Wasting Time In The Gym

The purpose of this is not to make fun or ridicule others, it's really meant to make you think about what you are doing when you go into the gym. First, kudos to everyone who actually makes it to the gym, that's the first step!

When you go into the gym, you need to have a plan, going in without a well thought out plan is like grocery shopping without a list. You will end up forgetting things you needed, and leaving with many things you didn't. You will have wasted time and money, and I am not sure about you, but I have a shortage of both of those things!

If you are serious, you have a written plan, a book or binder that has your workout already recorded - at least the exercises you are supposed to do. Mine has my own "code" where I will discuss it with Roy ahead of time, and then on one side (right of the page) in parentheses, I record what I am supposed to aim for (weight, sets, reps and rest periods), then on the left side of the page I record what I actually do. 

This conversation takes place three times a week based on what he and I just trained that day and how that training went.

It is important, more important than you may realize. If you are not increasing weight, sets or reps every workout, you really are not making progress are you? The human body is amazing at adapting to it's environment so if you do not change things up, it won't need to change to adapt to the surroundings. Don't expect to remember- if you can then you are doing the same thing over and over, I guarantee it!

A timer is also important, to make sure you don't rest too long and you may want to time the amount of time you spend lifting, the "Time Under Tension", the longer the muscle is under tension, the better. It forces you to concentrate, to really think about the tempo and what you are doing.

I also record my weight, how I feel that morning and how I look. It changes, I can look hard and ripped or soft and flabby in a matter of days. 


So, some things that I see that are truly a waste of time? I think the number one is using this for their abs:

Yes, I see people come up to this and lean back and quickly jerk their knees up and down a whole bunch of times, I swear, maybe 100 of them! I am sure they are convinced they are building abs of steel, but why don't  they get a clue when their abs don't look any better, any tighter, or any different at all? Sure, there is an effective way of very slowly performing leg lifts, but no one does it, no one. And, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it doesn't matter what you do, unless you diet long and hard, and get rid of all that body fat, no amount of ab training will help you.

A lot of people spend a great deal of time on this, or something that looks like this: The Ab Crunch

And they are chatting with their friends at the same time! Same thing here, no good, it's just a waste of your time if you don't do it correctly and start the diet first.

I also see people run all around, with no rhyme or reason, training all different body parts. You don't have to train in the bodybuilder style where you train one body part a day, but you do need to consider which muscles you are training and which ones may exhaust from one exercise before you can actually effectively train another. There is actual science behind all this........

Squatting with little weights, I mean really little, like a 45 pound bar, or maybe 65 pounds. The legs and glutes are massive muscles, they need some heavy weight, squatting like this is really a waste of time.

Using the entire body to perform a lat pull down. That's this thing:

The point of this exercise is not how heavy you can go, it's how strict you can do it and isolate the correct muscles, the lats:

If you just pile the machine with lots of weight and then lean waaaaay back to pull it down, you are missing the entire point, you are not utilizing the lats at all.  You are supposed to be pulling down with the upper back muscles (lats), not your arms, not your torso, not your entire body.


Lifting weights then launching into a long period of cardio. This is OK if you are trying to lose bodyfat or lose weight (two completely different things folks), or perhaps just participate in "General Physical Fitness" but not if you are trying to add lean mass. It's counter productive. 

And last: Doing the exact same thing over time and time again, with the same weights.  This has got to be the biggest waste of time. There is no challenge to the mind or body here, muscles will not grow, and you won't lose any bodyfat or weight since your body will be accustomed to the same thing every single time. Might as well stay in and watch a move! 

I think that many people seem to forget a fundamental rule about weight training. It takes time, effort and practice to excel. You need to give 100% effort when you are doing it. Just like any skill, you need to learn to be good and you need to put the energy and love into it or you won't reap the rewards. It doesn't happen over night or even in a few weeks.

If you just want to go in and burn off some calories, and don't really care about body composition or sculpting your muscles, then this can be accomplished easily by just jumping rope in your driveway, or any other method of energy expenditure you can think of. 

Take a look at what you are doing and make sure you are challenging your body every single day!

What thighs lose, belly finds

I don’t believe in quick fixes and if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably not. I believe that hard work and perseverance will prevail, and good wins over bad. I also believe in Karma.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with someone having cosmetic surgery if that’s what they want to do. But to think it is a replacement for a healthy diet and regular exercise, well that’s just not very realistic is it?  This was a very interesting article regarding liposuction. Personally, the thought of having this type of procedure literally makes me nauseous, but then I have never been faced with the dilemma of "saddlebags", so perhaps if I were, I might have a different opinion on this. 

It's really something to give careful thought to if you are considering the cost and pain of this. Will you make changes afterward? Or will you end up with fat somewhere else?

By the way, this is NOT my butt!

By Gina Kolata

New York Times

The woman's hips bulged in unsightly saddlebags. Then she had liposuction and, presto, those saddlebags disappeared.

Photo after photo on plastic surgery websites make liposuction look easy, its results transformative. It has become the most popular plastic surgery, with more than 450,000 operations a year, each costing a few thousand dollars.

But does the fat come back? And if it does, where does it show up?

Until now, no one knew. But a new study, led by Drs. Teri Hernandez and Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado, has answered those questions. And what he found is not good news.

In the study, the researchers randomly assigned non-obese women to have liposuction on their protuberant thighs and lower abdomen or to refrain from having the procedure, serving as controls. 

The result, published in the latest issue of Obesity, was that fat came back after it was suctioned out. It took a year, but it all returned. But it did not reappear in the women's thighs. Instead, Eckel said, "it was redistributed upstairs," mostly in the upper abdomen, but also around the shoulders and triceps of the arms.

Dr. Felmont Eaves III, a plastic surgeon in Charlotte, N.C., and president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, said the study was "very well done," and the results were surprising. He said he would mention it to his patients in the context of other information on liposuction.

The finding raises questions about plastic surgery. Liposuction has been around since 1974 and is heavily advertised. Why did it take so long for anyone to do this study?

Maybe it's because such a study is very difficult, said Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine. It takes a team of researchers, and money. Fat must be measured precisely, with scans.

And surgery, said Jonathan Moreno, an ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied the field, is not like other areas of medicine.

"A lot of it has to do with the culture of surgery, which is literally hands-on," he said. Surgeons, he added, often feel a connection to patients that makes it difficult to agree to trials that involve randomizing them.

3 1/2 weeks no diet!

I broke my rib 3 ½ weeks ago, so what happened to me? Did I fall apart?

Well, maybe I did emotionally for a bit, but that didn’t last too long.

I immediately fell off the diet wagon, I was 5 or 6 weeks out from a competition, and looking pretty darn ripped, I wasn’t sure if I could try to compete. My doctor said “no, you cannot lift weights or exercise” so I came to the realization fairly soon that I couldn’t try and for my own mental health, I shouldn’t even let myself believe I could.

I then went back on my diet, but my regular off season diet, not a pre-competition diet. In other words, I stuck to a fairly healthy food plan with an occasional treat.

Those treats became more and more frequent, friends heard about the injury and all wanted to eat, drink, go out, and celebrate. I obliged, it was fun!

After a week the doctor said I could walk, so I started out on the treadmill, 60 minutes a day. When my rib wasn’t as painful, after about two weeks I moved to the stairmill, that’s the best cardio workout for me, sweat would drip from my body as I trudged up those stairs day after day, for 60 minutes every morning.

Once in a while someone would stop by and ask why I was up there, how come I wasn’t lifting? Word started to spread, I got very sympathetic looks every day, they knew I hated cardio and missed my weights.

All in all, how do I look after almost 4 weeks of no diet and no weight training? Pretty darn good actually!

I can really see the softness from the back now, although my shoulders are fairly non existent, you can still see the "tree" of my back, and as soon as I start in training, especially with the pull ups, my back will respond.

The glute area is looking way too soft  in my opinion, probably the worst I have ever seen on me!

Shoulders? My pride and joy have all but disappeared. Although I still look great, I am definitely not competition ready!

But I start lifting again on Wednesday, and Wednesday is shoulder day! Those puppies will be screaming for forgiveness on Thursday and Friday, and will come bouncing back to life soon.

 

So I will toss the suit in the closet for another week and a half, and see how I look after a week of training!

Leaning Out

You don't see me with my clothes on often do you? Ha Ha!

I always get a little extra boost when I start getting to this point, I like to wear form fitting clothes, but I also like the "form" to be "fit"....

Here I am Tuesday after work, these are one of my Lucky brand jeans, soft and worn and they shall now be relegated to the "larger" end of the closet, they are size 2.

I have clothes arranged by size since it fluctuates so much throughout the year. I have 0's to 4's. I think I may have a couple 5's in there somewhere, but they must be "skinny" 5's if you know what I mean.

I can see how people go on a diet and get discouraged, it takes time! When I get to this point things continue rapidly so I have to be careful, and being careful means beef more often (it has more calories and slightly higher fat), and peanut butter! Yum!

Recently I wrote about the changes I made to my diet, but unless you follow me and have for a while, you have no idea what it was to start out! So, let me give you a run down of a typical day for me (now).

Keep in mind I am giving estimates and I am including the calories, carbs and proteins for the vegetables. Many people don't even count them.

4:15 am Supplements & Lean 1 meal replacement drink
       200 calories; 20 grams protein; 18 grams carbs

6:30 am Supplements & Endurox R4 Recovery drink (1 scoop only)
       135 calories; 6.5 grams protein; 26 grams carbs

7:45 am Homemade Waffles (egg whites, oats, flavorings)
       300 calories; 31 grams protein; 39 grams carbs (if you are counting only starchy carbs it would be 27 grams)

11:30 am Lunch #1 Supplements & 4 ounces chicken breast; 3 ounces lentils; 2 cups vegetables
       320 calories; 37 grams protein; 29 grams carbs (if you were counting only starchy carbs it would be 17 grams)

3:00 pm Lunch #2 4 ounces chicken breast; 3 ounces black beans; 2 cups vegetables
       320 calories; 37 grams protein; 29 grams carbs;  (if you are counting only starchy carbs it would be 17 grams)

Here is a picture of Lunch #1 and 2 the day before, I have a lot of it pre-measured and frozen, I assemble it the evening before.

5:45 pm Dinner Supplements & Homemade Curried Chicken and Cauliflower soup (I make a bunch and freeze it in bags)
      186 calories; 24 grams protein; 15 grams carbs  (if counting only starchy carbs zero)

8:30 pm Bedtime meal Supplements & 1 cup egg whites with 1 cup spinach
      160 calories; 29 grams protein; 14 grams carbs,  (if you are counting only starchy carbs, zero)

Add to this the nuts I eat, about 1/8 cup total (3 before each starch meal), using cashews as an example:

80 calories, 2.5 grams protein and 4 grams carbs (6 grams fat) Nuts add up!

9:00 pm Sleepy time tea.....
     

So grand totals:

Calories 1701; Protein 187; carbs 174 (but only 61 starchy).

The starches are very low but I make up for it in vegetables! The vegetables keep me full, provide fiber and energy and my muscles are super full despite the low starches. In this (rough) calculation I added the calories from any splenda too.

There are days when my starches will be much higher, and my calories might be also. For instance I occasionally have starch at dinner, the key is keeping it different so your body adapts to the variances.

Do not get in the rut of eating the same thing day in and day out, just like weight training, your body will make sure it adjusts to that and it will maintain it's weight, that's what it is designed to do. Your body was designed to survive quite well on what it gets, and survive with a layer of fat!

The Endurox R4 is a specially formulated recovery drink that is high in carbs. It is the preferred ratio of 4 to 1 (carbs to protein), studies show this is the best ratio of nutrients to ingest immediately after weight training. When not dieting to lose fat I will use 2 scoops of this.


I take a lot of BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) and Amino Acids throughout the day. I will write more on my supplements at another time, because that's not where you start. That is why they are called "supplements", they are meant to be added to an existing good diet!


Add to this very low caloric intake my exercise today:


1 1/4 hours heavy weight training (it was leg day again!)
Stairs/jump rope at lunch, run up 300 stairs, run down 300 stairs, jump rope 300 times.

Tuesday is not a day I go to the gym after work.

8 Weeks To Go

 

Sunday morning at the gym, shoulders. I set my alarm for the same time as usual, even though David said I should sleep in because of daylight savings time, nope, I want to be there when they open, that's just what I do.

I was feeling a little discouraged. I am looking at myself all the time as I lift, I hit a few poses in between and I wasn't really happy with what I was seeing. My skin was looking a bit soft, I wasn't lean enough and my weight hasn't changed since last week.

So, we had to have a talk. Who is "we"? It's me, my ego and my logical self, all three of us get into heated debates quite often. I really have some of the best conversations with these two- we argue, debate, rationalize, laugh and cry. In the end we all walk away a bit wiser and friends, we love each other very much.

I had a high calorie day yesterday, I did not have what some call a "cheat meal", I had the same foods, just a bit more. It's important to change up calories and foods to make the body adapt. Eating the exact same thing everyday is not recommended by any nutritionist, bodybuilder, Figure competitor or coach, it's not going to produce the best results.

 

I reminded "Ego" that and she quickly acknowledged the fact that might be why I was a little soft around the middle.

Anne stopped by when I was near the end of my training, she saw me posing in between cable sets and said I needed rhinestones on my shoes. We had a little laugh and I was describing my feelings of lack of progress when I pointed at something and her eyes got huge.

She said "do that again!" "You're huge!" So I hit a pose like this:

I asked if my back was wide enough, and told her I have been really working on back and shoulders quite a bit. She said "Definitely, they look great!" I told her I was concerned about my bodyfat, and she said "I have the utmost confidence in you, you have always been very successful and won't have a problem".

This is true, Anne is right, she gave me a smile and went on her way.

So why am I worried? I am smart enough to know that the added starches yesterday means I am carrying more weight and softness as I have more glycogen in my muscles, I tell this all the time to others, so "Miss Logical" gave me a little "told ya so!" and left it at that, she can be quite the bitch sometimes to both me and Ego. We try to be patient with her, but she can be quite annoying at times.

Then a fellow who was lifting there tried to get my attention, I pulled my ear buds out, I was done with lifting so I could talk.

He asked about losing body fat and explained when he would get lean, he would get so hungry, how do I do it? He said he struggles, he can't keep it up.

I explained it is difficult, I also get hungry. A great deal of it is psychological, you are not allowed to eat something, so you want it more, you think of food all the time.

I also explained that when you diet, your body produces hormones specifically to increase your appetite, so you don't starve yourself, the human body is oh so very finely tuned to survive.

I said "It all depends on how desperately you want it. It's mind over matter and it's not easy." He said he was glad to hear that, he thought that it was very easy for me, I laughed, "no, it's not but I prefer to be upbeat and pretend everything is fine, I don't believe in being a whiner."

After we all had these conversations, and I looked at my pictures I realized that competing has taught me many good things. Patience, self confidence, belief in my abilities, self love and desire to constantly improve.

It's now noon, I am prepping food for the week, taking a break to write. I  look great and realize I am on track, I am at peace.

The pictures I take are more for me than anyone else, it allows me to see the subtle changes that occur, to keep pushing myself and not give in or give up.

To be the best I can be, always.

The pictures also help me see where I need to make changes in posing- see the back shot?, my shoulders are sloping down, they need to be up and out across the top, I need to hold them up more so I will work on that now and see the change next week.

And Ego? She says "Looking good Mama!"

Vacation

The other day a friend asked why I started my diet so early when I can lose body fat in only 5 weeks. I do want to clarify that it was a past trainer who coined the name for me, based on her observations of my dieting skills. In addition, although I can lose the fat quickly, a fast loss is never the best way to go, it's far better to do it slowly. I thought I might explain a bit about the reason though.

So this is what I did on vacation.It all started on Friday evening before I even left town- I went to Henry's Hi-Life and had a martini, bar-b-qued ribs and wine.

Then the bar in the airport in Los Angeles between flights.

Then the plane from Los Angeles to Mexico, I was in first class, so that means all the free alcohol you want, and you know what happens when alcohol is free? You drink more! They served a hot croissant with ham and melted cheese, it was good.  Probably not the best quality, but the last time I had a croissant was in July of 2010 in Paris when I stayed with my brother.

By the time I got to Mexico I had already blown my diet for two days! ha ha



Chaise lounge, sun, sand, water and wine by my side, and a few really good books! All day long.

My only exercise was running on the sand for 20 to 30 minutes everyday, before anyone else was up. Or so I thought. One day a man walks by me and says "how was your run this morning?" Hmmm....THIS morning? Does that mean he has been watching EVERY morning? I wonder....

Yes, it was 10 weeks (or maybe 11) before a competition, but that is why I started a diet earlier than usual. I enjoyed myself, and when you are a competitive athlete in a physique based sport, it is often difficult to do this, you constantly feel you should be depriving yourself.

It really isn't healthy, emotionally speaking that is.

Anyone who competes knows why this is a huge deal, those who don't are thinking I have some major issues..I mean I have 10 or 11 weeks to lose a few pounds- isn't that almost three months?!

Yes it is, like two and a half actually. But, when you diet down to lose fat for a competition, you don't just lose weight to drop scale weight, you need to carefully lose the fat, retain the muscle, and still look healthy and firm.

All this while maintaining a full time job (for most of us) and training just as hard as usual, sometimes twice a day. Once the diet starts, you cannot go on weekend benders or it will show in your physique, you really have no where to hide the flaws when you are standing in stage under bright lights, almost naked to the world. And believe me, the world IS looking at you very, very carefully, scrutinizing everything, even your skin tone!

So while I had a great time, I still struggled to eat properly because I couldn't easily have the small meals with the complex carbohydrates, lean protein and massive amounts of fresh vegetables (plain) that I normally would, so I was hungry quite a bit, I mean trying to get by on 3 meals a day when I usually eat 6 is hard. And if I ate 6 meals at a restaurant, I would be rolling myself along the beach!

Whats a girl to do? TUNA!

Yes, I went to the store and bought several cans of tuna packed in water, and it had pull tops! Unfortunately my wine glasses tended to smell fishy afterward, but that's OK, I love fish!

Beach, sand, sun, water, red wine and tuna, a great combination. The tuna ensured I got the protein I needed, and I wasn't so hungry.

I brought some meal replacement bars, but those were emergency only since all of them, no matter what they tell you are really glorified candy bars with a hefty price tag. I ended up eating 2 only.

Me and David.

Check out the glutes! They are growing at a steady pace and soon will have a life of their own! I read an article where someone was discussing how your glutes grow and he made a very intelligent observation, when training the glute muscles, they will grow out (as in behind you), not sideways, and so many women are afraid to train them heavy as they think they will get big butts.

I am living proof that your butt will keep growing out behind, and stay slim on the sides if you lift right and eat properly, I mean it's almost comical in this picture!

Glory to the butt!

Cutting Calories

Sometimes I cannot believe how some people manage to make it through life. I am referring to their lack of intelligence.

We all know smoking WILL kill us eventually right? Yet still thousands upon thousands of people smoke.

We all know that we need to eat right to maintain our health also, yet many people choose to ignore this and eat whatever they want. This one is a bit tougher, there are no warning labels on packaged foods, but I think there should be just like on cigarettes!

I understand that learning to eat properly does take time, but there are some very obvious choices that can be made that don't require the brain of a mental giant.

I love to read News Of The Weird by Chuck Shepherd. It's always a very small little tidbit of stupidity that either makes me laugh or shake my head in absolute wonder!

Here is one that made me wonder:

Tennessee, the second fattest state, according to a recent foundation report, continues to pay for obese Medicaid recipients to have bariatric surgery (at a cost of about $2,000.00), but to deny coverage for an overweight person to consult, even once, with a dietitian.

Weird huh? I can honestly tell you that the money I spent consulting with a nutritionist was the best money I have ever spent in my life, and I wish I had done it years and years ago!

I recommend consulting with one who specializes in the area of your needs, if you are obese, then seek a specialist who has had successes with obese patients, if you are an athlete, seek out one who works with athletes. 

Like a trainer, you need to carefully select your nutritionist or dietitian!

Vinegar to fight fat

I turn to vinegar as a flavoring for food quite often, especially when I am dieting. I will use lemon or vinegar and stay away from soy sauce or other sauces that often contain sugars.

I am quoting a blog below that states that vinegar fights fat! I don't know how extensive the study was that is discussed, and it doesn't really matter to me because I like vinegar and I put it on my food already, I am not planning on changing anything or perhaps start drinking it or anything silly like that.

Just some interesting tidbit to file away and think about. Maybe you want to try vinegar on your food? It's a great change when you are reducing calories as most condiments really add up!

This is from a website called Technorati. Technorati was founded to help bloggers succeed by collecting, highlighting, and distributing the global online conversation. Founded as the first blog search engine, Technorati has expanded to a full service media company providing services to the blogs and social media sites and connecting them with advertisers who want to join the conversation, and whose online properties introduce blog content to millions of consumers.

This particular blog was written by Hector Corsi

Some exciting research on vinegar proves that it really does reduce body fat levels, triglycerides and sugar in humans.  I will outline the exact doses you need to achieve these beneficial effects, and when to use it to achieve them.

Fat and Sugar Busting Effects in Mice AND Humans

If you’ve ever had a high carbohydrate meal, or worse, one that was also high-glycemic, you already know that these sugars will convert to fat.  If you use vinegar after a high-glycemic meal, your glucose levels will not rise, according to new research published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study examined the effects of a high-glycemic meal with and without vinegar on diabetic humans.  Those who also had vinegar experienced lower glucose levels after their meal.  Previous research has also shown this effect in healthy people.

Another study, but on mice who were on high fat diets, also shows that acetic acid, the active component in vinegar, enhances fatty acid oxidation and thermogenic proteins such as UCP-2, and prevents body fat accumulation.

Vinegar Reduces Body Fat and Triglycerides in Obese Humans

The most interesting research though,  is a study published in the journal Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, performed on 175 obese patients who were administered different doses of apple vinegar, but did not change their diet or exercise patterns.  One group received a low dose of vinegar, another a high dose, and the placebo group got a beverage that tasted like apple vinegar, but had no vinegar.

The 500 mL beverage (about 2 cups), contained mostly water, with the low dose group getting 15 ml (1 tablespoon) of vinegar mixed in the water, and the high dose group getting 30 ml (2 tablespoons).

Subjects drank 1 cup of the mixture after breakfast, and another cup after supper.  After 4 weeks, body fat levels decreased significantly in both the high and low dose protocol. The higher the dose, the greater the body fat decrease.  After 8 weeks, waist circumference decreased in the vinegar groups.  Body weight, visceral (belly) fat mass and triglyceride levels also decreased in the vinegar groups.

The study reported no side effects, and it suggests that you have to keep drinking the vinegar mixture to keep the beneficial effects.  The good effects go beyond weight reductions, and so vinegar could be an easy, safe, and effective compound to fight fat, and enhance health.

Proper Nutrition

My husband and son always laugh when I drink this right before bed, they say it looks like I am drinking melted butter.

It is actually amino acids.

I take a lot of amino acids and branched chain amino acids. They are the building blocks of muscle.

You will hear just about everyone say you need to eat a lot of protein to gain muscle, what you actually need is the amino acids that your body is able to pull out of the protein.

I eat the correct amount of protein, as prescribed by a nutritionist and I also drink a lot of amino acids.

Proper nutrition is a balanced diet, year round. You cannot go on a diet for a length of time, get ripped then go back to eating like the average Joe and expect to stay ripped.

Won't work, guaranteed.

You can relax your diet, but you can never give up the "clean" eating, not if you want to keep that gorgeous body.

Just like the human body adapts to training, requiring constant changes to keep from becoming stagnant and cease growing, the human body adapts to nutrition.

Eat the same old stuff day in and day out and soon you will suffer. You won't show gains, you may start having gastrointestinal issues, your body will rebel.

That is why it is imperative to eat seasonally. You need to include many different foods in your diet, one day you may have beans for your starch and one day brown rice (NEVER white). They have a different caloric value, and that is good, some days your calories are slightly higher than others. Keeps it guessing, just like in training.

Varying your foods is also good for your head- psychologically I mean.

I won't get into carb cycling, this is about a diet for life, not a diet for an event.

Include bright vegetables, greens, fresh fruit. If you choose what is in season (locally, not in Chile), then it will have the highest nutrient content, and you are sure to never get tired of the same foods as they will change with the seasons.

Training that "Fits"

Do you walk into a shoe store and sit down and tell the salesperson "give me shoes I will like that make me look taller and slimmer"? And then you expect him to bring you exactly what you needed, the same shoe he would bring everyone else?

No, you probably go find some shoes that you like, then ask to try them on, and feel how they fit, then decide if you like them. Maybe you don't like them, maybe you do. They need to fit just right or you won't buy them.

You need to do the same with a trainer or a training program.

I like to watch the trainers at my gym, I think might learn something. Unfortunately, more often than not, I only learn what not to do. Not every time mind you, but quite often.

Most of them stick to the same old thing time after time. In fact, I see some who have all of their clients do the same workout! Can you imagine? Obviously that isn't tailored for the clients is it? It is tailored for the trainer's convenience. How can any trainer even think that the same workout will be appropriate for different ages, body types, skill sets, goals?

Then there are some who never leave a small patch of padded flooring, they always have their clients use a ball or a mat or those plastic discs or some other gadget that basically does nothing, and he stands there talking. I haven't seen changes in his clients in over a year.

When you decide to hire a trainer, you first need to get an idea of what your goals are so you can actually articulate this to them. Then, you need to interview them and ask what they would do to help you accomplish this goal.

Do you need someone who will push you and be with you? Or do you need someone to teach you proper form? Do you just want someone to spot you? Do you even know what you want? You have to be able to tell them what you expect if you are expecting anything from them.

Talk to some of their other clients, ask them what they like about their trainer and what could use improving.

I talked to a woman the other day who is overweight, by more than a few pounds. She said she hurt herself doing plyometrics that her trainer instructed her to do. A trainer has no business telling an overweight person to do box jumps or squat jumps, obviously they will get injured.

If your trainer tells you that he or she can help you lose weight and gain muscle at the same time with their expertise, question it. If you are not in an "elite" category already, and first need to get down to an average body fat, they are handing you a pack of lies.

We all want to lose body fat and gain lean muscle mass at once, and it is possible, but extremely difficult and it takes years of training and experimenting with your diet to find the exact program that works for you.

Your average trainer at a gym most likely cannot do this for you, you will need a qualified nutritionist, one who specializes in athletes.

While training is vital, you will not show gains without proper nutrition, all the time. You cannot out train a bad diet!

Some food for thought.

Training Goals

Sunday morning at the gym I stopped to talk to Allan about Ricardo Ricco. Allan was a runner in the 1974 Olympics, so he and I occasionally chat about Olympic athletes pitfalls and stupid moves. I met him shortly after I joined the club, someone was saying something about me in a joking way, and he looked right at them and said "Kristy? She's the fittest woman in this place!"

We have been friends ever since!

He was telling me how many of the German and Bulgarian women athletes were obviously on steroids, and we talked about all the drugs in the cycling world.

A woman walked by and he shook his head and laughed saying "Now that's something I just don't get!"

He didn't have to tell me what he "didn't get" because I don't get it either. She has cultivated a look that many women, unfortunately strive for. These women think that men like the look, and while I know a few men that do, I honestly question their integrity for actually wanting a woman to look this way.

And what is this way? "Anorexic Barbie with lots of surgery" is the best I can say to describe it.

The woman in question is thin, painfully thin. Her legs are so thin, my upper arms are just slightly smaller in circumference than her thighs (OK, I am exaggerating but only a tiny bit).

Her arms are straight and thin, wispy looking, and she has no fat on her body.

Her face has had much work done, the lips protrude out from some sort of plumper or filler, they look rather "duck-like".

Then, the breasts. The huge, round, full breasts that are proportionally incorrect, they are way too big for her small, 12 year old sized body.

Allan told me with a laugh that one day this woman was giving him some lip as he used one of the machines. He looked straight at her, pointed his finger at her chest and said "Tell me! Could you not have done something better than THAT with $6,000.00!?"

I about fell over laughing when he told me this. Needless to say, they aren't good buddies.

"And the make-up!" he said, "why is she wearing make-up?" It was 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning, I am not sure why she had a full face of make-up on either.

Although I think this woman looks comical, and ridiculous, she probably thinks the same thing about me with all my muscularity.

What is my point anyway? What does this have to do with training goals?

Everything.

You need to know what you want your body to look like before you can embark on a training program.

Now if you are just plain too fat and want to lose weight all over, by all means stick with that trainer who has you doing all the cardio circuits and dynamic training, the ones who make you sweat so you think you are getting a work out.

Keep balancing on that bosu ball and using those little round purple plastic things so your feet slide about (???)

But when you have lost a lot of excess weight and you want to see changes, you need to tailor your training to your goals.

In the picture above I am enjoying my dinner and I have my training binder and papers and some books spread out all over. I am writing up my new workout, I change it every three to four weeks, it varies depending on the program I am on. I never do the same program over and over, the human body adapts very quickly, you will not show gains if you continue on the same path every single day. I think about what I need to change, what my goals are, I add different grips in or reduce weight and increase volume.

What I never do is spend a lot of time doing cardio and playing with tiny little weights, you will never gain any strength or muscle this way, ever.

That woman? She does lots of cardio everyday, and then she lifts weights that never go over 25 pounds (and I am talking lat pull downs here).

She will remain skinny and emaciated, with no muscle to speak of.

My goals? Muscle hypertrophy. That means lifting weights, heavy weights. There are two types of hypertrophy, there is sarcoplasmic or myofibrillar.

Typically the bodybuilder trains for the sarcoplasmic, muscle size but no corresponding strength gains. Smoke and mirrors, that's all they care about. This is usually weights in the higher rep range (say 10 to 15) , less resting in between and sub maximal load.

Myofibrillar hypertrophy is characterized by strength gains with small increase in muscle size. This involves less reps (usually no more than 6) with longer rest periods. Weights as heavy as you can go.

In both cases, you always use heavy weights, when you are training for sarcoplasmic hypertophy, your weights should still be so heavy that your really cannot lift them more than your 10 to 15 reps.

Long story short, I incorporate both into my training, and it depends on the time of year and what my upcoming competitions are.

Think about your goals when you plan your training. Just because something works for someone else doesn't mean it will work for you.

Just like investing and anything else you want to become good at, you need to read, study and research. You need to understand.

Three weeks of my diet

Things are moving along right on track! I have lost two pounds in three weeks, I don't have a lot to lose so I want to take it slowly. Losing it too fast results in a look that can be haggard, and your skin can look loose instead of tight and smooth.


Shoulders are looking good! I am starting to get a nice cap, but it will never be enough so I will keep working on them.

The abs are looking better and better as I lose the body fat, as I said before, I never let myself gain very much fat, I don't believe in the old theory that to gain lean muscle you need to pack on the fat. There is no reason to do that. Science has proven that you need to ingest more calories than you expend so you can gain, it has also proven that you don't need to ingest hundreds more calories that you expend resulting in a great deal of unwanted (and un-needed) fat. There is a happy medium, most people just like to use it as an excuse to pig out.

My V taper is looking better as my waist comes in, and I can see that I don't have as much fat on my upper back, an area where many women my age will start to store it.

 

I think the next thing I need is a new camera!

So, I have 12 weeks to go and honestly, I think I may be a bit too lean to start now, so it's a good thing I am going on vacation and plan to enjoy myself, I won't go crazy, but I will eat one of my favorite dishes that Dona Nica makes for me: Camarones empanizados con mayonesa (breaded, fried shrimp with mayonnaise) and a cold tecate!

And of course a few margaritas while watching the sunset on the beach.

Two weeks of my diet

I have been on my diet now for two weeks. I have been good, although I did eat a couple things I shouldn't have.

I took a bite of my husbands rib eye, just needed to compare it to my flank steak. I had a very tiny piece of fried potato slice. That's it, other than that, I have not strayed.

I feel good, and I look good, this will not be as difficult as I was thinking this time around, unless of course my vacation in Mexico totally derails me!

I decided to take pictures with my competition suit on, so I could see just how I look right now. I am happy with my progress. Now my weight has not changed since last week, but I only weigh myself on Sunday and I am in the cycle of my month where I tend to retain some water, so I would not be surprised if I weigh one pound less in a day or two.

I am just back from the gym, after 2 1/2 hours, haven't even hopped in the shower yet!

My body changes so much, I recall when I used to train with an IFBB Pro, that she used to tell me "Every prep is different" and I didn't understand, now I do.

I know I have no definition, but I shouldn't yet, it will come out in good time, after I have dieting for a while, I mean two weeks is really nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I can see that my backside looks a bit soft, and again, that is to be expected. I have a nice V taper, once I lose the fat, the waist will come in and the glutes will be more pronounced and not so "womanly"...they will be hard and tight!

The glute-ham tie in is looking good, no saggy stuff here! Again, when the excess fat and subcutaneous water leaves, the definition will pop.

What I noticed this time around is my body composition is very different. I don't know my actual body fat percentage, SC used to do that for me every week and I haven't seen him in a while, he will check it in March though. And that doesn't really matter yet, it's higher than it should be to compete, so I just have to diet for a while.

But the interesting thing I have noticed is that I seem to have gained a great deal of lean muscle over the last 6 months, and hardly any fat. Totally every one's goal, I know, so I am doing the happy dance.

Just how do I know this? It wasn't difficult to figure it out.

When I compete, I weigh between 118 and 120 pounds, at that time I wear size 0 pants. When I am not competing, and trying to add muscle I get between 126 and 132 pounds and wear size 6 pants (yes I have lots of clothes to accommodate these changes!)

My abs are already starting to show some definition, and this is usually the very last area to show it.

This winter, I got up to 130 pounds and never got into those size 6, I stayed in my 4's. Right now I am at 126 pounds and I am wearing size 0 and 2 pants. I still have 6 pounds to lose, so where is the fat? I am thinking that some of that "fat" is not fat at all, but hard, solid, muscle and I won't have to drop as much weight as usual.

One week of my diet

 

I started to "clean up" my diet a week ago. If you read my post, you would know that I am starting a little early, because I will be vacationing in Mexico where there are mandatory margaritas attached to the chaise lounge in front of my hotel room.

Here I am after one week, now please keep in mind I just got back from the gym and am standing in front of my refrigerator!

I have lost one pound, I am at 126. I think that's a good rate for me to lose at. I haven't increased any cardio, and haven't reduced calories, I just stopped my snacks and bites here and there. Oh, and no more rice cakes with peanut butter...darn!

I didn't gain a great deal of weight over the last few months, and it's all basically right there in my stomach area, but even that looks better than it did last week, let's do a side by side comparison.























Well, the only thing I can honestly see in these is that the "v" cut running down the sides of my stomach is getting more pronounced, but that means the fat is reduced.

I will keep up with the same routine this week, and see how I am doing, I would like to avoid having to add in more cardio yet, as it will only need to increase later.

I am also a natural 'ectomorph", I find it hard to gain lean muscle mass, yet at the same time, I remain relatively thin year round and don't have to worry about gaining a lot of fat.

This means I must be careful so I don't lose too much near the end, and look emaciated.

I always find the transformation part of this so exciting. I love it when I gain and look more muscular, but when I start to lose, a whole new body emerges and I have a feeling of power.


Each day I become more and more focused, things just operate like clockwork. No thinking, it's a well known drill, it's habit.

My body starts to get lean and tight, I can feel the difference daily. I feel like an animal almost, instead of walking I feel like I am silently gliding through the forest, only my eyes moving as I take in the world around me.

I am in my own world, doing what I need to stay alive, to exist, to reach my goal. No one can get in my way, no one can stop me. I am one with myself.