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Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
C'est lundi matin!
It's more fun when you say it in French, no?
Here we stand on the edge of the cliff...leading us into another week with lots of promise to be better than we were last week. This week marks the beginning of Spring, so why not let the power of suggestion take over and let it mean a fresh start for you as well? Forget about all of your little missteps or unhealthy choices over the weekend, or even the last few months. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Today, I am saying "goodbye, adios, adieu, ciao!" to all of my insecurities about training and eating. I am learning to have faith in my plans and keep my eyes on the goal. It can be difficult, especially as a female, to accept that you need to eat more to get the results you want. I constantly find myself struggling to not feel guilt when I take in 2000kcal in a day after so many months/years of sticking around 1500kcal. The sad part is, this number may not even be enough to support my active lifestyle and training regimen - especially when I am trying to put on muscle. All of this food-associated guilt will only raise my stress hormone levels and result in having to work that much harder to attain my goals.
So, back to the message of starting fresh. I will say so long to my calorie obsessed ways and aloha to hearty, healthy meals and treating food as fuel. Food should and will be enjoyed, but not at the expense of my self esteem. I eat to train now, rather than training to eat. My workouts are not designed to undo whatever indulgence I had at dinner last night, they are meant to make me stronger - physically and mentally - so that I can have happiness and balance.
NOTE: The caloric goals and requirements for every individual will vary greatly. Factors including your height, current & goal weight, and activity level are all involved. For ways to calculate your caloric needs, send me a message!
Here we stand on the edge of the cliff...leading us into another week with lots of promise to be better than we were last week. This week marks the beginning of Spring, so why not let the power of suggestion take over and let it mean a fresh start for you as well? Forget about all of your little missteps or unhealthy choices over the weekend, or even the last few months. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Today, I am saying "goodbye, adios, adieu, ciao!" to all of my insecurities about training and eating. I am learning to have faith in my plans and keep my eyes on the goal. It can be difficult, especially as a female, to accept that you need to eat more to get the results you want. I constantly find myself struggling to not feel guilt when I take in 2000kcal in a day after so many months/years of sticking around 1500kcal. The sad part is, this number may not even be enough to support my active lifestyle and training regimen - especially when I am trying to put on muscle. All of this food-associated guilt will only raise my stress hormone levels and result in having to work that much harder to attain my goals.
So, back to the message of starting fresh. I will say so long to my calorie obsessed ways and aloha to hearty, healthy meals and treating food as fuel. Food should and will be enjoyed, but not at the expense of my self esteem. I eat to train now, rather than training to eat. My workouts are not designed to undo whatever indulgence I had at dinner last night, they are meant to make me stronger - physically and mentally - so that I can have happiness and balance.
NOTE: The caloric goals and requirements for every individual will vary greatly. Factors including your height, current & goal weight, and activity level are all involved. For ways to calculate your caloric needs, send me a message!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Mondays...I love em.
Happy Monday, everyone!
It has been nearly 2 months since my last post. In such a year of transition, it can be hard to find the time to sit down and truly articulate all of the things I have to share. In the last few weeks, I have started a new job, taken my CSCS exam, and spent a week in Michigan helping to nurse my honey back to health.
I failed half of my CSCS exam (by 3 questions, ugh!), however I can retake that section in a few weeks. Not bad considering I don't have a degree in Exercise Science and learned it all on my own! Luckily I've already got a great position at TEST Sports Clubs. I'm spending my afternoons teaching youth athletes to perfect their sprinting technique and enhance agility skills as part of the Parisi Speed School. If I ever complain, smack me. Who could possibly have anything to gripe about when you spend your day laughing with kids while wearing sneakers and sweatpants?! I'm also starting to branch out into personal training as well, so if you are looking for a morning through lunchtime coach, I'm your gal!
With all of that said, let's talk about how awesome Mondays can be. While many people dread waking on a Monday and simply schlep through the week just to get to another Friday, I personally love the fresh start. I take in the news, soak up the sun, enjoy two very large mugs of coffee, and top it off by spending a few extra minutes making a solid breakfast. Taking a little time to make the morning a treat may help you find that suddenly you look forward to it, too! Plus, starting the day with a good attitude will help you be more pleasant and productive at work. Why not make those days between Monday and Friday count for more than just another day to catch up on the Archer episodes backing up on your DVR?
On another note, my workouts have taken a turn for the awesome. I've dropped some serious weight in the last few months and am ready to put on some muscly size. What does that mean? I get to EAT and lift HEAVY THINGS! Luckily, I spent the last several weeks working to perfect my Olympic lifts and have fallen in love with the Clean & Press. I love it almost as much as I love the Russian kettlebell swing...almost. But that's news for another day. The C&P is such a versatile move that really pushes the whole body to work. Not only does it work muscles from your toes all the way up through your eyelids, but it can be adapted to several different pieces of equipment. When I'm at home, I can perform the lift with a heavy kettlebell on each side, versus the standard barbell when in the gym. Disclaimer: do not even attempt to complete the C&P without drilling your form on an unweighted bar with a coach. Technique is more important than how much you lift, because being injured means you aren't lifting anything but your ego off the floor.
In addition to the heavy lifting, I'm also continuing my conditioning work with outdoor hill sprints. The unseasonably warm weather and beckoning sun make it pretty easy to be motivated for this. Let me tell you, crushing 50 yard sprints up a 20% incline a few times will get your heart racing like no steady state 5k ever will.
I want to know what YOU are doing to get fit with warmer weather on the horizon. Are you cleaning up your diet? Training for some spring races? Leave it in the comments!
Follow me on Twitter: @fitcookiemonstr
E-mail me: fitcookiemonster@gmail.com
It has been nearly 2 months since my last post. In such a year of transition, it can be hard to find the time to sit down and truly articulate all of the things I have to share. In the last few weeks, I have started a new job, taken my CSCS exam, and spent a week in Michigan helping to nurse my honey back to health.
I failed half of my CSCS exam (by 3 questions, ugh!), however I can retake that section in a few weeks. Not bad considering I don't have a degree in Exercise Science and learned it all on my own! Luckily I've already got a great position at TEST Sports Clubs. I'm spending my afternoons teaching youth athletes to perfect their sprinting technique and enhance agility skills as part of the Parisi Speed School. If I ever complain, smack me. Who could possibly have anything to gripe about when you spend your day laughing with kids while wearing sneakers and sweatpants?! I'm also starting to branch out into personal training as well, so if you are looking for a morning through lunchtime coach, I'm your gal!
With all of that said, let's talk about how awesome Mondays can be. While many people dread waking on a Monday and simply schlep through the week just to get to another Friday, I personally love the fresh start. I take in the news, soak up the sun, enjoy two very large mugs of coffee, and top it off by spending a few extra minutes making a solid breakfast. Taking a little time to make the morning a treat may help you find that suddenly you look forward to it, too! Plus, starting the day with a good attitude will help you be more pleasant and productive at work. Why not make those days between Monday and Friday count for more than just another day to catch up on the Archer episodes backing up on your DVR?
On another note, my workouts have taken a turn for the awesome. I've dropped some serious weight in the last few months and am ready to put on some muscly size. What does that mean? I get to EAT and lift HEAVY THINGS! Luckily, I spent the last several weeks working to perfect my Olympic lifts and have fallen in love with the Clean & Press. I love it almost as much as I love the Russian kettlebell swing...almost. But that's news for another day. The C&P is such a versatile move that really pushes the whole body to work. Not only does it work muscles from your toes all the way up through your eyelids, but it can be adapted to several different pieces of equipment. When I'm at home, I can perform the lift with a heavy kettlebell on each side, versus the standard barbell when in the gym. Disclaimer: do not even attempt to complete the C&P without drilling your form on an unweighted bar with a coach. Technique is more important than how much you lift, because being injured means you aren't lifting anything but your ego off the floor.
In addition to the heavy lifting, I'm also continuing my conditioning work with outdoor hill sprints. The unseasonably warm weather and beckoning sun make it pretty easy to be motivated for this. Let me tell you, crushing 50 yard sprints up a 20% incline a few times will get your heart racing like no steady state 5k ever will.
I want to know what YOU are doing to get fit with warmer weather on the horizon. Are you cleaning up your diet? Training for some spring races? Leave it in the comments!
Follow me on Twitter: @fitcookiemonstr
E-mail me: fitcookiemonster@gmail.com
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