Sweating... in Pink Pants

Happy Friday FitFam! 

How about those quad lines! 

Do you know what the best deterrent at the gym is? Wearing some sort of colored pants that shows every drip of sweat that comes off of your body. Yum. No one will bother you when they can see your butt sweat, just sayin'. Who cares though? You aren't there for anyone but yourself, so wear what you want; Sweat like a pig, look like a fox. Promise the sweat is worth the outcome! ;)

 Speaking of sweat, I have a confession to make...

I was venturing around the workout section at Walmart and saw this $4 neoprene waist training wrap. I've never used any kind of waist trainer or wrap or even a belt to squat and dead lift. I've always been opposed, however I see everyone and their dog with all of these workout waist trainers that cost anywhere from $40 to $70, which I don't have, so I figured I'd give this little $4 wrap a shot. I was feeling super bloated, so what did I have to lose? Ummmmm apparently like 5 pounds a workout. I must say this little velcro neoprene thing makes you sweat so much! Even if it isn't actually doing anything, I feel "smaller" when I take it off because I've sweat off so much water weight! $4 well spent. Maybe it works, maybe not, but I love a good sweat, so I'm in! If you happen to be wandering around Walmart in the exercise section, maybe look at one!

Anywho, so as promised, my 3 favorite workouts of the week!

Upper Body: Landmine Press! This one is new to my routine, thanks to my boyfriend's recommendation, and its a shoulder crusher! Shoot for 3x10.

Lower Body: Lateral Swaying Lunges! Not gonna lie, I really didn't feel them much while I was doing them, but boyyyyy are my inner thighs sore! Stay at parallel and shift from one lateral lunge to the other. I use a barbell on my back and shoot for 3x12 each way.

Core: Good 'Ole Leg Lifts! You can literally superset these bad boys with anything and guarantee and great burn! I shoot for reps of 20.

Transformation Tuesday: Once Upon an Eating Disorder

Happy Transformation Tuesday Fitfam!

Sometimes when we think about transformations in fitness, the first thing that comes to mind is weight loss; which is awesome!! Other times though, we forget about the transformation that have gone the opposite direction, with growth changes in both the body and mind. With that being said, here is my story.

Once Upon an Eating Disorder...  

It has taken me a while to find a happy balance with my body. I've always been super self conscious and never satisfied or content with my own body, starting as early as high school. I let a silly number control my life. I started out how I looked on the left. I was 17 and suddenly became obsessed with the number on the scale, the number in my jeans; NUMBERS. If I wasn't under 120 pounds and a size 0, I wasn't happy. (May I remind you, I'm 5'10, and that is NOT a weight that is anywhere close to healthy for my height). My freshmen year of college, I was a collegiate athlete playing both indoor and beach volleyball, and was told by my strength and conditioning coach that at 5'10, 122 lbs and 19.5% body fat, that I was a "Skinny Fat Girl". If someone told me that now, I would laugh and shake it off. But being that fragile 18 year old in a new place for college, learning what it's like be away from home, in a controlling relationship and in the state of mind that I was already in, it wasn't something I could just shake off. That 18 year old girl heard "FAT" and that's when my anorexia turned into anorexia athletica. In the middle picture, you can see what my body had withered away to. My arms were twigs, my hipbones were protruding far past my actual stomach, you could count every bone in my sternum. Despite family and friend concerns, I convinced myself I wasn't hungry, barely ate anything if I was, and would run about 5 miles a day with a 1 hour workout a day. In my mind though, I was still FINE. I was always tired, I can't even explain how tired I was after a volleyball match. I was starving both literally and figuratively for self happiness. I hated so many things about my body. God forbid I walked past a mirror or scale because those were prime opportunities to tear myself apart. It was such a mind game. One day I woke up and just didn't want to feel like that anymore, and I finally made a decision to change. I got out of the controlling, unhealthy relationship I was in, (little did I know how big of a part that was playing in my negative self image), strengthened my relationship with God, and started to learn about fitness and nutrition. With my new self freedom and newly found knowledge in fitness and nutrition, I started my fitness journey. I put on 15 lbs, and found out how much better I feel with the proper nutrition and working out combination. A year later, I met the man of my dreams, who showed me what it's truly like to be loved and appreciated by your significant other, and through his love, taught me to love myself. So through God, my loving Godly boyfriend and family, and fitness, I have found a healthy balance! In the final picture above, a happy healthy girl, who has learned from her experience and grown from it. Fitness and health is a lifestyle change, not a fad or a temporary fix. ❤ 

Respect the process, enjoy the journey, and love yourself every step of the way ❤

   

My new Adventure! (Workouts and Meal Plans)

Alright fitfam! Soooo I have a big announcement for those who don't already know! I got competition fever and decided I want to compete in the Sunset Classic! I'm currently 3 weeks out, and this is my first NPC competition ever! I'm so incredibly excited but I am also still a young college girl with a very small budget that does not cover much of a competition after seeing how expensive it is! So I decided to do some fundraising! I'm offering a workout or meal plan for $15 or a combo for $25!!
What You'll Get:
For Workout:
A week of workouts including: 3 leg days, 2 upper body days, and 1 core day!  These are the workouts I used for my competition prep! They can be used for 3-4 weeks, then mix them up a little :)
For the meal plan:
1 week a meals! Again, these are some of my prep meals. (Let me know if you have any allergies).  Along with Supplement Suggestions!

If you are interested in a workout, meal plan, or a combo, just select it below! :) When I get your receipt, you'll receive an email with your plan! If you aren't interested in a plan, but are interested in donating, there is a donation button to the left. :)

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! :)

Plan

Workout $15.00 USD Meal Plan $15.00 USD Combo $25.00 USD

Tummy Tuesday Ab Workouts!

So it's been quite a while since I've posted. I'm working on finishing up my bachelor's degree in three years instead of four, so I've been pretty busy, also playing two sports. But here are some core workouts for Tummy Tuesday! Enjoy :) 

Six Inch Holds

1) Lay on your back with your arms at your sides.


2) Make sure your lower back is flat to the ground.


3) Elevate your feet about 6-inches off the ground and HOLD!

Set a time for yourself, and try to beat that time every time! Killer for those coveted lower abs!


Oblique Barbell Side Bends

1) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart with either a barbell or a weighted bar on your shoulders.


2) Bend to one side, keeping your hips stationary. Make sure you are not rocking your hips out to the side when you are bending.


3) Squeeze your obliques at the bottom of the bend, and use your opposite side obliques to pull yourself back to the neutral position.

Repeat for each side, and watch those obliques grow! 

Physio Ball Leg Lifts with a Twist

1)Lie flat on your back, again with your lower back flush to the ground with your physio ball gripped between your feet. I use a weighted ball, but regular ones are fine!

2) Squeeze the ball between your feet and lift your legs as straight as possible to the ceiling

3) Squeeze your core tight to bring your lower back up off the ground and your feet to the ceiling, rotating your legs and feet one way.

4) Then return to neutral position with your lower back, back on the ground and legs still raised.
5) Slowly lower your legs back down towards the ground, without letting the ball touch the floor.
Repeat! This is not a high rep exercise

Waisted Wednesday!

Happy waisted Wednesday everyone :) 

Hope everyone is killing their workouts! I added flutter kicks to the routine I uploaded yesterday, and some High Intensity Interval Training, which kicked my butt! It pays off though! 

Remember guys, abs are made in the kitchen, no diet, no abs!! 

Happy hump day! :) 

Time to get Waisted, Fit Fam style! :)

So with  my new Squaterday, I've got new Waisted Wednesday's and Ab Day Swag Days! 

As of now, I've been trying to lean out a bit, so I've been doing cardio on every day but leg days and rest day of course. Just trying to loose a little stubborn cookies and cheesecake that are still sticking around ;) 

butttttt here's what I've been up to on my Wednesdays and Saturdays! 

Again, I'm sticking to my pairs like I have in the past.  So do each pair twice before moving to the next one!

1 min plank

1 min boat

Decline bench med ball situps with a twist (3,5,7,9,11,13)

Decline bench sit ups

Bench Leg Lifts with a twist

 (Laying flat on your back on the bench, you do a leg lift, then come up onto your upperback and shoulders twisting your straight legs one way, then repeat the other direction.)

Regular leg lifts on the bench 

Crunches

Toe touches with a plate

V-ups

Russian Twists with a plate

Barbell Oblique Leans 

Lateral Leg Raises

Oblique V-Ups

Physio Ball Oblique Crunches

Hanging Leg Raises

Hanging Knee Tucks 

Kevin Hart knows how to keep your abs in check! Remember, abs are made in the kitchen :) 

Enjoy! 

Motivational Monday!

Hey Guys!

So I know typically Mondays are Squaterday, but I hurt my hamstring, so it needs some rest which means..... Today is Ab Day!!

So for today's ab routine, I did my typical alternating pairs like for my other ab routines, but between each pair I jumped roped 200 times. So.... 

50 Crunches

20 Leg Lifts

200 Jumps! 

20 Rotating Leg Extensions Each Side

20 Sit Ups with 10lbs Weight

200 Jumps! 

45 Second 6 Inch Holds

20 V-Ups

200 Jumps!

15 Barbell Oblique Side Bends Each Side

20 Oblique V-Ups Each Side

200 Jumps! 

Remember, Each of those pairs is gone through twice with no breaks! Get after it! ;) 

Here are some clean eats from the week! 

Giant Omelet! In the omelet is sausage, red peppers, green peppers, and onions. 

Here is Grilled Chicken Seasoned with Salt Free Mrs. Dash's Seasoning. Also with brown rice, white and yellow corn, and fruit! 

Here we have turkey burger with squash, zuchinni, orange peppers, and red peppers. Also apples! 

Here is a post workout breakfast and protein shake! Eggs, turkey bacon, oatmeal, and fruit greek yogurt and    vanilla whey protein shake. 

Happy Motivational Monday! :) 

Welcome Back Progress Post!

Well, it has been forever since I've been able to update my blog. Between exams, homework, 2 jobs, and 2 sports, I rarely have a break! That doesn't mean I haven't been lifting though! I decided to bulk when I got to school, so I put on 15 pounds, and now its time to shred. Here are some progress pictures. Obviously I'm not lean like I was during the summer for those of you who remember, but I like how my muscles filled out!

Over the Summer I was notorious for 5 days of cardio a week, with long heavy lifts, and super clean eating throughout the day. Lots of burning and a quick metabolism. That is how I maintained my lean muscles. But I wanted to put on some muscle, so I decided to bulk. For my bulk, I really upped my calorie intake a ton, and cut out cardio. BUT I kept my lifting habits with heavy weights, and here is what happen!

This is my progression from a little into my fitness journey in May, then lean stage in June and beginning of August, and my post 15 pound bulk on the far right! My arms and legs filled out quite a bit, and my abs aren't as defined. I'll admit, that is definitely something I miss, but you have to make some sacrifices sometimes! Now its time to shred!

Bulky arms, Bulky Legs. This is after my bulk as well. You can see where I store my weight...

My workout partner Ashley Naughton! Our backs are filling out finally! ;) I've always had the boniest shoulders on the face of the planet, and its so nice that they're finally getting some muscle! 

Bulky Bulky Bulky


Time to Shred Now!!! 

Ab day swag day work! Starting to see my abs again, finally! 

Operation Shred in session! Starting to get back definition but maintaining all that bulked muscle!

So So Behind!!

Wow, so I've been back at school since August 1st, and we still don't have internet at our house, which makes it super difficult to update my blog. I'm so bummed that I haven't been up to date on it, but once we get internet it'll be a different story!!

So as always, lets play some catch up! And my "some", I mean a TON!!!

Lets see, so while I've been back at school, I'll be the first to admit that I am not proud what so ever of my eating choices. I had just been seeing friends and family a lot, and going out for lunch and dinner, and not keeping my eating clean, and my body was (and still is) suffering. I've been better recently, but I'm still working to get back what I had over the summer because I feel like I've completely lost everything I worked so hard for.

Many people have been asking for my workout routines, so I'm going to post my workouts for each day!

Let the catch up Begin!!

Legs Legs Legs Legs!!

So I changed up my workouts a little bit. I've always had "Squaterday" and "Beast Mode" Days, but I really tried to Isolate muscles a little more now. Break up my muscles instead of trying to do my whole lower half twice a week. So on Squaterday, I hit quads and calves after squats, and on Beast Mode, I hit hamstrings and glutes.

So these two are after Squaterdays! Pumped up quads for sure! 

Here is my Squaterday routine:

Hit the Squat rack for 95 lbs for 15 reps

135 lbs for 10 reps

165 lbs for 8 reps

185 lbs for 6 reps

200 lbs for 4

and 210 lbs - 225 lbs (depending on how my legs are feeling) for a minimum of 2 reps, but max out if I can do more. 

135 lbs for 10 to wind down.

Walking Dumb bell Lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg. 

 Backward Dumb bell Lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg.

Lateral Dumb bell lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg.

Leg Press 3 sets of 12 (Heavy) 

3 way weighted calf raises on the floor, and on a ledge. 2 sets of 20 each way.

Sneaky Lunges 2 sets of 20 each leg.

Dumb bell Split Squats 3 sets of 12 each leg. 

Quad Extension Burnouts 2 times. HEAVY. 

Don't be afraid to go heavy! You'll like the results ;) 

Knee was a little sore after really deep squats, but this is for Beast Mode days. Sweat it out guys! 

My back side (Back, Glutes, Hamstrings, Calves) are not my strong point, so I'm really trying to work them out. Trying to get this little bum to grow!! 

For Beast Mode, I do the same kind of pyramid I do for Squats, just for Deadlifts. Go HEAVY!!

RDL's 2 sets of 20 

Good Mornings 3 sets of 20

Dumb Bell Single Leg RDL's 3 set of 12

Dumb Bell Bulgarian Split Squats 3 sets of 20 each leg

Weighted Bridges 3 sets of 8. Go HEAVY

Sumo Squats with plates on benches 3 sets of 20

Hamstring Curl Burnouts

Soo those are my recent lifts, still modifying them. I definitely need more glute workouts, but I'm working on it! I'm going to switch glutes to Squaterday and Calves to Beast Mode, It makes more sense. 

Let's do Abs next! So for Waisted Wednesda/ys and Ab Day Swag Day I have my workout partner Ashley :) She is on the left in the blue spandex in this bottom picture with me! So FITFLUENTIAL. I'm actually going to post her ab workout, so credit is to her! This one will kick your butt!!

So she runs her circuits like I do, with running through each pair of exercises twice, with no break. Here, we, go!

- 1min plank on Physio ball

- plank dips (15 per side)

-30 reg crunches

-30 v-ups

-weighted russian twists (20 per side)

-Barbell oblique crunch (15 per side)

-Pulse ups (heels to heaven) 25x

-Hip Rock Raise (make legs in diamond shape) 25x

-crunch frog 25x

-reverse crunch off flat bench 25x

-alt. Bosu ball crunch 30x (15 per side)

-Decline ball throw 30x (15 per side)

-punching plank 15x (or until fail)

-Knee tucks w/ physio ball 20x

-Weighted Decline Negative 10x

-sit ups 30x

And here is post workout after Ashley's workout!

Get after it guys! :) 

Next are my upper body days, like Tear It Up Tuesday!

Finally seeing gains in my noodle arms and weak back! They're getting bigger and stronger, finally! Hard work pays off!

Two weeks later, biceps are looking even better! Yay! :)

So my upper body days consist of...

Cable bicep curls 3 sets of 8 heavy

Tricep extensions 3 sets of 10 heavy

Dumb bell Over Head Press 5 sets of 5, increasing weight

Dumb bell bench 5 sets of 5, increasing weight

Pull ups 3 sets until fail

Chin Ups 3 sets until fail

Lat pull down 3 sets of 12

Single Arm High Pull 3 sets of 12

3 way Flys 3 sets of 10

Upright Rows 3 sets of 8 heavy

Seated cable rows 3 sets of 8 heavy

Heavy hammer curls 2 sets until fail

Hanging Tricep Dips 2 sets until fail

50 push up finisher! 

Well, I think I covered everything. Sorry it's taken so long for the posts! I promise we'll get internet soon! 

Kill your workouts everyone! :) 

Back to School!

So this year for college I am renting a house, so I spent the beginning of the week moving into my new house. It's definitely a work in progress, but I love it. :)

So beat up on my upper body pretty good. Not too much because I had a tournament, but definitely enough!  Which ended in a great tournament :) Not too bad for upper body day with my calorie burn. I was surprised.   I added more Pull Ups, Chin Ups, and Tricep Dips to my workout this time. All body weight. Also I threw in some chest on a couple machines. Now that I'm back to college, I have access to a gym all the time, I'm stoked :)

Although I didn't go crazy hard for arm day because of my tournament , you better believe I didn't hold back on leg day! Upped my weight on dead lift, so I'm excited! Still need to figure out something to work my bum a little better. I'll figure it out though, it takes time!

So I've been really good about not having any cheat meals. I can't remember the last cheat I had. Sooooo I decided that after my tournament, since I played for 7 hours in the 100 degree heat, I deserved a cheat meal. So my room mate and I went to Five Guys, which I had never been there, and it was so good! I felt really sick after since I haven't had food like that in so long, but I was worth it. My stomach on the other hand, wasn't too happy with me... as you can see. The first picture was right after my tournament and cheat meal haha. I was so tired, but there is my natural hair, no makeup, and quite the sunburn! The second was Ab Day Swag Day from the day after my cheat meal. Looking pretty puffy, but It's my fault though, so I'll deal with it.

Anyway, going to kill Squaterday soon with Alida and Ashley. Shout out to Ashley, by the way, she's going to California to play in a huge Beach Volleyball Tournament. So proud of her!!! :)

Kill your workouts today guys!! 

So behind!!

So I can't remember the last time I posted, sorry guys! I've been really busy packing and getting stuff ready for my move tomorrow. BUT, that doesn't mean I didn't work out!!

Let's see, I had a modified Ab Day Swag Day. I had to house sit/ dog sit for my neighbors, so I did half my workout in the morning, went to work, and finished up when I got to their house and hit the pool to cool off! :)
If was kind of strange to break it up like that, but at least I got it done.

I also got a new watch! So excited. My polar ft40 finally came!!! I love it so far. Still figuring stuff out, but it makes me push myself harder during my workouts. 

(Not bad for arm day ;) )

Killed leg day. Definitely trying to go a lot heavier now with my workouts, especially squats,  and its definitely paying off! 

New legs, new bathing suit, and we're in business! 

(Don't mind my brothers socks on the floor, haha) 

Today was Tear it up Tuesday! Again, trying to go heavier on my workouts and I think its paying off. Seeing small changes, but a little progress is better than no progress at all!

Excited to see a little back progress. Finally starting to bounce back from the labrum tear! 

My Upper body workout today had:

Cable Rows

Lat pull downs

Shoulder Press

Barbell Curls

Hammer Curls

Skull Crushers

Plank Rows

Tricep Kickbacks

Three way Shoulder Flys 

Wide fly Pushups

Military Pushups

Bosu Ball Pushups

Three Sets of everything, Heavy, Until failure!! Get after it guys!! 

Make sure to fuel after though!

After my protein shake, I had 2 Turkey Sausage, 2 Omelets, and Greek Yogurt. Good post workout meal :) 

I said I'd try to get some more food stuff up, so here it starts! 

Kill your Workouts Everyone! :) 

Waisted Wednesday!

Happy Ab Day Swag Day / Waisted Wednesday! :) 

So my dad won two free weeks to the gym, and guess who gets it? This girl! Perfect timing too because I go back to school in exactly two weeks today! So what did I do? New Ab Day Swag Day workout at the gym! I'm rather disappointed though, I destroyed my abs this morning with my workout. Any of you who do it will see what I'm talking about. But you can't even tell!! I am absolutely baffled over how much the human body can change thanks to mother nature. Boys, I envy you for not having this problem :p

Hopefully after a few days this water/bloat will go away and I'll be able to see my hard work! As for now, I'm stuck with dealing with it. Any way, as promised, here is my workout from today. I hope you guys enjoy! :) 

So, like for my other workout, I do them in pairs, two times each exercise with no break. When you are done with your pair (4 total exercises), take a break, then start you next pair. Got it? Readyyyyyyy.... GO! :) 

1:30 min Plank

1:30 min Boat

1 min Scissor Kicks

1 min Flutter Kicks

Hanging.... 

20 Side Tucks

20 Side Swings

20 Straight Leg Lifts

20 Knee Tucks

Back on the Floor... 

40 Bicycles Each Side

20 Physio Ball Knee Tucks

30 Physio Ball Oblique Crunches Each Side

30 V Ups Each Side

25 Reverse Crunches

20 Abdominal Twists Each Side

50 Crunches

20 Leg Lifts

Remember to do each pair twice.... GO! 

Recap!

Happy Monday Everyone! It's the beginning of the week, so time for new goals to complete! So once again I find myself making a post to catch up on everything. Sorry it took so long guys. Let's see what I missed... pretty much 2 of everything, legs, core, and arms. So let's start with core..

Ab Day Swag Day this week was another combination of my routine and the "Rough and Ruckus" circuit I posted before, super killer! I was a little over excited about my favorite workout of the week, if you couldn't tell, I had a lot on my mind, so it was nice to get away for a little bit. Really cooked those abs though, and it's evident in my swing for volleyball that my core has gotten a lot stronger, I'm stoked!

Killed Squaterday and Leg day this week too! Quads were super pumped afterwards. When I'm lifting at home, I don't have a lot of weight to put on for squats and dead lifts. The most I have is 95 pounds. So for my squat and dead lift, I up my reps a lot to make up for the lack of weight. Keep that in mind when your reading my workout. I would not be doing this many reps if I were in the gym with 185, I'd be doing a pyramid. (10,8,6,4,2,1)

For Squaterday I do:
Back Squats 3x25
Single leg Bridges 3x20 each leg
Dumbbell 3 way lunge complex (forward, side, backward)  3x8 each way, each leg (48 lunges is one set)
Barbell 3 way calf raises (forward, inward, outward) 3x20 each way
Barbell weighted Bridges 3x20
Barbell Step ups 3x20
Dumbbell Sumo Squats 3x20
3 Way Glutes  3x20 each way
Quad extension burnouts   Til Fail
Hamstring Curl Burnouts  Til Fail
Good Mornings  3x20
Barbell Split Squats   3x15
Wall Sits 3x 1min
Wall Sit   Til Fail

Remember for all of these, pick a weight that is challenging to you, and get after it! Push yourself, your body is stronger than your mind lets you think!

I'll post my Leg Day next time.

Upper Body day went well too. Getting some definition in my baby noodle arms, finally! 

So I start off every arm day with my shoulder rehab since my Labrum is torn. That makes a lot of my shoulder workouts harder than they should be, but I push through. 

Tightening your muscles for each exercise, make them burn! 

I'm going to start posting more food pictures because a lot of people have been asking about what my clean eating is. 

Hope everyone kill their workouts! :)