Long Hot Days

David said I look like I have a black eye. It's probably mascara and eyeliner smeared all over the place if you want to know the truth, that and my hair in my eyes. I am a mess!


Some days I really do want to rest, I want to go home and not rush to do all I do, and maybe just lay on the bed and read a bit. But luckily I have friends and strangers who say things to keep me motivated and I snap out of it quickly.


Today is Tuesday, it's about 7:30 pm, and the typical Tuesday goes like this:


Up at 4am, drink meal replacement, take supplements, check email, steal a glance at the sports page (of two newspapers). Arrive at the gym before they open at 5am. Weight train till 6:20, down my post training drink and more supplements, grab a coffee at the cafe and drive home fast, I need to be at work by 7:30.


Shower, put on make up, drink more coffee the whole time. Toss breakfast and two lunches into my car, drive to work and get there at 7:35.


My office is "connected" to another in that the heat and air is controlled by the other person. This person likes it hot. My office is 80 degrees every morning when I arrive. I start to sweat and turn the fan on the rest of the day. I am not joking. :(


Eat breakfast of chocolate waffles (yes they are diet food) at my desk while I check email. Work, meetings, yada, yada, yada. 


11:30 I change and grab my jump rope and ipod, and some cloth bags, it's CSA day. I jog to the Event Center, run up and down my stairs (300 up, 300 down, two at a time on the way up) and jump rope 300 times. It's hot, really hot, mid 80's I think. Being on top of a cement building seems to make the heat radiate off my body, that's OK, I take my shirt off and sweat away.


It seems to becoming popular, there are three people today and one guy who climbs the stairs backward, on his toes and hands....don't ask.


I grab my bags and jog to the Nutrition and Food Science Building and pick up my produce. Darn, no flowers today! I order flowers for my office and today they are out. :(


I start to walk back to the office, past the Event Center and a construction worker who has been there all summer in the courtyard says to me (as he walks in front of a semi truck, keeping students out of its path):


"I have never seen you walk!"


I laugh and tell him I walk all the time. Get back to the office at 12 noon and I get to eat! Good I am starving. 3 ounces brown rice, 4 ounces chicken breast, 2 cups vegetables (peppers and mushrooms) and supplements. I eat at my desk, working. You really don't want to see any of my keyboards....


More work, more meetings.


2:30, I am starving! I push it out another half hour since I cannot eat dinner as soon as I get home.


3:00: 4 ounces ground grass fed beef, tomatoes, pimiento peppers, arugula and fat free vinaigrette.


More work, more meetings. Sheesh!


5:00, leave for home, drive with the top down (of course!) and it's even hotter now, my car tells me it is now 86 degrees. The hot air blows in my hair and face. 


5:30 I am home. Do I really have to ? It's hot, I could probably skip it...No.


I change into the same damn clothes I have now worn twice already (this morning, lunch and now again). They are wet. I have to stop doing this, but they will only get wet again, so why put on clean ones? I will bring clean ones tomorrow when I train with Roy, I cannot subject anyone else to this wet mess. 


I grab a water, icy cold from the fridge and head out to the track across the street, the heat is radiating up making it hard to breathe.


Up the stadium stairs and down, up and down, then sprinting...6 times. I am breathing hard, the heat makes me go slower, but I am still doing it, I didn't quit. I jog home, then walk the last bit (where is my construction worker now?)


Make my dinner, still I am soaking wet, I only took my shoes off. I have 2 cups of vegetables (peppers, mushrooms, eggplant), 5 ounces tilapia, a hard cooked egg. Vinegar and Sriracha sauce. More supplements.


Make lunches for the next day, take my make up off, shower. 


Write, check email (this computer seems to suck a lot of my time huh?)


Make last meal. 1 cup egg whites and one cup mushrooms (I am a fungus gal for sure), a big glass of orange xtend, more supplements.


Sleepy time tea and off to bed to read a bit. 


My long hot day is gonna be a long hot night.


That's how Monday went and how Thursday will be also. Wednesday and Friday are a bit different since I train with Roy so things get a bit flip flopped. But I still have what seems to be a constant, never ending cycle of eating and training. 

Friday's Training with Roy

Roy and I are training shoulders on Fridays right now, and I am loving it!


There is always a point in my training where I think I know so much, only to find that there is a whole world that I don't know about, and it is so fun to discover it! 


We are working on my anterior and lateral deltoids to show more roundness. The posterior are looking good, and that usually lags on so many people.


We went for volume, I seem to respond well to that.


Incline barbell press (using fatgripz)
Incline dumbbell press with a neutral (some call hammer) grip
   superset with
Lateral raise
Incline front raise (on a bench, face down, neutral grip)
   superset with
laying rear delt raise


I took longer than an hour, and it felt great!  We chatted for a while about the world of competing, dieting and the shady side of the bodybuilding world in general.


A guy wanders over from the pull down across the drive, we are in an industrial area, who knows what goes on behind the closed doors! He said we both look like "fit people" and wanted to know if we wanted to buy some Sea Bass.


Roy and I looked at each other, I couldn't tell if he was about to crack up and was holding it in, or not. I know it was rather odd. It is 80 degrees outside, we are standing in font of his gym and some guy wants to show us his fish in a crowded and cluttered garage...


I say "sure we will come see" and we walk over, they have huge ice chests with not much in them, they buy from the fish wholesalers...hmmm. I see fishing poles but I don't think they are for sea bass. They give us a crab cocktail and we thank them and walk back to the gym, we decide not to buy anything.


We huddle together in the gym wondering what kind of business they are running and laugh as we both tell the other they can have the crab salad. We talk about Arnold and wonder if he will be able to make a comeback, or are we stuck with the vision of his belly in the speedo forever? He was stunning in his younger days, and although he did use steroids, he was and still must be genetically gifted.

I say goodbye, we will train legs on Wednesday evening. I drive off to have a pedicure. I realize it sounds like I have some odd foot fetish, I have a pedicure or a foot massage almost every week, but it is so relaxing and an inexpensive treat to myself. 


I picked wild orange today, one of my last hurrahs to summer.

I fell asleep, It seems that I am always falling asleep when I have a pedicure or a foot massage! That's a good thing right?


Actually a waive of sheer relaxation came over me, making my eyes heavy. I wouldn't say I was tired or exhausted, it was like every inch of my body felt spent and completely at peace. It happens sometimes when I train for a long period of time, and I believe it is endorphines surging through my body and then a let down, like there is nothing left in me. It is this high that keeps me doing what I do all the time.


I closed my eyes, just sitting waiting for my orange creamsicle polish to dry then home I went, floating on a cloud, not quite sure what is in control of my body. 


Time for a great muscle building meal. I had planned on having fillet Mignon, but we had another teenager over for dinner and I gave up my fillet for the good of the cause. Instead I had a fabulous beefalo patty from Pampero Ranch.  Stacy introduced me to this farm, Jim sells at the Mountain View farmers market. The beefalo is very tasty, 4.8% fat, grass fed and a great source of protein. He sells some wonderful eggs where the chickens eat only melon rinds and flax seeds too.


I had beefalo, a whole egg, broccolini, mushrooms and peppers. A spoon of mustard and a big glass of water. 

I am ready to hit the Quads on Saturday morning. Roy and I trained hamstrings Wednesday, they are still tight from the workout, of course sprints and stairs afterward certainly helped to pump them up. 

I wonder, do you ever get this feeling after training? I would love to hear!

Cardio to Blast Away Fat

I started! I started to add additional cardio, it felt like it was time. I need to drop some more fat and this will help blast it off.

I will start out incorporating more cardio two times a week, and maybe three if I feel I am not overdoing it.

I don't go back to the gym if I can avoid it, the evenings are crazy busy and just looking for a parking space can put me in an unpleasant frame of mind.

Anyway, spending time on any of the machines is really not the best method to blast off fat. You need high intensity or intervals.

I happen to have a wonderful track directly across the street! Here I am after getting home right after my workout.

Monday I arrived at the gym for my shoulder training, one hour. I then did my usual stairs and jump rope at lunch, but was psyching myself up for more intervals so I attacked with a vengeance. I took my steps two at a time, this was great, I felt super strong and I enjoyed mixing it up.

I left work on time, which I will be doing every night now that I have "an appointment" with the track and I quickly changed then jogged across the street.

The stadium stairs are double wide, so the strides are long, there are four isles, 21 high, I run up one isle, down one isle, up one isle, down one isle, weaving my way across from one side to the other. At the bottom of the last set I run out to the track and sprint 100 yards along the football field, then jog back to the bottom of the stairs where I just ended.

I did that 6 times. 

soooo....

252 stairs up

252 stairs down

600 yards sprints

I will do it again on Tuesday, increasing everything by one set.

That means today I:

Ran up 552 stairs

Down 552 stairs

Jumped rope 300 times

Sprinted 600 yards

Lifted weights for one hour

Worked a 9 hour day (I always do so I can leave early Friday)

Ate dinner of a Pincho Maruno Chicken Patty (recipe is here, I love them), green beans, cauliflower, mustard.

And wrote this blog!

Even I feel a bit tired now!

Cup of sleepy time tea and the GH will kick in and I will grow and shrink in all the right places.


A note to this post which I wrote on Monday - My week went about the same, full of energy! Tuesday was Chest day at the gym, lunch time stairs/jumping rope, then track again after work. Wednesday morning was 30 minutes stairmill at the gym, stairs/jump rope at lunch and Legs with Roy after work. Thursday was Back day  at the gym, stairs and jump rope at lunch and track after work....


Friday I will go to the gym in the morning for stairmill and stretching, then I will see Roy for shoulders at noon. I will not do anything afterward, but I may stop by the $20.00 foot massage!


Drop the boys off at the Sportplex to catch a ride in a huge van of players heading to a lacrosse tournament in Huntington Beach, and the weekend is mine, all alone....Stacy and I are going to the Jazz Festival, I want to see Eric Lindell! But we will both hit the gym for a couple hours first!

Getting Ripped

Days like today make me feel so good!  When you are busting your butt, dieting, training, then working and still trying to maintain a home life, it's the little things that make you perk up and remember that its all worth it. 

This is me when I came home from work Monday, David took one look at me and said "you need a cheeseburger! You have veins all over your chest!" I think he meant striations, but regardless, he watches very closely when I diet.

I think I look fabulous! 

Here is what happened today:

It was shoulder day, so I trained shoulders for an hour then off to work. I was coming up in the elevator and one of the maintenance guys looks at me and points to me and said "Look at you! Your arms are ripped and everything!"

"Yeah, I am dieting and my body goes through 'mood swings' as I do, it's in a good mood today!"

Then as I ran my stairs and jumped my rope at lunch, another maintenance guy from across campus pulls his little cart up to the base of the stone steps, waves to me and starts climbing up, he wants to talk to me.

"Hey Jose! What's up?" I ask.

He asks me how many stairs I am running- do I hop on one foot? I should. Do I double jump or single jump? He demonstrates how I should be doing it, his keys jangle on his belt as does his not so flat belly....

We chat a while, I thank him for the valuable advise and he drives off. Shortly later I zip by, shout "race you" and I run as fast as I can past him, all the people watching and cheering. I win! Those electric carts don't go too fast, plus he would probably get in trouble racing a pedestrian on campus.

I am walking a mother and her sophomore son back to my office and she says from behind me "Well it's obvious you are a body builder!" I don't explain the difference and I enjoy being confused with a bodybuilder, means my arms are looking big!

We talk about the competitions and they want to know if there are categories. I tell them I compete in the 50 and up and then open, 18 and up, Mom looks a little impressed.

The son looks around my office at trophies and the picture, asks if I won there. I told him "I always win" and I do.....He gets a huge grin on his face and gives me a high five.

A student came into my office to say goodbye, it was his last day. He said "When I started I was afraid of you, you could hurt me! Mehul told me, Kristy is a real gymnast, but a lady, treat her right and she will be nice to you. But I saw your biceps, I looked at my own and I was afraid, now I know not to be afraid, but you still have very big biceps. I will miss you".


And a very good friend added the topper to it all, she said to me over email "I was attracted to you for your joie de vivre – your love of life and “fuck everyone if they don’t like me” attitude.  I need to get me some of your brand of balls! "


I was high on the comments! It all makes the diet easier to endure.

These pants were fitting perfectly a couple weeks ago, now look! If you look closely you can see the vein running up the side of my stomach, I LOVE this look....and it only gets better.

Maybe this will show better, look I have plenty of room, good thing these have a drawstring. I suppose they will go on the shelf for a few months now, they are just a little too loose at this point. And anyway, once you diet down and start looking ripped, why would you want to wear baggy old army pants?!

And yes, I am looking really vascular, it comes and goes but has been with me a lot today, depending on when and what I eat, and my water intake, I can look smooth or tight and vascular. So for dinner I had a "cheeseburger" modified...


6 ounce beef patty from Prather Ranch at the farmers market, cooked red rare inside, almost bloody. Mushrooms, mixed peppers and asparagus. 


It did a body good!

By the way, call them balls, or whatever you like, I have plenty and you can get some of your own! Just follow me and you will!

Lunch Time Cardio

In my office after my lunch time exercise. I usually run up 300 steps and down 300 steps, and jump rope 300 times at lunch when I am not stuck at my desk finishing a spreadsheet (you know, Pivot Tables are great time savers!)


Anyway, today I thought I was looking especially good, starting to get back to my usual "ripped" self, so I tried to take some pictures. 


I like the vascularity even though the judges don't for a Figure competition.

Shoulders are looking nice and round, biceps are bulging.

And, striations in the chest....love it!


Getting out in the middle of the day is a great idea if you are able, it not only helps you fit in some cardio work but rejuvenates the brain cells and gets you off the butt cells.


I cannot usually fit in cardio during my morning session, I get to the gym when they open at 5:00 am and then have to be at work by 7:30, that doesn't leave a whole lot of time since I lift anywhere from one to one and a quarter hours.


The short period I set aside at lunch gets a good 20 to 25 minutes of hard work in. I know many people who think that because they only have a half hour, it's not worth the time and effort. 


Please, if you are one of these people, change your thinking! It is worth every second! Even if you can only hit the jump rope for 10 minutes it is worth it!


If you scroll back up and look at my slightly blurry, out of focus pictures, you will notice one thing. I look really happy, energetic, alive! I feel GOOD!


And I didn't look that way a half hour earlier. I had been tired, my eyes were dry, I was feeling that I had no time for my work. But, I made the time to run my stairs. I realize not everyone has the freedom to do this, and I certainly appreciate the fact that I do.


I have a drawer in my credenza where I keep shoes, shorts, tops, running bras, a jump rope and an extra iPod. I have no excuses ever. 


Sometimes, when the day is really stressful and I have a meeting at lunch, I will just take off after, late in the day and I feel so much better. I have the added luxury of jumping rope on top of a building, and the view overlooks the city of San Jose, quite a great spot to listen to Guns and Roses while I bust my butt, forgetting about the stresses of the day!