Lindsay's Ramblings

Someone recently commented on a video of mine on Instagram telling me that I should squat lower to work my glutes more. I took issue with this because number one, I don't really believe that is true, and two, I have tried squatting to various depths, and going super low never felt good to me. There are plenty of more "scientific" articles out there from way smarter people than me(like this one  by Tony Gentilcore) that discuss hip anatomy and/or what muscles are worked most at different squat depths, etc., so you can do your own research on that. There are SO many different opinions out there about this, but I just wanted to share my own thoughts and my personal experience. When I first began squatting years and years ago, it was a slightly above parallel, very quad dominant squat. Over the years, my form improved greatly. I learned to sit back and use my hamstrings and hips more, push my knees out, and squat to slightly below parallel.  A couple of years ago I ...

MONDAY UPPER BODY +GLUTES This week I decided to do some split jerks again and felt like doing heavy pullups, so that's what I did! Nothing really exciting to talk about regarding this workout. I didn't feel crazy strong on anything, but it was a good workout! 1a)Clean and jerks: 95x3/115x3x3 1b)Overhand grip pullups: 0x8/15x5/25x4/25x4/35x2/35x2 2a)Military press; 75x5/85x3/85x3/80x5/75x5 2b)Pullup: 3x6 3a)DB chest press: 45x6/50x7/6/6/6 3b)Ab wheel negatives: 3x10/10/8 4a)Band walks x15/leg 4b)Back extensions w/25lbs x12-14 4c)Pullaparts x25 4 rounds WEDNESDAY LOWER BODY So this week I decided I wanted to go heavy on back squats. Not a one rep max, but I wanted to at least get some heavy doubles over 200 pounds, since I've never squatted over 200 for reps! I worked up to 210, which I was happy about. Not the most I've ever squatted, but for not doing heavy back squats much lately, I'm satisfied with it! After that was sumo deadlifts, 4x6 with a ligh...

Let's get something straight: there is no "right" way to lose weight.   The things I hear people say in the gym about how to lose weight just makes me want to SCREAM sometimes! Things like,   'Oh, just stop eating ____ (usually bread, potatoes, rice, fruit, etc), or, ' Just follow this style of eating ', or, ' Don't eat carbs at night '....and the list goes on. People want to believe that it's one certain food or food group that makes you fat, so if you just eliminate that, you'll lose weight....But it just doesn't always work like that. Because you know what? There are a million different ways to get to the same result.  People successfully lose weight eating carbs.  People successfully lose weight eating low carb.  People successfully lose weight eating clean.  People successfully lose weight eating junk food.  People successfully lose weight counting cal ories.  People successfully lose weight not counting calories. ...

This weekend was just a lazy weekend since it was cold and rainy. We stayed at home for our treat meal, went to church and then watched a movie at home after. One of my favorite meals to make at home for our weekend treat meal is pulled chicken and tater tots! I made my special brownies for the dessert, filled with peanut butter M&Ms for me and thin mints for Matt. And they were amaaazing, as always. Brownies are my favorite! Well, second to donuts, of course.  Today is my normal Sunday-food prep, laundry, and football! This week I prepped our turkey and rice, as always, roasted red potatoes, and we'll grill up some chicken later. I'm also going to make some pumpkin muffins, since it's been a while since I've made them! Now I'm about to go have another cup of coffee and write up my next 4-6 weeks of workouts. On to this week's workouts: MONDAY UPPER BODY+GLUTES I just felt like doing some push jerks today, so I worked up to 125 for a few s...

To me, Fall means soups, chili, and baked goods! Here are all of my tried and true "go to" recipes when I'm craving soup or chili, and the best healthy banana/pumpkin muffins I have made for when I get in the mood to bake something. And the good thing is, they are all healthy/"clean" recipes that you can adjust to your liking. They are also super easy to make, because as you all know, I am all about easy, uncomplicated recipes! TURKEY VEGETABLE SOUP: 2 pounds GROUND beef or turkey, browned and drained Jumbo bag (about 2 pounds) of frozen mixed veggies  2-4 diced potatoes (optional) 2 tsp Italian seasoning 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 15oz can of Italian or fire roasted tomatoes (may also use fresh) 6oz can tomato paste 1 quart chicken or beef broth (may want to use a bit more, depending on how much broth you like) Brown the meat on the skillet, add all the ingredients to the the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.  ...

Pics from our annual visit to the pumpkin patch! I had so much fun with Celeste and the rest of the fam. And enjoyed my donuts! :) The whole fam!

MONDAY UPPER +GLUTES 1)Power cleans: 95x3/115x3x3 Ring pullups x10 2a)Military press: 75x5/80x5/80x5/75x5/75x5 2b)DB chest supported row: 45x10/50x8/50x8/45x8 3a)DB chest press: 40x8/50x7/6/6 3b)Hanging leg raises: 1x10/3x8 4)Glute circuit: Seated band abductions: 3x25-30 Band hip thrusts: 3x15 Back extensions: 25x3x12 5)Farmer's walks 155x3x35 seconds + Pullaparts 4x20 WEDNESDAY LOWER BODY 1)Front squats: 135x3/140x3/3/3/135x7 2)Glute ham raise: 0x8/10x8/15x6/20x6/20x6 3)Leg press: 230x10/250x10/280x10/280x10 4)Banded hip thrusts: 135x15/12/12 5)Band clams: 3x20 6a)Calf raises: 5x10 6b)Lsit hold: 3x20 seconds FRIDAY UPPER BODY 1)Neutral grip pullups: 0x6/25x5/30x3/3/3/ Wide grip: 6/6/8 2)Bench press: 105x5/110x5/5/5/105x5(wide grip) 3a)Cable wide grip row: 120x6/105x8/100x8/85x12 3b)Handstand pushups: 7/6 /DB overhead press: 30x9/27.5x10 4)Lateral raise: giant set to 50 reps 5)Reverse decline bench crunch: 15/12/12/10 6)Cable curls: giant set to 35 reps...

It's FRIDAY!  Hope you all are having a great week. I just finished my workout, had my shake, and I'm about to take Asher for a walk as soon as I finish this post. I have a couple clients to train later, and then it's cheeeeeseburgers for dinner tonight! Gosh, I love Fridays. :)  So onto my five things ... 1)These are amazing, and I'm obsessed with them. That is all. 2)My dog is a baby.  I love him so much, even when he kicks me out of the bed! 3)I love October.  Fall has been pretty amazing so far weather wise here in Kentucky. I just pray it stays for a while!!  4)I cannot tell you how excited I am about these new bars from MuscleTech. I will let you know how they taste as soon as I get my hands on one! h ttp://www.mission1bar.com/ 5)A few articles I've read lately that are worth sharing: http://tonygentilcore.com/2015/10/3-reasons-why-youre-not-getting-better-at-lifting-heavy-things/ http://theathleticbuild.com/...

I've been reading through some of my posts from when I first started blogging, and well, all I can say is that I'm sorry! Seriously, some of them were so bad, and I had way less of a filter back then! I've been tempted to delete my old posts, but I just can't bring myself to do it! I think it shows how I've changed and matured over the years, and there are actually some pretty good posts in there amidst the other crap.;) One thing I've noticed is how much more confident I am with myself now. I guess that's something that comes with age. But I also noticed that I'm so much less stressed and anxious about things these days. I can see the change that God has made in me over the years; I can see how He has changed my mindset and my priorities in life. I am more full of joy and peace now that I used to be, and the only explanation I have for that is because I've drawn closer to God in the last few years. I committed to reading and studying His word ...

MONDAY UPPER +GLUTES Definitely could tell I had my energy back this week! This workout was fueled by Sunday night's pizza overdose. ;) Felt pretty strong and had enough energy to even do some heavy farmers walks at the end. 1)Dumbbell snatch: 40x5/45x3/50x3 2a)Overhead barbell press: 65x5/75x5/5/5/70x7 or 8?(forgot to write it down!) 2b)T-bar row: 70x6/6/6/65x6/55x10 3a)DB chest press: 40x6/50x7/50x6/45x8/Feet elevated pushupsx10 3b)Hanging leg raises: 10/8/8/8 4a)Reverse hypers: 110x4x12 4b)Seated band abductions: 4x30 Trap Bar Farmer's walks:3 x 35-45 seconds (135, 155lbs) + Pullaparts: 4x20 WEDNESDAY LOWER BODY Front squats felt heavy this week...but I guess that's because they were! ;) But I did hit a rep PR of 4 reps with 150lbs. Deadlifts this week were singles at 95% of my max, which would be 237lbs. So I just did one set at 235, 2 sets at 240. They felt pretty good!  Hopefully I can maybe get a new deadlift PR soon! Next week is a deload, and then I...

I've been seeing on my Instagram that a lot of people are deciding to stop tracking and eat more intuitively, and I love it. I think tracking is great for those who are just getting started and have no clue about macronutrients, what to eat, how much to eat, etc, or if you have a very specific goal like a physique contest. But I don't think it's has to be a FOREVER thing, and I do think you can maintain the look you want without tracking. Too many people just get so obsessive with it, as with anything I guess, but I'm glad that people are starting to realize that and want to venture into eating a little more intuitively. I've found that for me personally, as long as I eat somewhat the same every day, I know pretty much how much I need to eat without tracking. I just make sure to eat protein and a serving of carbs at almost all meals, watch my portion sizes, and I'm good. I've been able to maintain my weight this way, only tracking for maybe a total of 3 da...

Reading: I'm almost finished with this book, and so far it's pretty good. I'm excited to see how it's going to end. I keep track of all the books I want to read on Goodreads.com, put them on hold at the library, and then just go pick them up. It's so much better than browsing the library like I used to and picking a book that you hope will be good. On goodreads I can choose books that have good reviews, and I'm almost never let down. Eating: Lately I've been really into mixed vegetables. I guess because I really only eat two different vegetables, so it's a nice change. I can actually throw some broccoli in with them to make it a little more tolerable. The struggle is real! I'm also still loving my turkey salsa wraps. I've finally learned how to fold it up so that every thing doesn't fall right out! Ha! Listening to: Lecrae! His music just gets me amped up before the gym, and I literally get constant goosebumps listening to his ly...

MONDAY UPPER BODY Totally changed it up this week since Mondays were getting a little boring. Just did upper body supersets and then glutes. I was getting the start of a head cold, so I didn't push it too hard this workout with the weights. I was actually pretty sore in my pecs the next day! 1)Barbell snatch: 3x5 2a)Military press: 75x5/80x5/80x5/80x5+ 3 push press/80x4+3 push press 2b)TBar row: 70x6/65x6/55x10/55x10 3a)DB chest press: 40x8/45x3x8 3b)Hanging leg raise: 2x10/Reverse crunch: 2x15 4a)Back extensions: 35x3x10 4b)Seated band abductions: 3x30 5)Pullaparts: 3x25/20/20 WEDNESDAY LOWER BODY I was still recovering from my cold this workout, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go. I didn't feel too bad, just a little stuffy, so I figured I'd give it a go and just cut it short if I had to. Surprisingly, my strength wasn't too bad. Deadlifts actually felt a lot stronger than I thought they would. I stayed a little under what the prescribed percenta...