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 

The NOT so Ugly, Ugly truth

I'm trying to be as consistent as possible with my blogs, but I've been extremely busy. As I mentioned before, I will try my absolute best to get a post up everyday, but if I can't I can guarantee they will be up every other day.

Ok enough with that! So this post is going to be tailored more toward the ladies, sorry someone needs to address it, so I'm going too. What women need to understand is because of our hormones a few things are more likely to happen that may throw off our ultimate plan for weight loss, building muscle, or just getting healthier. The truth is, a woman is more likely to fluctuate 5lbs a day as opposed to man. Another thing that we deal with is monthly cycles. Generally speak, women tend to hold more fluids and even experience weight gain. Sucks, right? Well, not always. There are ways to track your menstrual cycle from start (day 1 of bleeding) until the end (day before your next period) to optimize fat burn, muscle growth, and energy levels. With that being said, I'm going to start recording my sister and I on our journey to optimize our cycles to lose fat and build muscle. So stay tuned 

Social Eating

Have you ever had to go to a social event and tried to stay under your caloric intake? Yeah, me too. My family has gatherings constantly and we like to have more dessert then salads. It is so hard for me to focus on eating better and having exact portions of food when I'm with my family. Last night I had that problem. I LITERALLY had a bowl of chocolate in my lap that my mom had to take away. I ate so much chocolate if you squeezed me it would probably come out of my pores. But I know that because I had one bad day of eating that I ruined everything. And to be honest sometimes your body needs it. Your mind needs it. You need to take a break from eating clean for too long. That's what I did yesterday. Im not going to beat myself up about it at all. If this was a year ago, I'd have probably starved myself. Not literally, but I would make sure I was extremely low on calories for a few days. I was so scared of gaining weight again that I tried to keep it off so unhealthy. Now that I've learned to love food and how much good, food can do for your body and overall progress on your journey, I've learned to be ok with over eating once in a while. No, I don't like to make it a habit, but once or twice a month, I'm ok with it. Also, after eating like I've did yesterday, I feel like my body naturally will work harder. I'm not sure if it's psychological or not, but I was sore right after my spin class today. 

Today's workout:

Full body circuit: 2 rounds

Cardio: cycling 

Self love

One thing I hate about a lot of these Instagram models/fitness accounts it's probably the touching up of photos. Let's be real, it's giving people a false hope and perception for their goals. I am nowhere near perfect, my body is NOT ripped or toned to where I want it to be, but I love my body. I love that I've changed my body into what it is now. I'm not embarrassed of how it looks. Is it perfect? Hell no, but it's a work in progress. That's what makes me happy. It may not be what others want, but it is what I've been working on. I've lost nearly 40 lbs and 10% body fat since I've started taking my journey seriously and there is no way in hell will I allow myself to feel anything but proud of myself. 

Today's workout:

Circuit:

Over head squats:

10 reps

Box jumps:

10 reps

Bulgarian squats:

10 reps per leg

Split squats:

20 reps

Repeat 4 X's no break between workouts

Kettle bell swings:

12-20 reps

Sled push:

Sprint to one end and push back slowly 

Repeat 4 X's

Cardio:

Jump rope HIIT 25 rounds 35 secs on 10 second rest

NO hate Zone

I've come to understand that people will always doubt you. I'm actually quite guilty of my post today. My older sister and I train together 5 days a week (on a good week) and she's told me that she is going to clean up her diet and try to lose weight. Now, in my defense, she's said this to me before, and I have been doubting her. I don't want to be that person. I don't ever wanna make people feel how I felt when I first started. I'm going to stand behind her through her journey on eating better. I keep telling her she does not need to deprive herself, just make better choices. And she has been. Sash, I got you. Let's get this journey started together for real! 

Today's workout:

Cable rows:

4X10-15 reps

Lat pulldown:

4X10-15 reps

Standing upright row:

4X12 reps

Bent over dumbbell row:

4X12 reps per arm

Kneeling cable lat pulldown:

4X12-15 reps

Bent over cable row:

4X20 reps

Lat push down:

4X10-15 reps

Cardio:

HIIT elliptical stepper 30 mins 

Role Model

I honestly I have set out on a new mission. When I was about 13-17 I really wish that I had a lady figure that I could look up too that would make an effort to prove that it gets better.  I truly want to be that woman. The one that these younger girls can look up too and not see her ass plastered everywhere, someone who keeps it honest, and is an all around better influence. I was heavier in those years and insecure. I wish I had someone there to tell me that the insecurities go away, the fat can be melted off, and your confidence gets stronger. It's ok that you're not perfect looking, thin, or in control of your hormones. The older you get the better it gets. Life gets better. Highschool is nothing! Be proud of who you are. Be proud of what you look like. Be happy about you. You're beautiful the way you are, you are smart, and you can change your body if you really want to. No one is perfect and you will have the power to change so much more once you decide too! 

Today's workout:

Mini circuit:

Standing barbell press:

12 reps

Barbell curls:

8-12 reps

Face pulls:

15 reps

Repeat 4 X's

Seated Arnold press:

12 reps

Superset hammer curls:

10 reps per arm

Repeat 4 X's

Cable curls drop set:

4X12 reps 

Seated single arm shoulder press:

4X 10 reps per arm 

Cardio:

HIIT elliptical: 30 mins