Lindsay's Ramblings

You don’t realize it at first. You think this body-image obsession is going to give you everything – but you end up having to give everything to it, and so you lose.  You look great but you require the constant validation from faceless others to reinforce to you that it’s all worth it – only you know on a deeper level that it just isn’t.  At some point you realize you don’t want to give everything to this obsession anymore. And it is only then that you find your freedom. ~  Coach Scott Abel

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Matt got his port put in a couple weeks back for a new chemotherapy he'll be starting on called Avastin, which is administered intravenously. He was really nervous about the procedure, but I told him that if he can make it through two brain surgeries, he can make it through this! He got his first infusion last Tuesday morning, and he'll be getting them every 2 weeks. Based on the next MRI in January, he may also be starting another chemo pill along with the Avastin called CCNU.  Then last Thursday I flew out to Canada for a day of shooting with MuscleTech. It was a lot of fun(and hard work!), and I can't wait to see the finished product.  I met a lot of cool people, and it was a great experience, but I hated leaving my hubby at home, even though he had his parents here with him. I just couldn't wait to get back home! So then I get back home Friday and find out Matt is in the hospital with the flu! He h...

Are you frustrated with your lack of results from your workouts? If so, make sure that you're not making one of these all too common mistakes: 1. Not having a plan If you are going to the gym and wandering aimlessly from machine to machine or exercise to exercise with no purpose, no focus, and no structure, then you are most likely NOT getting the full benefits of weight training.  If you go to the gym just to burn calories or to work up a good sweat, then you're most likely not getting the full benefits of weight training.   For the best results, y ou need to be following a structured workout plan. E verything you do in the gym should have a purpose-just picking random exercises ain't gonna cut it. You want to think of your workouts in the gym as training, not just exercising. Training has a purpose and goals, exercise doesn't. Exercise is just moving your body around, training is moving your body with intention. Anyone who has an admirable physique has most likel...

It's been a while since I've done a "What I Ate" & Workout Wednesday, so today I thought I'd share a good little upper body and glute workout I did this past Monday.  It was fun to change things up a bit with some density training. Basically for density training, you pick 2-3 exercises, choose a weight that is about your 10 rep max, and perform sets of 5-6 repetitions. Then you try to simply get as many sets as possible within a certain time frame, anywhere from 10-20 minutes.  Here's what I did: 10 minutes, as many sets as possible of:  Bar dips x 5-6 (with 15 lbs added) Seated cable rows x 6-8 9 rounds 10 minutes, as many sets as possible of: Underhand grip pulldowns x 6-8 1 arm push press x6 8 rounds 5 minutes:  Cable pull-throughs x15 Banded clams x10/leg 4 rounds  5 minutes:  Back extensions x15(with 25lbs added) Farmer's walks x distance 4 rounds What I ate: Meal 1 8:30 3/4 cup oats, 1 scoop whey protein, 1 spoon ...

Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed the holiday as we did. Thursday we went to Mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I made Matt a keto approved meal, which actually came out pretty good! I made ham and bacon cream cheese rollups, cheese biscuits, and mashed cauliflower. Since we had two Thanksgivings, he splurged a little the next day on pumpkin cake, which is his favorite! Of course, I loved seeing this adorable little person. I'm glad she will actually let me take pictures now!  Here are a few more pics from Mom's: She was putting on a show for the camera! Friday we went to my grandma's house for Thanksgiving number two!  Loved seeing all my little cousins, and the newest addition, Sawyer!   I got my Christmas decorations up over the weekend, which makes me sooo happy!  In other news, Matt starts his next round of chemo tomorrow. He still is having trouble with Otpune- he keeps getting a rash and blisters every time...

Happy Sunday!  As promised, here are my workouts from the last 3 weeks of my strength and hypertrophy program. I tried to up the weights on all the main lifts from the previous 3 weeks. There were some weeks I didn't get all the reps, but that's okay with me! I'll be taking a week off from all the heavy lifts next week and then start a new routine the following week. This was a fun program! Week 4 Monday I didn't remember to write down what I did for this workout, so I totally forgot some things...but I THINK this is what I did. My memory is so bad! I think it's time to buy a new training notebook lol. 1)Overhead press: (60%)55x3x5/1x13 2)Some kind of row variation...but I can't remember! 3a)Pushups: 4x10-12 3b)Inverted row: 4x12 4a)Hip thrust on leg extensions machine: 3x15 4b)Standing band abductions: 3x12-15/leg 5a)Split stance RDLs: 3x12/leg 5b)Lateral raises: 15x3x10-12 6a)Reverse hypers: 3x15 6b)Pull-aparts: 4x20 Conditioning: Off-set Fa...

Hey guys! It's been so busy the last few days, I'm finally just getting around to posting pics from Matt's birthday weekend! We went out for PIZZA for his birthday, of course! We went to his favorite place in Louisville-Old School N.Y. Pizza. Now that's a pizza! He enjoyed every bite and then got right back on the keto diet the next day. For his actual birthday Sunday I made him some Keto pumpkin protein muffins , which he really liked. So last week Matt met with his doctor to discuss his most recent MRI results. I wasn't able to go with him to the appointment, but Matt told me that the first thing the doctor said about the MRI was that it was "confusing". Some spots showed progression and some showed regression...which basically means they don't really know if the chemo is working or not. So he told him to finish up this cycle of chemo, and then he'll two weeks off and then do another 6 week cycle. At that point, if there is furthe...