Lindsay's Ramblings

Figure Olympia champion! I'm so glad that Erin won! I absolutely love love love her look. She is my inspiration, for sure!

I thought this was a great post from PrayFit.com, so I had to share: http://www.prayfit.com/2012/09/seeds-worth-sowing/   "Can I plant jalapeño seeds and get watermelons? Or plant cucumber seeds and get tomatoes? Of course not. If you grew up in the church like I did, this principle was likely applied to obedience and our conduct as Christ followers. But the principle applies to so many areas of life, including business and relationships, so it should come as no surprise that it also carries over into our health and fitness.   Can we reap a strong body by being a couch potato? Can we expect to feel well and live abundantly by eating junk food? No. We will reap good health and increased energy if we sow clean eating and strength training.   Wishing and hoping do nothing for a garden or our bodies. If I do nothing, I can expect nothing. The basic law of reaping and sowing will bring us the harvest we have planted. So it’s time to tak...

~I recently made this yummy, meaty, cheesy thing, a recipe I got from the Girls Gone Strong recipe book(which you can download for free from their website!). It's a meatza!!   I made it with lean ground beef, pizza sauce, mozarella cheese, diced peppers and onions, mushrooms, and my husband just had to add turkey pepperoni to his(he's Italian, he can't help it). It was pretty delish, I do have to say. ~So I've been taking a active recovery/deload week this week and I'm tellin' ya, I just cannot wait to get back to hittin' the weights heavy next week on a new program! I'm going to try out a push/pull split again because I feel like it's the best type of split for me to use while incorporating a day of CrossFit into my weekly routine. At the start of the new year, I'm going to try Wendler's 5/3/1 program again, just using a different split than the last time. ~I've come to the conclusion that this cooler weather is going to make m...

What is the best way to start eating healthier? Is it best to go "cold turkey",  replacing all junk food and sweets for salads and chicken breast? Or is it best to make small changes over time and make a  more gradual transition towards eating healthier? Different things work for different people, but I have to say that I am a proponent of making slow, gradual changes over time for long term success. There are many people who have success doing "30 day challenges" and so forth, where they completely eliminate sugar, dairy and grains from their diet for a certain amount of time. The thought of doing that is very intimidating to me, and I just can’t get my mind around making such drastic changes. There are people, though, who do enjoy the challenge and end up making it a lifestyle change from that point on.    It can definitely work. But then there are the people who do a challenge like that and stick with it for a few weeks,...

My weekend consisted of .... A post-CrossFit WOD treat I'd been looking forward to all week: Date night in celebration of 9 years together! Isn't he the cutest boy you ever saw? :) And a yummy Pinterest creation! (Among other things, but those were the highlights. ;) Notice it all revolves around food, ha!)

"Empty me Of the selfishness inside Every vain ambition  And the poison of my pride And any foolish thing my heart holds to Lord empty me of me So I can be Filled with you" "Empty Me" by Chris Sligh http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0e0WEkxj58

What I ate : 8:00 Protein oats 11:00 PWO protein shake, 1 thin bagel with cream cheese :) 12:30 Chili w/lean beef, diced tomatoes, chili beans, tomato sauce, 1 rice cake w/PB2 4:00 2 eggs, 1 white(hard boiled), 5 strawberries, 1 pumpkin protein square 7:00 BBQ chicken, broccoli 10:00 Peanut butter, 1/2 cup cottage cheese Workout: Today was leg day!! 1)Squat jumps: 3x8 (between warmup sets of deadlifts) 2)Trap bar deadlift: 135x5-155x5-175x5-185x5 3)Squat: 115x20 4)Barbell glute bridge: 135x12-12-12 5a)Walking lunges: 25x10-10-10 5b)Seated calf raise-20-20-20 5c)Ball ab pike: 12-12-12 Finished up with 5 minutes of jump rope and then a couple set of  L-sits. My back was feeling great but has been a little tight and irritated for the last few weeks, ever since I did a high rep deadlift WOD in CrossFit...probably not the best idea. I'll have to be more careful from now on!

It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend here in Kentucky! 70s and sunny-couldn't get better!  So let's see...here's my weekend recap: Saturday I had to go to a CPR certification(what fun), then the hubby and I went out for burgers for our cheat meal. Sunday was church and then a fun conditioning workout consisting of tire flips, rope slams, prowler pushes and kettlebell swings. Later we played a game of mini-golf and...I got my butt kicked, which I was not happy about. My husband and I are super competitive!! Then our "little" baby got a bath! ...I don't think he was enjoying it! My cheat meal of the week:  I am definitely not one of those people who are disgusted by junk food...I know I should be, but...I'm just not. I mean, I would never eat like that every day....but sometimes a girl's just gotta have a big, juicy cheeseburger!   It's like there are two different people competing inside of me: one that wants to eat ch...

If you're trying to lose weight, weekends can really make or break your fat loss progress. For some reason, people seem to think that they can loosen up their diet on the weekends or even just eat whatever they want. With that mindset, you can be sure NOT to get the results you want! Your body doesn't know the difference between Saturday or Monday. It still stores extra calories the same way(as FAT!) no matter what day of the week it is, so why would you eat differently? Now, I don't think there is anything wrong with having a treat or cheat meal on the weekend, but the thing is, you cannot allow that meal to get you off track for the rest of the weekend! You have to plan your meals for the weekend just as you do during the week. One thing that helps me is having my treat meal as the last meal of the day. I find that after having that meal, I have no desire to eat anything healthy for the rest of the day! So if I have it as my last meal, it ...

Strength Power Clean:  5-3-3-3 105x5 115x3 125x3 135x3 135x3- PR!   WOD "The Chief" 5 Rounds 3Min AMRAP 1:00 Rest 3 Power Clean (95lbs) 6 Push-Ups 9 Air Squat  

Sohee Lee, who has a great fitness blog at: http://www.soheeleefitness.com/ , recently posted a blog where she shared her "dietary confessions", and I thought that I would do the same! I love when people share their flaws and struggles rather than pretending to be so perfect all the time. I am definitely not perfect, nor do I try to be. And to prove it-here ya go, my dietary confessions! I drink more protein shakes than I probably should. We all know that it's best to eat real food as much as possible and not rely on shakes. Well, sometimes I have 3 protein shakes in a day, along with my real food meals. One scoop in my oats in the morning, one scoop post workout, and one scoop right before bed. It's just a fast and easy way for me to get in more protein and calories without having to have another serving of meat! Chicken breast right before bed at 10:00 at night? No thank you. So a protein shake it is. I consume sugar every day. Some...

In the past few months, there are a few habits that I have gotten out of that I believe have been for the better. For one, I stopped weighing myself obsessively. Earlier in the year, I was set on getting to a certain weight(as in  gaining weight), and I would sometimes weigh myself 2-3 times a day, every day. I would actually get frustrated if my weight was down. In a way, it was good because it was a way for me to adjust how much I needed to be eating. If my weight was staying the same or going down, I knew I needed to eat more . However, just as I tell my clients that the scale doesn't really tell you much about your progress, I didn't realize that those words also applied to me ! Just because I was up a pound or two, that didn't mean that I had gained pounds of muscle overnight! So what was it really telling me? Probably not much. What it was doing was just getting me discouraged.  Just like I get on people for wanting to...

I loooooove me some banana bread! I recently had some overripe bananas sitting on my counter, so instead of throwing them out, I thought I'd try a recipe I found a while back for a healthier version of banana bread that I never got around to trying. My mom always made the BEST banana bread growing up. After getting the recipe from her, I realized why it was so good, as it called for 1 whole stick of butter and a whole cup of sugar! No thanks! This version is a bit healthier and tastes just as yummy! Great for a post workout treat, or whenever you're craving something sweet and doughy! Healthy"ish" Banana Bread 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour-(I replace ½ the flour with almond meal, could probably use all almond meal) 1 ¼ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ½ tsp cinnamon 1 egg 3 ripe bananas ½ cup Agave or honey, sugar, or whatever sweetener you like (I used about 1/4 cup Agave) ¼ cup oil( I used olive oil, could substitute applesauce, I'm sure)...

We all have those days when we're just in a mood... and not a good one! If you ever find yourself feeling down or moody for no particular reason, here are a few of my tips to put a smile on your face! Actually, I would suggest doing all of these things on a regular basis. Laughter is good for the soul. :) -Watch YouTube videos of laughing babies. If this doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will! -Dance like a wild crazy maniac for 5 minutes-try it! You'll feel better, I promise! Just go nuts. -Read some encouraging Bible scriptures-The Psalms are a good place to start. -Go for a walk and appreciate everything around you-the sights, the smells, the wind blowing through your hair. Be thankful that you have eyes to see, ears to hear, and feet to walk with. -Soak up the sun for 10-15 minutes. For me, this instantly makes me feel better! -Take a ride with all the windows down and blast the radio up loud-I'd recommend oldies music! -Make funny faces at...

Look not mournfully into the past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the present. It is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear. - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Current Workout Plan: Sunday: Upper heavy(3-5 reps) Snatches or cleans Push presses or jerks Pullups Bench press Monday: Lower Box jumps Deadlifts Glute bridges/hip thrusts Walking lunges Abs Tues: REST Wednesday: Upper hypertrophy(6-10 reps) + glute bridges Hip thrusts DB presses 1 arm rows DB incline chest press Pullups Curls, dips, lateral raises Abs Thursday: REST Friday:  CrossFit Saturday: * Optional* conditioning workout Farmer's walks Battle ropes Ball slams Sprints My goals right now are to focus on upper body strength(bodyweight bench press for 5, 100lb overhead press), and lower body muscle building. I came across an article about some ways to build up legs that I have not tried. For one thing, I'm going to add calf training back in(bleh) twice a week along with more jump roping to see if maybe my non existent calves will grow! I'm also going to add in more single leg training, such as Bulgarian split squats and front l...

Friday's CrossFit Workout: 21-15-12-9: 65lb Back squats Chest to bar pullups Lunge jumps (each leg) TIME=13:43 Strength: worked on power cleans, 115lbs That one was  SO hard for me with the high reps....but I love the sore booty I've had the past 2 days!

It seems that there is so much conflicting information out there in regards to training and nutrition, that it can leave you feeling confused and overwhelmed. What kind of diet should you be following? Intermittent fasting? Small meals every 3 hours? Paleo? Gluten free? High carb? High fat? What about training? Should you do high reps? Low reps? Full body split, or one muscle group a day? I have been passionate about health fitness for over 10 years now. I've read books, went to school for exercise science, researched on the internet about training and nutrition, and even I realize that no matter how much I think I might know about it...I really don't know much at all!  Even I get confused about things sometimes and second guess myself about whether something I'm doing is "right or wrong." Over the last few years I have really cleaned up my diet by eating more whole, natural foods than I once did. I eat a lot different now than I did a few y...