Holidays
Monday, November 21, 2005, 07:57 AM
The holidays are upon us and even though it is often stated that the overeating and overindulgence usually begins on Thanksgiving I believe it really starts on Holloween and doesn't stop till after the New Year. So How are you doing with your eating and exercise regime? I am still on track but have been unable to update this blog for some time. Will be rethinking the whole log everything on this page. Can't seem to get it done.
Tricks to prevent having to lose a whole lot of fat from the holidays - don't overeat in the first place. Limit your party times and just how much you eat and drink and when. Don't go to parties hungry - eat before you go - And most important- continue to exercise regularly.
I will not be updating this blog for quite some time as we are going on a vacation - and vacation it will be - no work. It is our 6th year wedding anniversary Nov. 24th so we will be celebrating.
BFL is having a fitness weekend in Denver, Colorado January of next year and we are seriously thinking about attending. We might bring the kids and make a ski vacation of it - not definite yet. If your interested in learning more just check out BFL website.
God Bless &
Thrive High,
Evey
[ 2 comments ] ( 22 views ) | permalink |
( 3.2 / 28 )eating
Monday, November 14, 2005, 10:49 AM
Back to eating for good health. So I was watching an interview with Melanie Griffith (I think that's her last name) you know the one married to Antonio BAnderras and the interviewer remarked about how good she looked and her age. She is 48yrs old. He went on about it and asked her how she stays looking so good and her response was first that she exercises and I think she said she did pilates or yoga one of those and then he asked her if she dieted, her response was something to the effect that she doesn't eat she just drinks coffee and eats M&M's. So I was surprised that she admitted that on National TV but was not to surprised that she uses starvation, dehydration to stay thin(not healthy and fit but thin). It appears that many people still believe that the best way to get thin and wear small sizes is by not eating or eating very little. So What are you eating, when are you eating it and how much are you eating?
If you keep a journal of your eating, cardio and weight training you will know what you have been up to and when. If for some reason you do not see results after a period of time where you are consistently eating 5 protein and carb meals a day, cardio'ing regularly and lifting weights regularly then you can referr back to you journal that you have been recording in daily and honestly and figure our what's up.
So I was reading a blog recently where this chick was writing about being disappointed because apparently she has gained a bit of weight while supposedly eating 5-6small pro and carb meals a day, weight training 3 x a week and cardio'ing 3 x a week. As I was reading her entry all I could think was it can't be so. She is either eating to big a meals or she is not quite giving it her all while weight training and cardio. Probably eating first is not being done correctly or a combination of all three. From my experience it is almost always the eating that is the culprit in a person's success or lack thereof with dropping bodyfat. Without the eating in place or at least mostly in place not much success will follow.
About my blog - been having problems posting as I was having it worked on due to my most current entry spot on the right not up to date for some time now. Hopefully this will be fixed soon and we can continue on. I will be starting fresh with my recording of my food, cardio and weight training as of today.
Any questions or comments are welcome.
God Bless &
Thrive High,
Evey
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3.1 / 28 )proper form
Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 08:23 AM
Instead of "lift heavy or go home" the saying should be "use proper form or go home". Having good form while lifting weights is IT. You must be using it or what exactly do you think you are doing while lifting weights - just throwing some weight around I would imagine and possibly hurting yourself or others and the worst of it is you will not be targeting the muscle you set out to work on.
Proper from starts before you even go into a gym or studio as in GOOD Posture. Standing tall with your shoulders back and down, stomach(abs) in - no humps in the back please - as in shoulders slumped forward and the top of your back bumping out. This is not hard to do when you are 9 months pregnant as your belly is then in your throat and you just can't crunch down but after baby weeelllllll!!
For me it was tough having good posture after I had my kids - I don't know if it was because of the huge boobs or trying to hide the large belly, but I often would hunch down while breastfeeding and generally any time I was holding my little ones. This caused me alot of pain in my upper back and I am still working hard on always standing tall with shoulders back and abs tight. And this is a MUST while lifting weights.
So we have our good posture in place and we are going to lift some weights. Next important step is to focus on the body part you are working. Learn how to be in the moment as I like to call it. Pay attention to and focus on the full range of motion of the exercise you are doing. FEEL the muscle working from top to bottom of your exercise. Lifting weights correctly is never about the sets, reps or weight being lifted but is totally about engaging the muscle you are working on to it's maximum potential(optimal tension). Alot of times we focus on just getting the job done as in sets and reps and not on HOW WELL we are getting the job done as in fully engaging the muscle being used while lifting the weights.
Fully engaging the muscle is done with slow controlled movements. (I like to call them precise and purposeful movements). Stopping at the top and the bottom of the exercise so momentum is not coming into play. Keeping your whole body out of the movement and just engaging the muscle your working on. For example: say we are doing a barbell curl, standing with good posture holding our barbell in front our quads, curl the barbell up while having no movement but your arms curling up with the barbell. On the top of the movement squeeze the biceps as in flex them, and then slowly lower the weight in a controlled fashion - never with any exercise just let the weight drop. While you are lifting that barbell up, squeezing and lowering it you should be FEELING the whole time how the weight is causing tension on your biceps. So you must BE in the moment. Focused and concentrating on how this exercise feels on the muscle being worked.
[ 1 comment ] ( 18 views ) | permalink |
( 2.8 / 26 )intensity
Friday, October 28, 2005, 08:10 AM
Intensity - what is it? How do you get it? How do you measure it and why is it important for weight training? Online dictionary states intensities as "exceptionally great concentration, power and force." So when weight training are objective is to push the muscles beyond where they have been before or are, so they have to adapt and grow to handle the new challenges(ie heavier weights).
Way back when I began weight training (about 8 yrs ago now) I remember watching my husband lifting weights. Now this is a sight to see. First Lynn will not even start to lift weights if he is going to just move some weight around. NO NO NO he is going to be working hard from the getgo. So what does that look like? Well he gets red in the face, his arms or legs will shake, veins will pop out of his head as if his head is about to pop and yet still do a complete set. When I say he will still complete his set with good form you might be able to begin to understand what concentration and force he is using while lifting that weight. Fortunately I started weight training with someone who would not train me unless I was giving it my all. It's in the giving it your all that you start to have intensity.
Now finding your all is the biggest challenge of this whole intensity thing. Since I started training people I've found this to be an area that many need help with. How do you know when you can't
do any more - do you lift weights with the mindset of lifting till you can't do any more or just going through the motions? Many, many people look to be just lifting weights with their thoughts somewhere else instead of focused on what they are actually doing. You can tell by watching how they lift the weights and how they finish their sets. When I say how I'm talking about form and focus on the actual lifting and body part being worked and when they finish sets sloppily with maybe some energy left. Rule of thumb is do as many reps in that set as you can and then do two more. If you are training like that for every set of exercises you do you will probably be uses intesity with your weight training. What will happen if you train with intensity - you will see faster results and learn how to push your body and when.
My details:
Wed.
6am - oatmeal w/ pro and splenda, hot tea
10:00am - 2eggs and 1 slice toast
noon - FF Cottage cheese and apple
4pm - 2/3 MRP w/ water
7pm - 2/3 MRP w/ water , almonds
Cardio: 30 min roller
Lift: Chest
Fl Bench press
45 x 12 warm up
55x 12
65 x 10
75 x 8
85 x 4
45 x 12 took weights off from 85 and went right into lifting 45 for 12 count
Seated cable flyes
60 x 12
60 x 12 took break at 15 count
Shoulders
lat Raises
5 x 12
5 x 10
8 x 10
8 x 8
8 x 6
always hold on the top and make sure I stop completely on bottom of the movement
seated bent overs
5 x 12
5 x 12 no break
Tri's
French press
20 x 12
20 x 10
30 x 10
30 x 8
30 x 8
30 x 6
Dips
12
12 break at 12 - legs up on bench
Thurs
5:30am - oatmeal w/ pro
8:30am - sm RTD, almonds
noon - ckn, sw. pot, veggies
4pm - lg. RTD
7pm - FFCC almonds
Cardio: climber 30 min
Lift: off
Fri
6:30am - lg RTD
9:30am - ckn, sw. pot, veggies
noon - 1whole egg, 3whites, 1 1/2 sl tst
4pm - sm RTD
8pm - lg RTD
Cardio: roller 30 min
lift: Back and bi's
Dumbbell rows - favorite back exercise
20x 12 warm up
25 x 12
30 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 8
40 x 6
Rev Pulldowns - second fav
80 x 12
80 x 12 - break at 16
Bi's
barbell curl
20 x 12
20 x 12
30 x 10
30 x 10
30 x 8
30 x 6
Hammer curl
15 x 12
15 x 12 no break
Sat.
10:30am - 1 whole egg, 3 whites, 1sl tst
2pm - ckn, sw pot spinach
5pm - lg RTD
8pm - almonds and FF CC
Cardio: off
Lift: off
Sun.
7am - sm RTD
10am - tofu sausage, tst
2pm - ckn 1 cup noodles
4pm - hotdog and handful of chips - fall festival with kids all dressed up for Holloween and lots of fun.
7pm - will have sm RTD
Cardio: roller at 8am - 1hr and 15 min
Lift: off
So Monday is the new week - will try to get two lower body work-outs in this week and have some great eating going on with lots of intensity in my weight training.
I added most of this entry on Sunday night as I didn't have time to finish it on FRi
God Bless &
Thrive High,
Evey
[ add comment ] | permalink |
( 3 / 26 )day 2
Wednesday, October 26, 2005, 07:39 AM
So I am going to be recording my food, cardio and weight training on this page regularly, as in several times a week, not every day. I don't really know if this will help anyone who may be reading this but it will keep me focused on what I am trying to do. I will also be posting my most current pics and current BF so we all know where I am and progress that I make.
About the weight training...lots of women are still abit unsure of weight training and the benefits and how to do it so hopefully you can get something from all this. Weight training is something all of us should do to some extent. Why? First because it gives structure to our bodies like in muscle versus sloppy fat. Second because it helps your metabolism as in the more muscle you have the more calories(nutrients) your body needs to maintain that muscle. It has also been shown to increase your metabolism for 24 hrs after lifting weights. So what else...well if you get sick your body will go to your muscle for all the nutrients it needs especially if you are not eating properly.
Actually your body will always eat your muscle if you are not bringing in the nutrients it needs to keep everything running. This is why we see alot of "skinny fat girls" you know those girls/women that are small but very loose and cellulitey(is that a word?) So here goes..
Tues.
5:30am - running late again MR Bar
9am - 1whole egg, 2egg whites, 11/2 slice tst
noon - 2/3MRP canteloupe
4pm - ckn, sw pot and raspberries(tart)
6:30pm - 2/3 MRP
8:30pm - handful of almonds
Cardio: Rollerbladed in the beautiful cold day(for Fl) for an hr. On a level of 1-10 with 10 be the hardest I could go I did about a level 8. My quads and hams are and were tight so It hurt.
Lift: OFF
Comment on this blog - Yes I am aware that I misspell words, use bad grammer and have many incomplete sentences - in my defense, I have about a half an hour to write in this and sometimes not even that so I don't usually check or change anything - hopefully you can handle it.
So what have you done today to make a positive change for your health?
God Bless &
Thrive High,
EVey
[ 1 comment ] ( 6 views ) | permalink |
( 2.9 / 32 )Next
