Living, Lifting, and Loving

Sometimes life reaches out and slaps you, and I don't mean a nice fun slap on the rear end, I mean a cold, hard, stinging slap across the cheek that leaves a red mark. I have felt like that for a while now and am starting to recover.

I am not one who likes to complain, in fact, when I see people only complain about issues on Facebook, I just take them off my feed, I don't want or need to see their downers.

I have had a few injuries for a while and I tried to keep people updated but I tried to avoid whining, I detest whiners.

I had a contracted glute muscle, then a hamstring strain, and two strained hip flexors. This all started back in June. Here we are, September 27 and I think I am healed, finally.

I never stopped training, I just modified my lifting. In the course of that I discovered that I was neglecting a few areas so I have now added them into my regular days. The problem is, there aren't enough days to fit everything in! So I am cutting back on cardio and adding in more weight lifting. I think that's a grand idea, too much cardio does not create the look I like.

Last week I started in with hamstrings at BodyComp Gym. We did RDL's but went "light". Now light is relative, right? Hamstrings need to be trained with heavy weight if you want to grow them, those little light weights really won't do much for these massive muscle fibers. We ended up doing 170 pounds for sets of 10 reps, then on the second session moved to more reps but left the weight the same because I could feel a "pull" a little and was afraid I would tear the muscle..... 

On Saturday I tried squats. My last day squatting prior to this was August 25, so it was almost a month to the day and I was apprehensive. Roy said not to lower my weight from what I was doing a month ago. He said do lots of warm ups till you feel good, then start with the same weight. Drop the reps if you need, but never, ever lower the weight.

So I didn't. I did 5 sets of 8 reps with 135 pounds, below parallel. I felt great, squatting is real weight training, in my book if you don't squat, you don't lift.

So now that I am back on track I had to change my split a little, when I couldn't train quads I started training triceps and biceps, boy my arms looked great after a couple weeks of doing this twice a week. Now I want to keep them looking like that, so what's a girl to do? Here is my split for a while now:

Monday 5:00 am Gold's: Calves, Posing, Cardio

Monday noon San Jose State: Stairs, jump rope

Monday 5:30 pm BodyComp Gym: Hamstrings

Tuesday 5:00 am Gold's: Shoulders

Tuesday noon San Jose State: Stairs, jump rope

Wednesday 5:00 am Gold's: Biceps and Triceps

Wednesday noon San Jose State: Stairs, jump rope

Wednesday 5:30 pm BodyComp Gym: Quads

Thursday 5:00 am Gold's: Hamstrings

Thursday noon San Jose State: Stairs, jump rope

Friday 5:00 am Gold's: Calves, Posing, Cardio

Friday noon BodyComp Gym: Shoulders

Every other Friday 4:30 pm 24 Hour Fitness: posing with Kristy Enos

Saturday 6:00 am Gold's: Quads, Posing

Sunday 6:00 am Gold's: Back, Posing

I am adjusting the calories down slightly (slightly!!) by reducing the fats and increasing the lean proteins, starches are staying the same but very little as usual. That's a nice way of saying I am keeping my paws out of the nut butters!

I am missing my son more than ever. He's been away at school now for five weeks, so not only was my passion in life taken from me (the lifting) but my son also. I will get to see him soon, and then once again life will be completely back to where it should be.

Living, Lifting, and Loving.

Motivation

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens,  tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” ~Eliza Tabor

"The sudden disappointment of a hope leaves a scar which the ultimate fulfillment of  that hope never entirely removes.”

~Thomas Hardy

"There is nothing final about a mistake, except its being taken as final."

~Phyllis Bottome

"You can't have a better past."

~Richard Carlson

"I came to feel that the most loving thing I could do for anyone was to tell them how it was with me and share my imperfections with them. When I did this, most people came back at me with what was deep within them."   

~Jess Lair

"Don’t get hung up on a snag in the stream, my dear. Snags alone are not so dangerous—it’s the debris that clings to them that makes the trouble. Pull yourself loose and go on."

~Anne Shannon Monroe

"Life is not the way it's supposed to be. It's the way it is. The way you deal with it is what makes the difference."

~Virginia Satir

"Never forget what is worth remembering or remember what is best forgotten."

~Unknown

"We grow through adversity. We need not seek it out; we can all look back at moments when our lives were in utter chaos, desolation and despair.  Growth comes when we respond to adversity by stretching just an edge beyond our talent and experience."

~Dr. Robert D. Wald

Miracle Rice

You may have also heard of Shirataki, although these are not the same. Generally the Shirataki in the stores has soy, Miracle Noodle has none. I avoid soy and prefer this. If you are hoping this will be just like rice, it won't be, I will assure of that now. But if you are looking for a substitute, that has virtually zero calories and carbs, and has a similar texture and usage, this is your baby!

I have a bunch of rice, fettuccine and angel hair, I got it all on a special online deal. It is made of a healthy natural fiber called Glucomannan, you can pretty much eat as much as you want, feel full and satisfied and not worry about the calories. 

The bag also has health claims, but I am not aware of any real health benefits, only the fact that a bag of this won't cause your blood sugar to spike like a bowl or rice will! Now that Cooper has gone away to school, David and I are eating more of the same foods...not all the same but close. Tonight I was making some Miracle Noodles, Spanish style, he would have fingerling potatoes.

The noodles (rice)  smell when you open them, be sure to rinse them well, then boil a couple minutes and then place in a colander to drain, or on a paper towel. They will be heated later in the sauce.

I love to experiment and this one evolved quickly. I put a small amount of olive oil in a pan, and added three thinly sliced garlic cloves and let them heat just a couple minutes, I didn't brown them. I then added two large heirloom tomatoes that had been finely chopped, about a cup and a half (I found them in my purse, it's a long story but I was at a Tomato Dinner....).

I then let it cook down a bit and added a splash of balsamic vinegar, about a tablespoon. I decided it needed more so I added a teaspoon of Spanish smoked paprika, some black pepper and a big pinch of saffron threads. I love saffron and get big containers when I visit my brother in Spain, or he brings it here.

It was looking a little dry so I added some water, or you could add broth. I think I put in about a 1/4 cup. I wanted it slightly liquid, but not saucy, this would coat the rice only. I added the cooked Miracle Rice. 

I mixed the rice thoroughly in the sauce, until it was all nicely coated.

I then served it with grilled wild salmon and grilled radicchio that had been coated in a balsamic vinaigrette. I found a nice squeeze of lemon was superb on the rice. It was fantastic! This is a great side dish, and will help you feel like you ate a huge meal (if you want to feel that way).

Guess who ate several bites and asked if I might share it with him next time?

David!

I will be making this again and again, and have several ideas to change it up a bit.

Sometimes It's OK to Skip Training

I didn't go to the gym on Wednesday, it's a vary rare occasion for me to skip training. I have to have a reason, a real good reason. Something like "oh, I'm tired" doesn't work well around me, nor does "I stayed up late drinking too much". So, I always end up going to the gym!

The point I am trying to make is you really need to suck it up and decide if you want to look good or just talk about it. If you actually want to look good, you need to go to the gym regularly and stop with the excuses.

But, well Wednesday I was a little indisposed, as you can see above. I had to have some routine work done, just to make sure I am as hot and healthy as I look (and I am). I still had a great sense of humor, I was flipping David off with my oxygen reader finger! LOL!

I couldn't eat for about 30 hours, which meant Tuesday I had breakfast and then only broth the remainder of the day ....for someone who eats 25 ounces of fish, meat and eggs a day, this was not good, not good at all. But what a breakfast I had! Take a look at what David made for me:

It all had to fit into my glass food container, so it's cut odd, but it was a big, fat omelet with cheese, chives and avocado, a 1/3 pound grass fed burger patty and a thick slice of spelt toast which was coated later in peanut butter.

Then after this, nothing. All.....day.....long. And the night too. Except broth and that is not food in my book! I don't do well without food.

Wednesday up at 4am to prepare and then into the Surgical Center by 8am. They gave me a few drugs, one was Fentanyl. I recall giving this to my mother and to my friend Emily when they were in the last stages of life, it's a very powerful drug. It works fast though, it is 100 times stronger than morphine!

When all was said and done, they sent me home and they told me not to drink alcohol, not to drive and not to operate heavy machinery. I was home and a little bored, so I wanted some tuna now that I could eat, and since I should not be operating heavy machinery, I decided to open the can with a spoon.

Hmmm, maybe the drugs took longer to wear off than I thought?

(Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view this video.)

After this failure, I DROVE to the grocery store, then went out to dinner with David and had a glass of WINE!

Thursday I will be at my usual 4am and will go to Gold's, then I train with Roy at night, since we had to skip Wednesday. I am super excited as the hamstring is not bothering me and I pushed hard on Monday. I am on my way to being close to fully recovered. 

If you want to see how to really open a can with a spoon, here is the video that got me started. Think I will give it a try again.

Posing and Physique Changes

I realize these pictures are slightly blurry, I had a very hard time flexing, posing and pointing my phone in the right direction! But I want to show how my physique is changing, and how the posing is coming along.

I have been doing well at adding mass and maintaining a fairly lean physique. I fluctuate up and down a few pounds here and there, but for the most part I have been adhering to my regular diet with one or two "normal" dinners a week. "Normal" is food my family eats......

I am definitely bigger, that's clear to everyone around me and to myself, I am the hardest one to convince! I told Roy that recently I was in a meeting at work, and for the first time in my life I felt almost like a freak. I looked around and noticed that my arms were bigger than anyone else's in the room, male or female. I was muscular, none of them were. I felt odd, but then I realized I work damn hard to look like this and I am proud of my physique, and it quickly passed. I picked up my pen, flexed a little and thought of my training later that night. LOL!

The upper body looks great- better than ever actually! In these photos my arms are pumped up, this was taken after training Biceps and Triceps on Sunday morning. The previous day was Back day and the day before was Shoulders, so the upper body had three days of hard and heavy training.

I have been working with Kristy Enos for posing and she has been amazing - she is a wealth of knowledge. She started in Bodybuilding, so was well versed with posing prior to when she switched to Women's Physique. 

She has helped me to find the poses that work best with my body, for instance, I will be using this pose (with arms raised up) for my double biceps front pose. I have such a great wide back and V-taper that having the legs both out creates a great shape, and the illusion that my quads are bigger than they actually are.

This pose can be done many different ways, but at least one foot must never be flat in all of the poses, hence the reason I am on my tip-toes. Most competitors seem to favor the one foot flat, and one on tip-toe, I plan to look different.

Kristy has taught me that in Bodybuilding and Physique, you think "bottom up", meaning the first thing that moves is your feet, in a smooth and flowing manner, and the rest of the body follows. This is not at all like figure where the posing is much easier, much, much easier.

Posing is very, very important in this sport, more so than what people realize. Yeah, Everyone on the stage has a rockin body right? (well most of the people), so what makes the difference? What makes one competitor stand out from the other? Stage presence and posing. You need to look comfortable, confident, and like you are enjoying the experience. It's tough, especially if you aren't particularly comfortable standing in front of strangers nearly naked! But that's where the confidence comes into play. The confidence that comes from working hard training and eating right day after day after day. The confidence that comes from watching yourself grow and improve.

I think these photos also demonstrate what a great job Roy Ganju has been doing with my overall training program, and now my arm and shoulder training, they look fabulous to me! Big, full, round and well proportioned. Legs had to have a bit of a break due to injuries, but the month long rest may prove to be just what I needed to kick start the growth. My long term goal has been to increase the size of my quads, and I have, but I had a slight set back so now these little legs are ready to work hard!

Saturday, September 22, I believe I get to start squatting again, so that means re-thinking my training split all over again.  I don't want to stop training the arms, so I will need to go back to some of my two a day lifting splits. Typically on the days I lift with Roy after work, I only do cardio (and train calves) in the morning. I will need to start throwing in some additional lifting mornings then,  and that's OK since I am not trying to drop any weight right now, so I really don't want to do a lot of cardio. I still run my stairs and jump rope at lunch, so I am set  I think.

Whether or not you plan to compete, I think you can see that the training program I am on has been making dramatic changes, and it's the type of weight training anyone can consider, just for the aesthetic appeal alone. You don't have to compete, it's great just to look ripped!

Motivation

"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear."

`William Jennings Bryan

"Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment."

`Thomas Carlyle

"Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy."

`Brian Tracy

"Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality."

`Les Brown

"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started."

`Marcus Garvey

"Nobody holds a good opinion of a man who has a low opinion of himself."

`Anthony Trollope

"Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence."

`Michael O'Brien

"Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit."

`E.E. Cummings

Musings, Music and Motivation

A good morning, I love lifting weights, absolutely love it! It's funny how I was so angry when I had to stop squatting, and I turned to training my arms. Well just look at them now! They look pretty massive and it's only been a few weeks.  I am sure all of the chin ups I have been doing every week are also contributing, there is never just one factor at play.

When I refer to "arms" that generally means biceps and triceps, I always train deltoids and that is "shoulder" day....I would typically throw some biceps in with my back training, it's a natural to combine them, but when I sustained some injuries, I had time to fill, so I have been devoting two days a week just to biceps and triceps.

I'm really liking how my arms look, they certainly snapped to attention quickly. Roy said they would, I eat a lot and a lot of good, clean food. I also go to sleep early, so combined with some new heavy training- boom!

Today though was "Back" day, one of my favorites. I guess they are all one of my favorites, there is not a body part I don't like to train!

Friday I had been watching some video's that Roy told me about and heard a song, this would be great for chin ups I immediately thought, so onto the ipod it goes, then of course itunes suggested another and it led to another and I ended up with a lot of great new music. 

Saturday I was high as a kite, listening to my new music, cranking out my chin ups and I had to do more than the previous week (yet again). I had my dip belt on, and a total of 12 1/2 pounds and was well into my set, but sitting resting in between when a good looking guy walks over to talk to me.

"I'm not trying to pick up on you or anything, but you have a great body! I have been watching your muscles ripple as you do those chin ups!" 

Dayayum!

He looked at my stopwatch and apologized about interrupting me and I quickly said "It's ok, I'm nearly done..." LOL!

We talked for a while about diet and supplements, seems that's almost all I ever talk about these days, but I guess I know quite a bit at this point, at least what works for me.

He said "You just keep on, I will watch from back here" and so I started back in to finish the set.

5,7,7,7,6,7,7,7,7,6

66 chins

4 more than last week

I then went on to the Low Row, Barbell Bent Over Row and Pulldowns.

I think I was smiling and humming and singing, guys were smiling back (not many women at Gold's in the morning, and most that are there, are upstairs doing the dreaded "C" word....a couple guys I see everyday, but never talked to waved goodbye as they left. Obviously I was having a good time in my own little world and it was showing.

I practiced posing and then some stretching. My view from the floor, I could have laid there all day at this point but food was on my mind.

Just what were some of those songs that got me through the 66 weighted chin ups?

Here is 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues by the White Stripes, great for chin ups. (Email readers will need to navigate to the link at the top to go directly to the blog to view the video).





Other songs that helped me through the morning (and I ended up being there two hours!) Have a listen, it might help get you through your next workout with a smile too!

Top Yourself by The Raconteurs

The Sex Is Good by Saving Abel

S.E.X. by Nickelback

Go It Alone by Beck

Love Of The Loveless by Eels

T.M.S by Rhymefest