"Fat Loss Is Easy....

...once you figure out how hard it is." -Unknown

Want to feel better than you’ve ever felt before? 
Look better than you’ve ever felt before?
Be stronger than you’ve ever been before? 
Have more confidence than you’ve ever had before?


Then you have to be willing to work harder than you’ve ever worked before.

It’s not going to come easy. It’s not going to come fast. Get that through your head. It WILL be hard, that's a fact. It will take time, you will struggle, you will get frustrated, you will get discouraged, you will want to give up. But don't. Because one day you will reap the rewards of your dedication, I promise.

Gratitude!

"Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic. This is a most searching and true diagnosis. Gratitude can be a vaccine that can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled attitude. As antitoxins prevent the disastrous effects of certain poisons and diseases, thanksgiving destroys the poison of faultfinding and grumbling. When trouble has smitten us, a spirit of thanksgiving is a soothing antiseptic. -John Henry Jowett

Friday Thoughts

It's Friday, woohoo!

Here's my "to-do" list for today:

Hehe. ;)

In just one week I will be in Florida! This month has flown by, but I sure hope the days in Florida go by soooo slooowwww!! I can't wait to be laying on the beach in the sand, listening to the sound of the waves crashing, and feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin.... To me, it doesn't get much better than that!

So I think my "bigger, stronger, faster" training is going to have to be put on hold for a few more weeks.... After training legs the other day, I realized that my body is just not quite ready for anything even slightly heavy at this point. 

My body is telling me to take it easy, and as hard as it is for me to listen, I know I have to. I think barbell squats and deadlifts are definitely out of the picture until this issue I have going on with my hip/butt/back goes away. So I'll go back to my 4 day push/pull upper body split, with some light bodyweight leg stuff in there somewhere, just nothing that loads my spine for now.

Anyways, so yesterday I was checking out at the library, and the librarian says to me, "Got some guns, dude!"(It was a guy, obviously.) That was pretty much the highlight of my day!  I know I've gotten to where I want to be when people in random places make comments on my arms. It always makes you feel good to hear something like that. :)

Have a great weekend!!

It's a Privilege

Today I did a light("ish") leg workout to see how it would feel and if it would aggravate my hip. It's hard for me not to push it too hard, so I had to make myself not go up in the weights!

I stuck with 105 for 6 reps on front squats, when I'd usually do around 125 for 6.

I never did front squats before CrossFit, but now they are one of my favorite exercises. I love them!

Not being able to train legs just for those couple of weeks was horrible. I will definitely never take for granted the fact that I can move my body and train hard. It is a privilege. Don't ever forget that.

There are some people out there who would give anything just to be able to go for a walk, or just be able to STAND. Never take it for granted that you can move. Don't ever think of working out as a chore or punishment!

Bigger Stronger Faster

I'm changing up my current training just a little. I'm adding in an extra day(so I'll have only 2 rest days instead of the 3 I have now), and I'm going to do a full conditioning workout one day a week of tire flips, farmer's walks, or sprints/sled drags, or a combination of all 3.

My goals are, well, to get bigger, stronger, and faster!

My goal for a while now has been to find a way to be as strong as a powerlifter but look like a fitness model, and also be conditioned! I have slacked off on the strength focus in the last few months to focus on building muscle. I'm still training heavy, but my goal has not been to hit PRs all the time or max effort lifts. But I do want to start focusing again on strength and hitting some goals that I have.

I know everyone has their preferences, but to me, this strength and conditioning type training is SO much better than bodybuilding workouts. But whatever, that's just me. ;-)

Summer Training Plan:

Mon-Upper body (heavy,low volume)+ 10 min finisher(sprints or bodyweight circuit)


Tues-OFF


Wed-Lower Body


Thurs-Prowler push or sled drag, 20 minutes


Fri-Upper body, lighter weights, higher volume


Sat-Olympic lift, box jumps, heavy squats, + 20 minute conditioning workout-tire flips/farmer walks


Sun-OFF

*15-30 minute dog walk every day*

Change

Random Thoughts

We had a nice but kind of chilly weekend in Kentucky. Saturday was a rainy day, so we didn't do much besides the gym and church.

Sunday was a nicer day, so Matt and I packed a lunch and went for a hike at one of our local parks. I love hiking and being in the woods-it just brings me back to when I was a kid! :)

No real "cheat meal" this weekend since I have a beach trip coming up soon....Instead I had a higher carb day yesterday-oats, bread, corn on the cob, and some yummy granola protein bars that I made(and... maybe a cupcake,too). ;-)

I can't wait to train this week. I'm always excited about training! I'm SO glad I can squat. I haven't done a full leg workout yet, but I did do some squats Saturday. They felt pretty weak, but I'll work my way back up! I 'm going to be doing some different things with my training soon, and I'm excited! I'm bout to get crazy with some Prowler pushing and tire flipping workouts! Oh yeah. :)

Less than 2 weeks, and I'll be in Florida! I started packing over a month ago! This is what it looks like when I pack for a trip:

Hope everyone has a great Monday!!

A Pain in the Butt!

So today was my doctor's visit....and they think that I have piriformis syndrome, which I suspected. Basically the piriformis muscle can become tight and inflamed and compress the sciatic nerve, causing pain.

The good news is, they said I can squat!!!

I have to take some anti-inflammatories and do some some stretching exercises to see if that gives me any relief.  I also came to the conclusion through my own research that I have weak hip abductors and tight hip flexors, which can affect hip function and contribute to back pain. So I'm going to start working on trying to fix those things.

I'm going to start back very light with legs next week and see how I feel. I'm hoping that it will get better and not worse over time! I'm just happy that I can squat!!!!!

"A funny thing happens when you lift weights - it lifts you up! Don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Sweat. Push harder. You are stronger than you think. Your new-found strength doesn't just remain in the weight room when you're done...it is converted into confidence, which leads to more accomplishments!" -Erin Stern

I Just Wanna Squat

I just want to squat. That is all.

If you've never squatted with a HEAVY barbell on your back, you are missing out I tell you. Missing out.

I'm going to the doctor Thursday. That day just can't get here fast enough. I just want to know when I can squat again!!If I am told to continue resting my legs, I will be disappointed...but I'll just have to deal with it. Although it's going to be pretty boring just training my upper body.

But there are some other things I'd like to get better at and increase my strength on as far as my upper body. Some goals I have are to bench my bodyweight for 5 reps(125lbs), work on multiple muscle ups on the rings, and get a 100lb overhead press.

If I can focus on other things, hopefully it will keep me from getting down about not being able to train legs, although I'm hoping and praying that I will hear good news from the doctor!

19 Days!

And I'll be here....

I Won't Be Stopped

I'm SO glad it's the weekend! Cheeseburgers and Reese's eggs are on the menu for today, and I'm pretty excited about that. 2 of my favorite things. :)

So anyways, I'm still worried about my leg training but trying to stay positive and focus on the things that I CAN do. It's just that my legs are my scrawniest body part, and I have worked my freakin' butt off over the years to get them to grow!

I just have to keep telling myself this is temporary, my body needs the rest, and I'll be back soon enough stronger than ever!! They won't shrink. Hopefully this is just something that I'll be able to "fix" or that will just heal up quick...but my mind keeps thinking the worst. I have had a bad attitude and have been kinda depressed about it, but that is going to stop. This injury(or whatever it is) is NOT going to get me down!!!

Today I did the typical bodybuilder "back & bis" workout...it felt a little weird splitting the muscle groups up and training biceps again! I didn't train my biceps for over a year-they got enough work with all the pullups I was doing. Biceps are just SO boring to me to train! But I do love the "pump" and how it makes my biceps look huge! lol.

For my conditioning "finisher" after the workout I did about all I can do right now-jump rope and battle ropes mixed in with some ab wheel rollouts for a circuit. At least I can still do some type of conditioning, even if it will have to be the same thing over and over again for a couple of weeks. I'm just glad I can still train, and I will take this time to focus on getting better at some other things.

Being Negative

I'm really trying not to get down about not being able to train legs. But I'm really bummed about it. This sucks.

I know I need to rest it, but I thought that I could still do some stuff, like burpees and Olympic lifts....but Matt thinks I should rest from everything until I find out what's going on. I don't want to!!!

Well, I was thinking that maybe I could still train the other "non-hurt" side, at least. I want to get better, but I miss my squats and deadlifts! I hate this. :(

Temporary Training Split

Well, I'm pretty bummed about not being able to train legs.  :(

I've been having this hip pain for the past couple of weeks, and I know to listen to my body and not push through the pain. But I HATE not being able to squat and deadlift!!! Sprints are also out, which sucks because I love doing them. I'm going to get it checked out next week, so I can hopefully figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.

I've never ever had any type of injury before, and I'm really trying not to let it get me down. I just keep thinking all these catastrophic thoughts like, 'I'm going to lose all my strength! My legs are going to shrink if I can't train them! What if I won't ever be able to squat or deadlift again??!!'

But just because I can't train legs doesn't mean it's the end of the world! And hopefully it will only be for a few weeks at most. I am just going to have to change my workout split since right now I'm doing upper/lower/upper/lower, and without legs that would leave me with only 2 workout days. Which is NOT gonna cut it!!

So here's what I'm planning on doing for the next few weeks, or until I can work legs again. I'll be using a push/pull type split something like this:

MONDAY PUSH:

Bench press

Arnold press/db press

Feet Elevated pushups

Dips

+
Full body conditioning circuit(battle ropes, burpees, mt climbers, etc.)

WEDNESDAY PULL:

1 arm DB snatch

Tbar row wide grip

Neutral pull-ups (weighted)

DB bicep curls ss w/back extension

Hanging leg raise ss w/ 1 leg calf raise


Jump rope conditioning
 

FRIDAY PUSH:

Muscle ups

Push press

DB incline Bench press

Hspus

Cable pressdown 

SATURDAY PULL:

BB snatch

Wide pull-ups

1 arm row

Inverted row or face pulls

Cable curls/calf raise

Ab wheel rollouts

Conditioning circuit, pyramid style?


Tues/Thurs/Sunday: 30 minute walk with my dog

Strength

Love this!

Never Satisfied!

I. am. a. perfectionist.  Always have been, probably always will be. Sometimes this is a good thing, but sometimes it can be to my downfall.

I mean, take my body image, for example. Over the past 2 years, I have drastically changed the way I eat. I cut my carbs way down, started eating less processed foods, and more protein. I have seen amazing improvements in my physique as a result. I am leaner and more muscular than I have ever been. But it's never good enough.

Progress pic from late February

I am not really sure what my body fat percentage is exactly. I've had my husband measure it with calipers, and it usually comes out to be 12.5-13%, but I know that is probably not entirely accurate. I'd guess it's more like 14-15%??  But really, I have no clue. Anyways, the point is-I am lean. Even if I didn't really work for it(which I DO!!), I would stay pretty lean because of my fast metabolism. 

But because of my perfectionism and the "fitness model" look I am striving for, I am always going back and forth between wanting to have "abs"(which means lowering my body fat), or just being satisfied with a healthy, lean, athletic look....even if that means having some love handles and fat over my abs.

With this beach trip I have coming up, I want to look the best I can, and I think to myself,"I have to get just a little leaner, I have to get my abs to show more".... as if I'm not lean enough?? When will I ever be satisfied? I mean, so what if I don't have shredded abs?  I'm not competing, I'm not in magazines, so who am I trying to impress by having 6 pack abs? It's craziness, I know. 

I mean, I'm not on a strict diet or drastically cutting my calories or doing hours of cardio a day, but I am very mindful of my macros and meal timing and all that. Which I don't think is a bad thing at all, but it's just like, 'Really?' WHY am I trying to get leaner than I already am...why am I fighting against my body just so my abs will look better? It's dumb, and I am stopping this craziness!

Easter Weekend

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

It was beautiful here with lots of sunshine and highs around 70 degrees. So perfect. Saturday Matt and I went to Waterfront Park downtown to enjoy the pretty day.

Of course, I had to get a handstand pic!

Sunday we didn't really do much. Took Asher for a long walk, did some yard work, took a ride in the Jeep, grilled out, and then I kicked my husband's butt in Mario Kart, as always!

Oh yeah-and the Easter bunny made a visit to our house!

This Is Easter

We stand in awe not just because of what we see, but because of what we know… We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us” (Rom. 6:5–9 MSG).

And You Don't Lift Heavy Weights Again Because....??

 It makes you bulky?

You don't want to get too big?

It turns you into a man?

Being muscular isn't "sexy"?

It'll turn you into a bodybuilder?

You'll lose your femininity??

"Muscle is smooth, lean, hard and SMALL; fat is lumpy, flabby, soft and BIG --The choice is YOURS; which would you prefer?"

WIAW

8:00: Chocolate pb protein oats, coffee

10:30: Green smoothie w/almond milk, whey protein, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1/2 banana, 1 cup spinach

12:30: Chicken quesadilla, 2 fried eggs, coffee

Yummy! One of my favorite meals!

4:30: 4 oz ground turkey seasoned with low sodium taco seasoning, 2 tbsp salsa, 8 almonds
7:00: 4 oz chicken, 2 cups romaine lettuce, 2 tbsp ranch yogurt dressing
10:00: Whey protein shake, 2 tbsp peanut butter
Roughly 2,000 calories, 170g protein, 130g carbs, 80g fat

My Only Hope

My dad passed away 6 years ago today...and a part of me died with him. But at least I still have the hope that one day we will meet again.

It's a Journey

Almost 15 years ago, I lifted my first pair of dumbbells, and that was when my obsession began. All these years later, I am just now getting close to the way I have always wanted to look....I mean, it only took 15 years!

Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and see the muscle that I've built, and I'm just amazed at how far I've come. I'm so proud of the results I've gotten from all the hard work that I've put in over the years. It's such an awesome feeling to see the body that YOU'VE created through hard wark, discipline, and persistence.

If I had given up on my goal when I felt like I wasn't seeing improvements, or had given in to the negative thoughts in my head telling me that I would never get bigger, or if I had quit on the days when I just wasn't feeling it, then I wouldn't be where I am today.

You gotta keep pushing through the times when you feel like you're getting nowhere, keep pushing through the times when your motivation isn't at it's highest, and keep pushing through the negative thoughts and doubts that will fill your head at times. Keep in mind that it's a journey that you're on and that there is really no destination.

Never give up on getting the body of your dreams-it IS possible! It won't be easy, but if you commit to the process 100% no matter HOW long it takes, and you don't let anything stop you, you WILL get results. It may be a slow process, but the end results are SO worth it. There is not a better feeling than reaching your goals!!

Something to remind yourself of during the journey:
Don't be so upset about how far you still have to go; be excited about how far you've come! - Joyce Meyer