Transformations!

My Top 5 Transformation Secrets:

Have you been in your fitness journey for sometime but seem to have hit a wall? Well I have been there and I have picked up on a few secrets that helped me not only lose the weight, BUT keep it off! 

When I started my journey I was only 14 years old. I was overweight, lazy, and depressed. My journey started here because I did not start to worry about until I was 16-17. Being a senior in highschool, every girl wants to look her best, but that was not me. I was overweight and falling into depression. Being overweight had made me EXTREMELY depressed. It affected my ENTIRE mood and left me feeling hopeless. I did not let that hold me back! Instead I started to run. In one summer by running and changing my eating habits, I was down nearly 30 lbs and I was not turning back. 

You might ask how I did it? How did I lose 30 lbs in 3 months, and well it’s simple really, I was dedicated and disciplined to my goals. The truth is, I followed these steps or my secrets to help me get there:

1. Set REALISTIC Goals:

Can you lose 100 lbs over night? Probably not, so why set a goal you can not obtain? When setting unrealistic goals you are ultimately setting yourself up to fail. Yes it is possible to lose a significant amount of weight (20-30 lbs) and do it healthy, but you have to change your lifestyle.

2. Prepare:

Now this is the step that I struggled with at first, but I came around as I realized that without preparing (meal prep and exercise plan) I was going to fall off track. Without a thought out plan or setting the tracks it can be very easy to fall off. Personally, if my meals are not prepped, I find it ten times easier for me to snack and over eat or if I’m not changing up my training block I hit a plateau. Your body will respond to change more than anything else. 

3. CONSISTENCY

I will never be able to explain how important this step is! Being consistent in your diet and your workout will get you the results you want. It is not easy and you may have to sacrifice for it, but it is worth it. Now you might say consistency and change clash, well what about being consistent with the changes to your diet and exercise plan, that is the key to it all! 

4. Focus on the Progress you’ve made! 

Don’t dwell on the fact that on your tenth day of eating healthy you had one cookie. That’s ok! Forgive yourself. One cookie or cupcake or some junk food once in a while will not hinder your pregress. When you turn those bad habits into a lifestyle, that will. Also, reward yourself with a cheat MEAL every few weeks, that will help shock your body! 

5. Make it FUN

Changing your entire lifestyle can be hard and overwhelming, but the best way to go around that is to make it fun! Challenge your best friend or significant other! Try new things! Explore your city on a bike ride and on that ride, try a smoothie at the new smoothie shop. It does not have to be restricted to the gym or chicken breast. Have fun and the process will come easier. 

Killed Legs

So yesterday I didn't get a chance to eat all the calories that my body needed to "survive". Really I just got busy with work and school and didn't get a chance to hit my intake goal. 

Not having enough food the night before, I knew my training session was going to be sucky, if I hadn't modified it to fit what I could handle. So I decided to go lighter in weight, but higher reps. 

Squats:

4X15 reps

Weight: 65 lbs, 65 lbs, 75 lbs, 75 lbs 

Leg press:

4X25-30 reps

Resistance band hamstring curl:

4X20 reps per leg

Plate goblet squat: drop set

4X15 reps, 15 reps

45 lbs, 25 lbs

Hip abductor and adductor:

4X 30, 25, 20 , 20

Weight: 45 lbs, 50 lbs, 50 lbs, 55 lbs

Cardio:

Stairs intervals levels 

Back!!

I've definitely been feeling this weeks workouts. I've been sore ALL week. Call me crazy, but, I love that feeling. I love knowing that I've pushed my body to a new limit. That I have worked myself one step closer to my ultimate goal! I'm so focused on everything right now. This new challenge I joined is going to be so good to me! 

Today was a back day and I incorporated some new workouts that had me feeling the burn. 

Today's workout:

Single arm lay pull down:

4X10 reps per arm

Weight: 3X 45 lbs, 55 lbs

Single arm cable lat pull down:

4X8-10 reps

Weight: 3X45 lbs, 50 lbs

Dumbbell bent over row: drop set

4X10,10 (total of 20 reps per arm per set)

Weight:20 lbs, 15 lbs

Reverse cable cross:

4X8-10 reps

Weight: 3X 30 lbs, 40 lbs

Bent over smith machine row:

4X12 reps

Weight:3X 45 lbs, 55 lbs 

Single arm T-bar row:

4X10 reps per arm

Weight:3X25 lbs, 35 lbs 

Cardio:

Sprints 1:20 on, :40 walk

Repeat 20 mins 

Goals!

Alright y'all! I've been super strict on myself the last few days as I felt like I was bloating. I feel like the bloats gone for the most part. 

My lifts the last few days have been FIRE! I have been feeling so amazing! Today I hit bi's and shoulders! I incorporated a bunch of new stuff and I loved it. I'll have a few clips posted on my instagram from today's workout! 

I'm trying to lean down and I'm focusing a lot of my energy on cardio as well. Also! I'm going to be putting my FIRST YouTube video together and sharing that with you all. And the last thing going on with me is I started a 60 shred online. I didn't join it to win, but mostly to have something that is going to keep me accountable for the next 2 months. 

Today's Workout:

Cable curls:

4X8-15 reps

Weight: 60 lbs, 60 lbs, 65 lbs, 55 lbs 

Super set:

Cable shoulder raises:

4X10 

Weight: 50 lbs 

Standing barbell press variation:

4X 10, 10, 10 

Weight: 30 lbs 

Full weight press 10 reps

Then isolate each shoulder for 10 reps per arm

Seated dumbbell curl:

3X10 reps per arm

Weight: 17.5 lbs 3 sets, 15 lbs burnout set 

Seated smith machine shoulder press:

4X10 reps

Weight: 45 lbs 3 sets, 55 lbs 

Super set:

Plate curls:

4X10-12 reps

Weight: 25 lbs 

Cardio:

22 mins stair master intervals

Killer Legs

Today was leg day! I switched it up and honestly I haven't felt a pump like this in SOOO long. I trained my legs so hard that I could barely do cardio today. I'm pushing myself more than ever and I'm tracking my Macros more then ever. I wanna be in the best shape of my life this summer and I'm honestly trying my damn hardest. 

I'm pushing myself during every single workout. 

I am staying focused as I possibly can at this point. 

Today's workout:

Hack squats:

4X10-12 reps

Weight: 105, 125, 155, 175 lbs

Smith machine squats:

5X3-15 reps

Weight: 105, 135, 145, 155 lbs

Box Jumps:

5X6-10 reps

Height: 36" box

Super set:

Goblet squats:

5X12-20 reps

Weight: 35 lbs

Leg press:

4X12-15 reps

Weight: 125, 135, 145, 145 lbs

Super:

Calf raises:

4X10-12 reps

Weight: 125, 135, 145, 145 lbs

Leg Extension drop set:

4X8 reps

Weight: 85 lbs 4 reps, 75 lbs 4 reps

Cardio:

Treadmill elevated 17 mins power walk 

Back Attack

I've been recording a few workouts a day for the past week and I can honestly see why everyone records their workouts. For me going back and re-watching my clips, I notice all the things I've done wrong. Which is crucial, because if I keep making the same mistakes I have the potential to hurt myself and not grow properly. 

In one of my videos from today's back workout I actually saw the growth I've made. I'm human and though I'm consistent, sometimes I don't see the changes I want and I get discouraged. Today that was a different story! I saw the muscle working and I felt proud. No I'm not the leanest or the most fit person ever, but I've dedicated my time and effort to this and I have developed a love for it that I don't think can ever be broken. 

Today's workout:

Reverse cable cross:

4X8-10 reps

Weight: 30 lbs, 30 lbs, 30 lbs, 40 lbs (weight distributed evenly on each side)

Single arm cross lay pull down:

4X10 reps per arm

Weight: 45 lbs, 45 lbs, 50 lbs, 55 lbs

Single arm crossed cable row:

4X10 reps per arm

Weight: 45 lbs, 50 lbs, 50 lbs, 55 lbs

T-bar row:

1X20 35 lbs 

1X15 60 lbs

1X10 70 lbs

1X8 80 lbs

Single arm dumbbell row:

4X10-15 reps per arm

Weight: 25 lbs, 25 lbs, 25 lbs, 30 lbs

Cardio: sprints 

1:20 sprint 7.4-8.0

:40 recovery walk 3.8-4.0 

Repeat for 21 mins 

Weaknesses

Just like anyone else, I have weaknesses as well. Training shoulders is probably one of the HARDEST things for me and is easily my weakest muscle group. 

The reason why my shoulders are so much weaker is because I did not understand the importance of have strong shoulder. AND also because that's one of my insecurities as I have broad shoulders I did not want them to look "bigger" or "bulkier". When I initially started training shoulders, I hurt myself. If you've been following my blog for sometime, you know I've touched in that before. 

Now, training shoulders is one of my favorite muscle groups. No, it has not made me look bulkier. I try to target shoulders as best as I can because I know I need to work on that. 

Today's workout:

Smith machine seated press:

4X5-15 lbs

Weight: 45 lbs, 45 lbs, 55 lbs, 65 lbs 

Barbell curl: drop set 

4x40 lbs 6 reps

     30 lbs 6 reps

Single arm BARBELL shoulder press:

4X10 reps per arm

Weight: 30 lbs, 30 lbs, 40 lbs, 40 lbs 

Hercules curls:

4X6-10 reps

Weight: 40 lbs, 40 lbs, 50 lbs, 60 lbs (each arm is half the weight)

Concentration curl:

4X6 reps per arm

Weight: 20 lbs, 17.5 3 sets

Dumbbell single arm shoulder press:

4X10 reps per arm

Weight: 17.5 lbs

Super:

Hammer curls:

4X5 reps per arm 

Weight: 20 lbs 

Cardio:

Stairs intervals 30 mins 

Chest/tris

So today I had an interesting experience at the gym. After I finished my weight training session, I did cardio, as I usually would. As I was coming up on the 23 min mark of my stairs session, I felt like my body was over heating. I literally felt like my insides were shutting themselves off. I have NEVER felt this way before. It honestly felt like someone was stepping on my chest cavity and not allowing me to breathe properly. I did tone it down for the rest of my cardio session as I was practically sprinting on the stairs. I don't know if I was just over working my body, but once I noticed something was off I modified my workout to that. 

It has honestly taken me sometime to realize that I need to listen to my body more. When I first started taking fitness seriously I made the mistake of not listening to my body, constantly. It caused me to be sore, hurt myself, and even want to quit altogether. I've come a long way from that! 

Today's workout:

Smith machine bench press:

4X6-15 reps

Weight: 45 lbs, 55 lbs, 55 lbs, 65 lbs starting resistance is 15 lbs and I added that into the weight

Seated tricep extension:

4X15 reps

Weight: 25 lbs

Cable cross over:

4X10-15 reps

Weight: 50 lbs 3sets, 60 lbs

Incline chest press machine:

4X6 reps per arm

Weight: 35 lbs per arm

Reverse curl:

4X12-15 reps

Weight: 60 lbs, 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 70 lbs

Tricep cable extension:

4X15 reps

Weight: 65 lbs, 65 lbs, 70 lbs, 75 lbs 

Cardio:

Stairs intervals 5 min circuit levels 12-20 go up two levels per min 

Killed Legs Today!

I'm BAAAACCCKKKKK... again. Ok so I've been working on some amazing stuff. I'm actually going to be posting clips of my workouts on my instagram (@getsavyy) if you don't already follow me, you can, or you know don't. 

So today I trained legs! I have two super sick clips I'm going to be posting on my instagram page and I think you'll love it! 

Today's workout:

Dead lift:

4X6-8 reps

Weight: 50, 70, 70, 80 (not including the bar)

Box Squats:

5X5-12 reps

Weight: 70, 100, 120, 130, 135 (not including the bar)

Mini Circuit:

Overhead squats: 50 lbs 15 reps

Squat jacks: 20 reps

Kettle bell swings: 20 lbs 20 reps

Repeat 3 times

Laying hamstring cable curl:

Resistance bands:

4X8-10 reps per leg

Cardio: was weak today as my calve tightened up

Jump rope: 10 mins

Tracking Change

So I've decided that everyday for the next 2-3 weeks, however long I decide to keep my little waist trainer experiment going, I'm going to take a picture after I use it. Once I decide my trial period is done, I will compile a video of the changes if there are any. I'm kind of excited to actually for this because I haven't done anything like this before. Hopefully I get the results I'm expecting. Here's an update on my second training session with it on, it's amazing. I love the tightness I feel from the waist trainer itself. Also, here are some things I'm noticing about it, 1. I'm short (5'1"), I should have purchased the one for a short torso as it sits right on the line of my sports bra. 2. Wear a long shirt as, for me at least, my leggings tend to slip down a bit. 3. It gets HOT, especially during cardio. 

Today's workout:

Smith machine shoulder press:

45 lbs 2 X 12 reps

55 lbs 2 X 10 reps

Superset:

Barbell curls:

40 lbs 4 X 8 reps

 Face pulls:

50 lbs 1 X 15 reps

55 lbs 1 X 12 reps

60 lbs 1 X 12 reps

65 lbs 1 X 10 reps

Cable curls:

70 lbs 8 reps 

Drop set:

60 lbs 5 reps X 3 sets

75 lbs 1 X 6 reps 

Cable shoulder raise:

70 lbs 4 X 15 reps

Seated hammer curl:

22.5 lbs 4 X 5 reps an arm

Super set

Seated single arm dumbbell press:

15 lbs 4 X 8-10 reps per arm

Cardio:

Stairs intervals 30 mins

 

Waist Trainer

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know I'm an experimenter. You know one of my favorite aspects of fitness is trying new things and that's what I'm doing. I bought a waist trainer. I know, not really something new, but I'm taking it for a spin. Today was my first day wearing it and honestly, so far it's killer. One thing I really loved about it is that it kept my core tight through my entire workout, bettered my posture, which improved my form while lifting. I thought it would be COMPLETELY uncomfortable, but honestly it wasn't. The worst part about wearing it was that my pants were a little bigger and slipping down, but other than that it was amazing. So I'm going to track my progress for about two weeks to start with and then go from there if I wanna extend my little project. I'm going to take pictures everyday after I use it. 

Today's workout:

Barbell bench press

30 lbs 4 X 12 reps

Incline dumbbell press

2 X's 20 lbs 4 X 12 reps

Flat bench fly

2 X's 17.5 lbs 4 X 12 reps

Seated dumbbell tricep extension 

22.5 lbs 4 X 15 reps

Reverse cable curl:

50 lbs 3 X 15 reps

60 lbs 1 X 12 reps

Cable tricep push down:

35 lbs 2 X 12 reps

40 lbs 1 X 10 reps

45 lbs 1 X 8 reps

Cardio:

HIIT elliptical 25 mins 

40 seconds on 15 seconds off

Elevated to the max and max resistance

Back Again

Ok, I know I've taken a break from my blog for TOO long! I've been working on a blog series, but because I have some other things going on in my life, I'm going to be pushing that back another month, for a few reasons. I really want this blog series to be amazing.  I want to be able to look back on this and say that I truly poured my heart into it. I've been tracking things for a few months and adding another month won't be too bad. Ok enough about that, I've been playing with my weight he past few months. I'm trying to get down to about 130 by the end of this month, I'm steady at 136. I've REALLY tried to control myself on the weekends, but I can't. I feel like I don't have any will power anymore. I'm going to make my blog my accountability. Because I'm writing it down and saying I will lose another couple pounds by the end of the month, I'm actually going to do it. Now, I don't think I can do the full 6 lbs by march 31st, I'm going to be realistic and say I'll be at 133, and by the end of April I'm aiming for 128 lbs. I want to maintain between 125-128. I don't want to get too skinny and look sick again. So let's do this! If you want to make this a team effort, send me a DM on Instagram and let's get it together. Just as motivation! 

Today's workout:

Heavier weight

Squats:

4X4-12 reps

75 lbs

115 lbs 

125 lbs 

145 lbs 

Leg press:

130 lbs plus starting resistance 4X10-12 reps

Barbell lunges:

40 lbs X 10 reps per leg

Sled push:

75 lbs 

85 lbs

105 lbs

115 lbs 

Leg extensions:

85 lbs 3X8 reps

90 lbs 1X6 reps

Cardio:

Jump rope 

32 rounds 40 second on 15 seconds off

Fall In Love With Fitness

Here's what people don't understand, I don't train and eat healthy to please anyone, BUT myself. I was sick of how I was feeling. I was not happy with the way my body looked, the way it was hard for me to breath, or the way I felt about myself. So I changed it. I decided that I wanted something better for myself. When I started training, I NEVER once imagined I would fall in love with it. I LOVE being in the gym. It's the one place where I don't have to worry about anything, but my next lift. People always ask me, "how did you lose the weight" and my answer to them is, I fell in love with the process. Did it happen over night, well no. Was it easy, hell no. Was I successful on the first try, nope, I'm still not where I want to be. It's not easy, it's about self control and persistency. Don't quit because you had a bad meal or missed a work out. Keep going for yourself. Do this for you! It's taken me 3 years of commitment to my diet and the gym to be where I'm at right now, and I couldn't be happier. No, my stomach is not flat. Yes I can still improve in many ways, but I'm happy with me. And I love the way my body looks and feels. 

Today's workout:

Squats:superset

50 lbs 15 reps 

Box jumps:

10 reps

Repeat 4 X's

Laying single leg hamstring band curl:

10 reps per leg

Repeat 4 X's

Kettle bell swings: superset

20 lbs 15 reps

Walking lunges:

45 lbs 6 reps per leg

Repeat 4 X's

Leg press:

157 lbs 10 reps

Repeat 4 X's

Frog jumps:

110-140 lbs walking back and 6 jumps in

4 sets

Tire flip: super set

160 lbs 12 reps

Sled push:

To one end and back adding 10 lbs per set

Repeat 3 X's

Cardio:

HIIT jump rope:

30 rounds 35 sec on and 15 rest

The NOT So Ugly, Ugly Truth

So as many of you know I have NOT been posting on my blog very often. I'm honestly working on a new project that is tailored for women. It's a lot harder for women to lose weight, but I'm working around that. It's not going to be workout plans and such, yet, but I want it to be perfect for when I do go live. I want to be able to know every aspect and I'm researching as much as I can. It's not going to be easy, but if I can figure his out, I'll be able to help women lose weight. It's not going to be just for women who train intensely or women who hardly train. I want this to be for all women and I'm going to use myself and my sister as the lab rats. I love to train and I train intensely where as my sister goes to the gym mainly because I nag her. I know it's kind of a delay, I've started tracking things and my weight gain/loss for this month and I'm trying my best to figure it out before I try to have other women branch out and try it. 

Today's workout:

Step-ups:

4 X 4-6 reps per leg

Box squats:

5 X 8-15 reps

Sled push:

4 sets adding weight every set

Squat into lung:

5 squats, 5 lunges per leg and then repeat and come back to the other side

Repeat 4 X's

Abductor machine:

4 X 15 reps

Adductor machine:

4 X 15 reps 

Tabata jump rope:

30 rounds 35 seconds on 15 second test 

Standby

So I've purposely taken some time off of my blog, why? I'm working on my little study. It's more difficult than you think. I'm literally tracking my EVERY day on a calendar. I want to do this right and I'm going to. I promise. So please be patient, because ladies, I'm coming back with the answers on how to utilize your period to your advantage. It's not simple, but I'm working on a few things that will make it easier. 

Todays workout:

Box squats: superset

4 X 10-12 reps

Step-ups:

4 X 5 reps per leg

Lunges:

4 X 12 reps per leg

Sled push:

4 sets to one end and back

Leg extension: superset

4 X 10-12 reps

Goblet squats:

4 X 12-20 reps

Cardio:

Treadmill:

25 mins