Alright I have begun a challenge to go 10 days clean, this means NO cheat meals. With my busy schedule it is hard to keep form cheating, even if its just for a snack, but I want to see just how powerful clean food can be on your body. So I am experimenting with my body, in a good/healthy way, to see if I can transform my stomach into becoming very lean and maybe even showing my muscles! This means that food prep will be very important for me these next couple weeks so that I don't get stuck hungry at school with nothing healthy to eat.
Take this journey with me! If you've already cheated today, its OK, start your ten days tomorrow.
Remember to take a picture of yourself today, and then take another on the tenth day so you can compare your results!
Abs are made in the kitchen! You can do sit ups all day but if you don't eat clean you will never be able to see them!
So go eat clean, and train mean!!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Give your body the proper fuel it needs
Well, as the title states, give your body the proper fuel it needs. If you do not feed your body with an adequate amount of the proper nutrients you will not have the energy and strength to push through a good workout.
This happened to me today. I started my day off with a healthy breakfast (eggs, raspberries, blueberries, and Greek yogurt) but from my busy week of college and studying for tests, and keeping up with life in general, I was unprepared for the rest of my meals. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sand which for lunch (not going to lie it tasted AMAZING...I was craving it) and then I drank a Rockstar energy drink and for a snack twice today I ate kettle corn.
I headed to the gym, thinking that I was going to get in a good leg workout, however, it did not go as planned. I felt really weak and had no desire to finish. I was trying to increase the amount of weight I was lifting, in order to gain progress, but this only made things worse. I felt very exhausted and weak.
All in all, I did not make it through the entire work out that I wanted to accomplish. I know a huge part of this was because of my diet. If you feed your body crap, you are going to get crappy results. Think of it as putting fuel in your vehicle. If you put the best quality fuel in your vehicle it will run at its optimum potential. On the other hand, if you put the lowest quality fuel in your vehicle it was not run at the optimum level. Same with your body, it will still run, just not at its maximum potential.
So, eat a proper and balanced diet, get an adequate amount of rest, and kill those workouts!
Here's what I did today (not including everything that I planned on doing):
Warm-up
Barbell squats - 2 sets of 15 increase weight - 2 more sets of 15
Dead-lifts- 2 sets of 15 increase weight - 2 more sets of 15
Leg press - 20 reps, increase weight, 15 reps, increase weight, 10 reps, increase weight 6 reps
Calf raises 4 sets of 15
Wall squats with weight - 4 total. 60 sec, 45 sec, 30 sec, until failure
There was more than I wanted to do but I was feeling super weak, along with shoulder pain and a pinching feeling in my back (due to previous injury; I go to the doctor in 2 weeks).
Since I do not want to risk making my injury worse I may take an unplanned rest day tomorrow depending on how I feel. Listen to your body, if its telling you something isn't right, take a rest day.
Otherwise, eat clean and train mean!
This happened to me today. I started my day off with a healthy breakfast (eggs, raspberries, blueberries, and Greek yogurt) but from my busy week of college and studying for tests, and keeping up with life in general, I was unprepared for the rest of my meals. I ate a peanut butter and jelly sand which for lunch (not going to lie it tasted AMAZING...I was craving it) and then I drank a Rockstar energy drink and for a snack twice today I ate kettle corn.
I headed to the gym, thinking that I was going to get in a good leg workout, however, it did not go as planned. I felt really weak and had no desire to finish. I was trying to increase the amount of weight I was lifting, in order to gain progress, but this only made things worse. I felt very exhausted and weak.
All in all, I did not make it through the entire work out that I wanted to accomplish. I know a huge part of this was because of my diet. If you feed your body crap, you are going to get crappy results. Think of it as putting fuel in your vehicle. If you put the best quality fuel in your vehicle it will run at its optimum potential. On the other hand, if you put the lowest quality fuel in your vehicle it was not run at the optimum level. Same with your body, it will still run, just not at its maximum potential.
So, eat a proper and balanced diet, get an adequate amount of rest, and kill those workouts!
Here's what I did today (not including everything that I planned on doing):
Warm-up
Barbell squats - 2 sets of 15 increase weight - 2 more sets of 15
Dead-lifts- 2 sets of 15 increase weight - 2 more sets of 15
Leg press - 20 reps, increase weight, 15 reps, increase weight, 10 reps, increase weight 6 reps
Calf raises 4 sets of 15
Wall squats with weight - 4 total. 60 sec, 45 sec, 30 sec, until failure
There was more than I wanted to do but I was feeling super weak, along with shoulder pain and a pinching feeling in my back (due to previous injury; I go to the doctor in 2 weeks).
Since I do not want to risk making my injury worse I may take an unplanned rest day tomorrow depending on how I feel. Listen to your body, if its telling you something isn't right, take a rest day.
Otherwise, eat clean and train mean!
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
There's no secret
It does not matter how you choose to do it, any physical activity is good activity. As long as you get out there and do it you're making progress.
There is also no major number of reps or sets or amount of weight that you need to be doing. Everyone is different and everyone works at a different pace. You just need to figure up what works best for your body and go at your own pace. There is not one secret way to get the best results. A certain thing may work great for me but not for you or visa versa. It takes time to figure out what works best for you and what you enjoy doing. Don't think that right off the bat you are going to find the perfect way to slim down and get in shape. It definitely took me a long time. I originally thought that I just needed to run a lot because I needed to loose my fat and I didn't want to get bulky. (Typical thought process of most females). It wasn't until just recently that I've learned what routine and foods work best for me.
So don't give up! It takes time. Results won't happen over night and there is no perfect routine. So go try different routines, different foods, and stay focused on your goals! Mix it up a little too so you don't get bored.
Here is a good chest workout that I did today. It's pretty short so I added some ab exercise and a couple back exercises because I felt like I need a good stretch.
Everything was 4 sets of 10
Cable cross overs
Barbell incline bench
Dumbbell bench press
Pec dec flies
Push-ups 4 sets of as many as you can
It is a short workout but its still something and its progress!
Do as many reps/sets as you feel. Switch it up 4 sets of 10 or 3 sets of 15 or whatever you'd like, just do it!
There is also no major number of reps or sets or amount of weight that you need to be doing. Everyone is different and everyone works at a different pace. You just need to figure up what works best for your body and go at your own pace. There is not one secret way to get the best results. A certain thing may work great for me but not for you or visa versa. It takes time to figure out what works best for you and what you enjoy doing. Don't think that right off the bat you are going to find the perfect way to slim down and get in shape. It definitely took me a long time. I originally thought that I just needed to run a lot because I needed to loose my fat and I didn't want to get bulky. (Typical thought process of most females). It wasn't until just recently that I've learned what routine and foods work best for me.
So don't give up! It takes time. Results won't happen over night and there is no perfect routine. So go try different routines, different foods, and stay focused on your goals! Mix it up a little too so you don't get bored.
Here is a good chest workout that I did today. It's pretty short so I added some ab exercise and a couple back exercises because I felt like I need a good stretch.
Everything was 4 sets of 10
Cable cross overs
Barbell incline bench
Dumbbell bench press
Pec dec flies
Push-ups 4 sets of as many as you can
It is a short workout but its still something and its progress!
Do as many reps/sets as you feel. Switch it up 4 sets of 10 or 3 sets of 15 or whatever you'd like, just do it!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
My arms hate me
It's late, and I have to be early tomorrow so here's a short and sweet post about my arm workout today.
I started my day with protein pancakes one with banana and one with banana and raspberries. Then I had a tuna sandwich for lunch and killed my workout!
Warm up
Alternating dumb-bell curl 4 sets of 10
Overhead tricep extension 4sets of 10
Standing cable curl 4 sets of 10
Tricep rope push down 4 sets of 10
Tricep dumbbell kickback 4 sets of 10
Superset (two workouts after another with no rest between sets) push ups and bench dips 4 sets of 10
Cool down
This was a killer workout and my arms were definitely feeling it, especially because I upped my weights in everything I did from the amount I normally do. Have to push yourself to get stronger, go further, and get leaner! My arms hate me but I'm going to love the way they look soon!
I hope everyone had a good Sunday and killed their workouts!
Eat clean, train mean!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Enjoying my Saturday
I am so glad that the weekend is finally here! That means no classes and a good workout. I started my morning off with some eggs, turkey bacon, a kiwi, and an orange. Basically the only things I really have left for breakfast. (I really need to go to the grocery store!) It is good to have protein in the morning because it will keep you feeling fuller longer throughout that day.
For my workout today I decided to hit my legs. My shoulders are feeling kind of sore still from my workout the other day, and with my left shoulder being messed up like it is, I didn't want to strain it with an arm workout. Plus I had a couple leg workout ideas in mind that I wanted to try in order to switch up my routine.
Here's what I did:
warm-up (5 minute jog) at 6.0
barbell squats - 4 sets of 10
sumo squats - 4 sets of 10
Reverse lunges 4 sets of 10 on each leg
Walking lunges - 4 sets of 8 each leg
Straight leg deadlift - 4 sets of 10
one-legged lunges - 4 sets of 8 on each leg
Side lunges - 4 sets of 8 each leg
calf raises - 3 sets of 15
Stretch - cool down
My legs were definitely feeling it after this!! Next time I am also going to add leg presses and wall sits. I just ran out of time today and I had to get going. Probably a good thing though because my legs were getting very tired!
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| Not a great picture, sorry, I was in a hurry |
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| Finally seeing muscle tone along the side of my shoulders (looks like 3 muscles going diagonally across) |
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| Need to work on that underside of my arm but I'm loving the way my biceps are coming along! |
Spot reduction does NOT exist
As much as all women want to believe that spot reduction exists, trust me, it does not. Most women want to get rid of those problem areas like love handles, or inner thighs, but trying to just strictly do sit ups will not work. You have to change your diet and you will loose fat all over your body. It doesn't happen over night, (as much as we wish it would) it takes time. That is why you cannot give up if you are not seeing results.
I started seeing results pretty fast when I first started my journey (this is because I was doing something my body wasn't used to) but then the results quit coming for awhile and of course this was frustrating. This is the point when everyone wants to give up and most people do. The thing is though that your body has just gotten used to eating healthy and working out. Sometimes you can hit a plateau. DON'T GIVE UP! You just need to continue working hard and change up your workouts. Your body starts to get used to doing the same thing so you need to switch it up and change your workout routine every now and then. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a cheat meal every now and then, BUT have a limit! Limit your cheat meal to only once a week, and one meal during that day of week. Such as maybe dinner and dessert.
After I changed my workout routine and tricked my body, it took a little bit but then pounds just seemed to fall off and I was getting great results again. Once this happens, when you get past that first hump of no results and the frustration, you will feel incredible because you are one step closer to your goal and you will be very inspired to keep going.
That's another thing, set a goal for yourself. Make it realistic though. No it is not possible to loose 20 pounds in two weeks. It's also incredibly unhealthy. Pick a goal or two and focus solely on those. You can't change everything all at once, such as completely not eating any chocolate at all if you used to eat it everyday. You have to take baby steps, otherwise you will most likely get overwhelmed and binge. Same thing with working out. If your body is not used to working out and you take on a huge load for a long period of time, everyday, your body will get extremely fatigued and overwhelmed. You will most likely not be able to keep this up. Don't expect to be able to run for a long time at a fast pace or lift a ton of weights at a lot of reps right off the bat.
Set your goals, work towards them, reach them, and make new goals. It doesn't hurt to change or switch up your goals every now and then because the "new" challenge will be good motivation. Just don't give up.
I started seeing results pretty fast when I first started my journey (this is because I was doing something my body wasn't used to) but then the results quit coming for awhile and of course this was frustrating. This is the point when everyone wants to give up and most people do. The thing is though that your body has just gotten used to eating healthy and working out. Sometimes you can hit a plateau. DON'T GIVE UP! You just need to continue working hard and change up your workouts. Your body starts to get used to doing the same thing so you need to switch it up and change your workout routine every now and then. Also, it doesn't hurt to have a cheat meal every now and then, BUT have a limit! Limit your cheat meal to only once a week, and one meal during that day of week. Such as maybe dinner and dessert.
After I changed my workout routine and tricked my body, it took a little bit but then pounds just seemed to fall off and I was getting great results again. Once this happens, when you get past that first hump of no results and the frustration, you will feel incredible because you are one step closer to your goal and you will be very inspired to keep going.
That's another thing, set a goal for yourself. Make it realistic though. No it is not possible to loose 20 pounds in two weeks. It's also incredibly unhealthy. Pick a goal or two and focus solely on those. You can't change everything all at once, such as completely not eating any chocolate at all if you used to eat it everyday. You have to take baby steps, otherwise you will most likely get overwhelmed and binge. Same thing with working out. If your body is not used to working out and you take on a huge load for a long period of time, everyday, your body will get extremely fatigued and overwhelmed. You will most likely not be able to keep this up. Don't expect to be able to run for a long time at a fast pace or lift a ton of weights at a lot of reps right off the bat.
Set your goals, work towards them, reach them, and make new goals. It doesn't hurt to change or switch up your goals every now and then because the "new" challenge will be good motivation. Just don't give up.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Fast, healthy and easy meal
Here is one of the meals I had today. It's fast, healthy and easy so I had to share.
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| In between classes today I made a turkey burger patty topped with a tomato slice and asparagus on this side. super delicious and clean!
I bought the turkey burger already in a patty and pre-seasoned so all I had to do as put a little olive oil in a pan and cook the patty for probably about ten minutes on medium heat. For the asparagus I put a little olive oil in a pan and sprinkled garlic powder over them and cooked on medium heat for about 5 minutes. I like my asparagus crunchy so I don't cook it for too long. Add a sliced tomato and ta-da! Fast, easy, healthy meal!
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