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All posts for the month July, 2013

Bat Wings and Turkey Waddles

Posted by Splashfit on July 9, 2013
Posted in: Workouts. Tagged: , , , , , . 1 Comment

Track

I woke this morning to feel the sun dappling across the skin on my face. The light filtering through slats of the blinds was tickling my eyelids; back and forth, light and dark. I could feel the warming rays urging me to break free of my dreams and face the day. Finally awake, I lazily reached for my clock from the night stand. Oh crap, I should have been up 45 minutes earlier. I knew the light was wrong this morning, as in there was too much of it hitting my face for it to be 5 am. I love mornings, but I am not a “morning person”. Mornings for me are quiet. There are absolutely no outside demands placed on me. It is me time. I can place my feet firmly on the ground, breathe deeply, and ready myself for whatever the day ahead may bring. I brew a strong pot of coffee, sit behind my keyboard, read the news, catch up on facebook, and generally just “ease” into my day. Today, it was not to be. I gulped down a hot cuppa joe, scarfed down a quick bowl of shredded wheat with blueberries, threw on some gym clothes, and ran out the door.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I have the pleasure of training a couple of ladies. As a fitness carrot, the three of us have signed up for the local “warrior dash” race. We have just a little over a month left to prepare. I have to say that it has been extremely gratifying to watch these ladies tackle my fitness program with gusto. The progress they have made and are continuing to make is very tangible and visible! I love seeing the outline of the trapezius muscle, the sleekly defined legs and calves, and the über defined biceps! When we began the running and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) program in January, well, lets just say that those early runs were pretty meek. I can see the speed and intensity improve each week. To have the opportunity to help mold somebody’s fitness, to help change them, and change their lives, it is an honor, and it humbles me.

I arrived at the gym with ten minutes to spare. I hopped on the elliptical machine to warm up. I had only one victim show today, and as the temperature inside the gym was hotter than the temperature outside, after a quick warm-up, we headed out the door. A half mile warm up jog and we arrived at the local high school track. This was our workout of the day:

Moderate pace run 220 yards
Sprint 220 yards
Moderate pace / sprint intervals 440 yards 30 seconds moderate / 15 seconds sprint
Moderate pace 440 yards
100 1 1/4 Squats
110 yards Alternating Walking Lunges (really hard)
110 yards Side stepping Wide Squats (alternating sides)
Half mile jog back to the gym

My first couple of sprint intervals this morning found my breakfast a bit too close to the surface for comfort. Nothing says “I’m a über chic fitness professional” like vomiting on your client’s shoes. I guess that leads me to clarify, that if you want to see posts and fitness information ONLY from somebody who looks good all the time, then I may not be the trainer to help you stay motivated.

A few weeks back, while perusing google news, I happened upon an article about Katie Holmes and her “Knee Cootchie”. Seriously people? You don’t have anything better to do with your time or airwaves than to be hypercritical of somebody who has obviously lost weight and has loose skin on their knees? Seriously? That is what you choose to focus on? Shame… shame on you. If you have read my other blog posts, then you will realize that I too, gained and lost a large amount of weight… (right around ninety pounds to be precise), and I have to tell you, that the loose skin remaining on my middle aged frame is a constant reminder to me of where I’ve been and where I do not wish to return. In fact, while doing a kickboxing workout recently, I realized that the backlash from the loose skin on my thighs could probably swing up and knock me out if I was not careful. My body is lean now. My bodyfat tests at between 13 and 14 percent. That does nothing to alleviate the excess skin. All I can say is that capri tights and knickers are my friend. I wish I had the confidence to let those bat wings and turkey waddles fly, but alas, it is not so. Bottom line, if you have firm skin and can wear short shorts with pride, I applaud you. As for me, I will continue with my financial contributions, to keep those blessed creators of yoga pants and capri tights providing us with a remedy for the knee cootch.

Fighting for every mile

Posted by Splashfit on July 8, 2013
Posted in: Motivation, Workouts. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment
Great for Cross Training

Great for Cross Training

I am sitting in front of my computer, and I am stalling. I need to go for a run this morning, and I don’t want to leave my house. I am doing everything I know how to do to burst through this incredibly annoying tendency that my body/mind/spirit has. It wants to be lazy! It wants to relax and take it easy. Even though I am having a hard time getting out the door, I put on my running clothes, I put on a visor, I got my ipod ready… now I just have to put on sunglasses and lace up my shoes…
aaaaaand…. she’s off… like a thundering herd of turtles.

I constantly struggle with self motivation. Given my not so distant past and complete and utter failure at self motivating, this issue, and how to overcome it, is ever present on my mind. The running thing for me can get really ugly in my head. I am not a natural. I do not get a runner’s high. It mostly hurts… Okay, well that is an excuse, because that part IS getting better. Still, I often struggle. Today, these are the things I had to do to get myself out the door. I left behind all pace monitoring devices. No Map My Fitness, no Runtastic, and no Heart Rate Monitor. I gave myself permission to do an intuitive workout. (I do a lot of speed intervals, but today, this is what I needed to do to motivate myself to leave the house). I gave myself permission to turn around at the half mile mark. It got me out the door.

Once my body was moving, I fell into a natural rhythm and I actually felt pretty good. I reached the half mile mark and knew that I wanted to keep going. I allowed myself to jog/run/plod at whatever pace I wanted. Of course, when a vehicle would drive past me, all bets were off, and I ran like the wind… I imagined that I was an Olympian going for gold… I saw myself reaching the finish line (cue the theme music from Chariots of Fire)… and as the car zoomed on out of sight, I slowed my pace (gasping and trying not to vomit) and jogged to recover. (Doesn’t everybody do this? Isn’t it listed somewhere in the runners’ code?). Seriously though, the times during my run today that I wanted to stop and walk were numerous. I had to play mind tricks with myself to keep running. My self talk goes something like this, “Okay, if you just run up to that next tree, then you can walk for 15 paces.” I ran to the tree, and then realized that I still felt good, and so I kept running. “When you get to the half way turn around point, then you can walk for a minute.” I got to the turn around point and felt good, so I kept running. I use this technique constantly when I am doing something that I perceive as difficult. Just a few more reps, just a few more steps, just a few more glides, just a few more paddles… and then I can rest. It is an amazing thing to watch as “the few” turn into the many. Before I know it, I am no longer counting steps, glides, or strokes. I am running, I am skiing, I am kayaking. I am “in the groove”, and it feels amazing.

So my workout for today is completed and I feel amazing. I can scarcely believe that I was balking at leaving the house. It is ALWAYS this way. We’ve all seen the “memes”, I really regret that workout, said nobody ever! It has gone viral not for its creativity, but for its truth.

Today’s Workout
5 mile run
300 body weight squats
200 body weight alternating lunges

I can find a hundred and one excuses for not exercising. Ignoring the hater in my head, the liar who tells me I can’t, and the lazy ass who wants to wallow on the sofa, is not only essential to my success, but it is my biggest challenge.

I know that there are people out there, athletes, who do not appear to struggle with motivation. I am not one of them. Not only am I not a “natural athlete”, but I have to fight for every single mile, every single pound, and every single inch. I can only hope that my struggle might just light a tiny little flicker of hope in another kindred spirit. I am nothing but a supremely stubborn and very ordinary person. If I can do something, then so can you. You just have to want it. Today, I want it. How about you?

Start Where You Are

Posted by Splashfit on July 6, 2013
Posted in: Motivation, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 1 Comment

health

I was standing in line at the grocery store when the woman behind me asked me if I was a “runner”. If you know me, you have to know that this erroneous assumption gave me the thrill of my day. I work at running; however, I am NOT what you would call a natural runner. At the market, I was wearing a short athletic type skirt and a tank top, and I have to think that her comment was inspired by the definition in my calves and arms. I work hard. I have a lean body. It feels great to have somebody notice and appreciate it. She then commented that she just loved my whole look. (Wow! Definitely made my day!) I explained to her that I was a trainer and not a runner; although, I further clarified, that I often sign up for races to inspire me to run, as it is something difficult for me and therefore, it challenges me. So here’s the dig, the rub, the burr in my saddle… She obviously would like to be more fit. I could see it in her face. When I suggested training sessions, she had excuses… a lot of excuses. So, how do you get from just wishing in the grocery store checkout line to being what you desire?

As a trainer, this is such a big issue to me. Everybody has excuses. I can come up with a ton myself. I’m not where I want to be with my body and I’m embarrassed to be seen outside. It’s too hot. It’s too cold. My feet hurt, my back hurts, my neck hurts… Seriously, I don’t have to help anybody figure out more excuses for not being the best they can be. Americans… we’ve got the excuse racket figured out and wired hard. I HAVE BEEN THERE.

I have been a “gym rat” since I was in my twenties. I taught glacier climbing, rock climbing, and mountaineering for fifteen years. I was a competitive swimmer, an ultra-long distance hiker, an avid cyclist, a maniacal downhill skier, and a triathlete. Life issues, health issues, excuses happened to me. I became unfit and unhealthy. I used every excuse in the book to stay that way. I basically gave up on having a good life. I settled for less than I wanted and less than I deserved. I completely quit stepping on the scale, posing for photographs and looking in the mirror. I was lying to myself and I did not want to face reality or the truth. It is hard to say exactly what it was that made me turn around. That elusive moment in time where I decided to stop lying to myself and start caring again. But the biggest thing in my fitness evolution was the willingness to stop hiding and face the truth. The whole entire, bitter, and ugly truth. I disrobed, stepped on the scale and weighed in at over 200 lbs with 47 percent body fat. How in the hell did an athletic and energetic person who is also a certified personal trainer, allow this to happen? HOW?

You know what? The How DOES NOT MATTER. What matters, and it is the only thing that matters, is that I was ready to change. I was willing to stop making excuses and lying to myself. I was willing to do whatever it took to once again, become fit and healthy. I started where I was… Embarrassed to be seen outside, I walked inside my house… first for 30 minutes, then 45 minutes, and then and hour. I did laps through the kitchen and through the living room, and up and down the hall. Gradually, as my weight dropped and my fitness increased, I stepped outside into a brave new world. Once again, I was able to embrace my old friends: hiking, cycling, kayaking, swimming, skiing, and working out at the gym. It took nearly two years to complete the transformation from unhealthy to fit. Through it all, what I needed to remember, was that I can always start where I am. There were days when the scale was not my friend. A weight gain of 3 pounds on a given day could have sent me on a downward spiral, but while a 3 pound weight gain was excruciating, giving up would not make it better. I must remember that I don’t need to lose weight before I exercise. Yes, it is an excuse that I made and one that I have heard from others as well. I don’t need to have a fancy gym membership, or yoga pants, or even proper shoes (although these things are great). I don’t have to be able to run a marathon, I just have to be willing to move my body. I just have to be willing to do what I can. I just have to be willing.

So, when I see somebody who is reaching out and obviously would like to change their life for the better, I want so desperately to give them this message. You can change. It’s not too late. You just need to start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.

Out the door for a morning jog…

Independence

Posted by Splashfit on July 4, 2013
Posted in: Fit Tips. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

fourth of julyIn the quest to live a fit and healthy life, the holidays can pose difficult challenges. While festivals, social gatherings, and family get togethers are a wonderful part of life, they can be diet and exercise saboteurs. Here are some tips to help you declare independence from flab on this holiday.

1. If you must drive to your event, park a mile away… that will accomplish two things… One, you won’t have to deal with traffic coming and going, and two, you will get in a 2 mile walk! Depending on your weight and pace, you could burn 100 calories and rev up your metabolism!
2. When recovering from an athletic event and resting your body, there is the old adage, “don’t stand when you can sit, and don’t sit when you can lay” I would like to suggest reversing that… “Don’t Lay when you can sit, and don’t sit when you can stand”… Just standing for a period of time, burns significantly more calories than sitting. Think this isn’t true? Curious, years ago,  I experimented with this theory while at work… The only change I made to my fitness plan was to stand at work vs. sitting. In one month’s time, I dropped 3 pounds.
3. Picnic at the beach? Not a problem! Go for a swim! Swimming is a great full body exercise and it burns 400 calories per hour!
4. Gym closed? You can get a great workout doing simple body weight exercises and calisthenics. Body weight squats, lunges, push-ups, pull-ups, burpees, and yoga can give you an insanely intense workout without ever touching a barbell.
5. Too busy to fit in exercise? Quit lying to yourself. The last 4 Presidents of the good old US of A found time to workout, so can you.

So many people focus on exercise in their fitness regime and completely ignore diet. This is a huge mistake and a definite results buster. Here are a few tips for healthy eating on this food/picnic/barbecue oriented holiday.

1. If you are preparing food… all of those bites that you take while in the kitchen count! Keep the spoon out of your mouth. You may be surprised at how many mindless calories can be consumed this way.
2. Don’t let yourself get hungry before you go to an event where there will be food served. Try to eat healthy small meals throughout the day (lean protein, fiber, vegetables), which will help prevent binge eating and over-indulgence at your event.
3. If you must indulge in alcoholic beverages, don’t forget that these calories count! One microbrew can contain nearly 200 calories.
4. Barbecue? Bring your own lean protein source… Chicken Breast, Salmon, Halibut. Opt for one of these instead of their unhealthy counterparts… hot dogs and hamburgers… no, nobody needs to go there.
5. At the buffet table, choose whole foods in their natural state. Avoid heavily lubed foods such as potato and macaroni salad. Avoid heavily sugared foods such as baked beans, ketchup and barbecue sauce… Desserts? You know if you should be eating desserts or not. If you have an active lifestyle and are not prone to food addictions, have a little. If you should not be eating desserts… fresh strawberries, fresh cherries, fresh watermelon are all healthier options that are readily available at this time of year and will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Just a few tips and suggestions to help maintain your fitness through the holiday. If you are a fitness junkie or just contemplating beginning a healthier lifestyle, I congratulate you on taking a step toward declaring independence from flab!

As for me, I am out the door for my morning run…

Happy Holiday!