposed to be my CrossFit day, but because I am SUPER sore from my leg workout Wednesday, I don't know if it's gonna happen!  We'll see as the day goes on... After taking a week off last week and then switching up my leg workout- WOW - I have not been this sore in my quads in a LONG time!! I love it. These legs are gonna GROW , I tell you! This has definitely been my problem for the last couple days, ha! Here's what I did: 1)Squat jumps: 8-7-6-5 2)Squats: 155x4/165x4/165x4/155x6 3)Barbell glute bridges: 135x8/155x8/165x8/165x8 4)Bulgarian split squats: 3 sets of 8 w/40lb DB held at chest(these suck!!) 5)Cable RDL(3x12) superset with Smith machine calf raises(4x20) +1 set of leg curls x20 on the leg curl machine 6)Ab wheel rollouts -Finished up with 5 minutes of jumping rope to burn out my calves- So the past few days here in Kentucy have been beautiful ! 70s and sunny. But.... it's not gonna last. This...

I've heard all the excuses. These COULD be mine: I love food. I have a sweet tooth. I'm a picky eater. I have a big appetite. I HATE to cook. I  despise vegetables. Yet I still choose to eat healthy. Stop shortchanging yourself with excuses.

For the past couple weeks I have not been sleeping well. Part of it's due to PMS and the anxiety that I get during that time of the month. Part of it was also due to the fact that I had a cold and was blowing my nose every night all last weekend!  Since then, I just haven't been able to get back on track with my sleep schedule. I've never been a person who could fall asleep fast(unlike my husband who can literally get in bed and pass out in less than 5 seconds). For as long as I can remember, it always took a while for my mind to calm down in order for me to fall asleep, and I would usually have to fall asleep watching TV. Plus, I've always been more of a "night owl". If I could, I'd prefer to stay up later and sleep in later. Sometimes even when I am so  completely exhausted that my eyes are burning and my head is aching...I still cannot fall asleep. My mind just won't shut down. Often, I have a song playing through my head that won't go aw...