Child's Play

I slept in on Sunday. On Saturday I had a wonderful day with David and Derek, we went to Santana Row. I had an appointment with Natalia at Atelier to have my bangs trimmed so the boys had a glass of champagne and waited. 

I said it would only take 15 minutes, but she was feeling creative or maybe it was the fact we were on display in the window, so she straightened my hair, it took a half hour but looked sleek and silky.


We then met at the bar at Left Bank and ordered a bottle of Champagne as we waited for a table outside, it was glorious weather. A waitress came up and started talking to me, asking me if I frequented another restaurant. I didn't, and she said she recognizes me. We chatted for a bit and she left all smiles. 


"Sister" says Derek, "She was flirting with you!" "Ha ha, yes I could tell!" I responded. We sat down outside, brought our champagne with us, and somehow she ended up being our waitress, and a darn good job she did too! I had a wonderfully healthy and delicious Salad Nicoise. Seared Ahi tuna, avocado, radishes, butter lettuce, anchovies, hard cooked egg, green beans, tomatoes, red peppers and a bit of tapenade and olive oil. I also enjoyed some of their wonderful truffled french fries.

Later David and I went out to dinner, so it was a long day and evening of good food and drink, so when I rolled over and looked at the alarm clock Sunday and it was 4:00 a.m. I realized I was only punishing myself by getting up so early, I switched it off and woke at 6:20, then headed to the gym for Back training.


I went up on all my weights, just as I predicted I would! I felt strong and excited. But my weights took me an hour and a half, and I wanted to get to the Farmers Market for eggs so I decided to skip my conditioning and I would do something later. Anyway, studies have proven that working out much longer than an hour is more detrimental than beneficial.


At 2:30 I decided to head across the street to run sprints on the track. I first hit the stadium stairs, running up and down several times for a warm up, then off to the track. I am a very fast sprinter, I can go like lightening, but not for long, I guess that's what sprinting is huh?


I sprinted the straight, then walked the curve. I did this four times and then at the beginning of the straight I see some kinds, they are trying to talk to me. I pull my earbuds out and say hi to them.


"Are you gonna run?" says the middle girl, she is about 9 I guess. I said yes and the little one, who appears to be about 6 jumps up and down "we wanna see you run!!!" I pop my buds back in and run the straight as fast as I can, then I walk the curve. I run the next straight and I see the girls run across to meet me at the end. I walk as they jump up and down beside me. 


At the start of the next straight is a boy now, along with the two little girls and big sister. I think the big sister is about 14 and the boy about 12. 


The 14 year old wants to talk, I pull out my earbuds. "We wanna see if my brother can run as fast as you, he wants to race you." "Oh, I am sure he can run faster, I am old." "No you aren't she exclaims." "I am 50." I say, and I hear them all gasp.


We line up. I tell them I will not be able to hear anything with my music in, so when he starts I will then start. I see her mouth the words "On your mark, get set, go!" and off he goes, I quickly take off and after 20 yards have easily passed him.  At the end of the straight I turn to look, he appears to have quit halfway through. I walk the curve and sprint the next straight.


Now there is another girl waiting with the other kids, she is older, maybe 16, so there are now five kids standing staring at me.


"You smoked my little brother." says the 14 year old. "Yeah, I did." 


"We wanna see if my older sister can run as fast as you." "OK!" Again, I tell them I cannot hear so I will start when I see her take off.


We start and it takes me 10 yards before I can pass her, then my adrenaline is surging through my body, I take off like a bullet. I end at the curve and look back, they are all jumping up and down, waving at me. I think they want to race more, but I am done, I have had enough fun.


I look at them and wave, and jog up the stairs out of the bowl, and home.


I had fun, it reminded me of what being a kid was like again. I will have to find some other kids to race again soon.

Butts and Backs

Backs and Butts

I think that those two parts of a woman's body are stunning, absolutely beautiful. I mean look at this view, pretty nice huh?

I am on the left (in case you couldn't tell). This is the top four in the Unlimited "C" division of the 2011 NPC San Francisco Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure, Men's Physique and Bikini Championships. I placed third.

So many people only concentrate on the muscles they can see, the "mirror muscles". I have always loved to train glutes and back, part of this may be because my back gets wide and impressive  and I love to see the results.

My glutes? I have always had a good, round butt. Genetics. However, I still have to train it and train hard. Those little leg pulley things that people call "kick backs" might feel good, and in fact I do it sometimes too, but it won't make your glutes ride high and hard. I don't think it does anything actually. You need to perform exercises with a lot of heavy weight, just like you would for any other muscle you are trying to grow.

And, not much looks worse than a dimply, saggy, loose, fat butt.

What do I do? There is lots to do!

Wide stance squats, plie or sumo squats (stand on two raised blocks so you can go deep), hip thrusts, barbell glute bridge, sprints, reverse hypers, Good mornings, ball ham roll outs, Glute Ham Raise, kettlebell swings, running stairs, lunges, RDL's, deadlifts (all the major lifts and all squats will hit the glutes too). 

Hey! Thats' serious weigh training isn't it? And hard stuff too! You bet. You cannot grow big, beautiful muscles without lifting heavy and working hard! The cute little colored weights with the powder coating are not your friend!

I usually train back once a week and glutes once a week. Then, as I am getting closer to a competition, I will train back twice a week and incorporate the glutes into other days.

Having a strong back and strong glutes is not only pleasing to the eye, but it will help you in life. 

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. 

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!