Category Archive for "Fitness" | The Cure for Anything

Tasty Lunches and Other Good Things

Sunday, July 30, 2017 Fitness, Food, Ha!, Recipe No tags Permalink

Oh my goodness, I literally laughed out loud when I watched this. It’s funny because it’s true. 😊 This video also reminded me of why guys don’t wear leggings to work out –it would be quite risqué!

I just switched back to my previous strength style weightlifting routines vs. the pure hypertrophy bodybuilding style workouts I’ve been doing for the past four months. I have to admit that I’ve been enjoying the lighter weight/higher rep routines. I think I’ll work those back into rotation more often. So far, I haven’t noticed that I’ve lost much strength though, which is good!

Just Do It

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 Fitness, Life No tags Permalink

I must have a warped sense of humor, because I laughed so hard at this. Especially the “make everyone around you super uncomfortable” part. 😂 I know lots of the stretching/mobility/glute work I do looks rather…odd. That’s okay though, because it works. Also, the great thing about being old is that you just don’t care what other people think. Like Nike says, just do it.

Get Big

Thursday, April 20, 2017 Fitness, Learning No tags Permalink

I recently had an acquaintance comment that I was getting too muscular. Ha! There are only two people allowed to have an opinion on how my body looks: me and me 😊

But seriously, Why does it seem okay for some people to comment negatively on fit/strong/slim people’s bodies, but if you say something to an overweight person it’s fat-shaming? Neither one is okay. I think it’s rude for anyone to make unsolicited negative comments about anyone else’s body. I try to remind myself that when people judge MY body it is almost always just an extension of their own dissatisfaction with THEIR bodies. I.e., people who are totally cool with how their own bodies look and work don’t give a care about how mine looks. Why would they care? They have better things to think about! So be psyched about your muscles if you love them! They are YOURS.

Blink If You Want Me

Friday, April 14, 2017 Fitness No tags Permalink

My current workout programs has me lifting 6 days a week. Which means going to the gym 6 days a week, even Friday. Before this I hadn’t been to the gym on a Friday night in years. Now I remember why. Apparently, it’s singles night. I had no idea that if you’re at the gym on a Friday night it means that you don’t have a life/boyfriend/husband. I’ve been hit on less at bars and parties. I just want to be left alone and do my workout in peace. So, being the creative thinker that I am, I came up with a plan. Rent-a-guy. I texted my friend Dave and asked if he’d be my boyfriend. Just for tonight. Just at the gym. He laughed, said all those conditions I was putting on it made it a lot less appealing. 😂 But he’s a good guy, so he went along with it. It worked out perfectly. Not one gym creeper bothered me all evening, and as a bonus I had a spotter for my bench press. 😁

Goals

Wednesday, March 22, 2017 Fitness, Learning, Life, Uncategorized No tags Permalink

I hope this is me at age 74! Still fierce, spirited, and silly. 😛

Something New

Friday, February 24, 2017 Fitness, Food No tags Permalink

I’m about to start on a new training program: Epic Ass. Yes, that’s really the name. 😉 It’s a hyperthrophy program, with high volume and reps, that runs 6 days a week. Thankfully, it’s only 60 days long. This time, I’ll be sure to take before photos and measurements. I trust my coach completely, she is awesome! I just know I will need to be mindful of eating properly to fuel this and getting lots of sleep to recover. The program also includes a mobility and flexibly aspect, which I think is essential.

I’m also shifting my focus on cardio. I used to dread it. I would think about how boring it was, how much it hurt, I’d watch the clock etc. I’m changing my mindset to use it for improved mental clarity and it’s changing everything.

I’m really excited to have a challenge and try something new.

I Needed That Laugh!

Monday, February 6, 2017 Fitness, Ha!, Uncategorized No tags Permalink

I saw this and I laughed so hard! My workouts aren’t quite this bad, but some days, I really wonder. Basically, I have to not care at all how weird I look when I do certain rather unusual moves. But there are a few that even I won’t do in public. Like…frog pumps. 😉

Bring It

Thursday, September 15, 2016 Fitness, Life No tags Permalink

Pretty much this. Except, I’m not a girl, I’m a woman. The other day I realized that I’m almost alway the only female in the free weights area in my gym. I’m okay with that. I’m used to being around mostly men. I’ve also noticed that most of the women who work at my gym are completely rude and unfriendly. If I had employees who treated people like that, first they’d be re-trained, then reprimanded, and fired, if need be. In a people-oriented business, your number one goal should be friendliness. And that should probably be your goal in life in general. 😀 Just be nice. Simple as that. I was once told by a guy at the gym that insecure women find me intimidating. Ha! Yeah, I’m really scary with my smile and “hello”. 😉

Here’s my motto: the success of every woman should be an inspiration to another. We should raise each other up.

Take Up Some Space

Tuesday, July 5, 2016 Fitness No tags Permalink

As women, most of us are raised to not take up space. To be demure and submissive. As a woman who’s had to fend for herself most of my adult life, I quickly realized I had to toss all those ideas if I wanted to survive. Most guys at my gym are polite and respectful. But once in a while I run across a guy who wants to try to push me around. Ha! Good luck with that! 😉 Respect is a two-way street and I’m not going to take any crap. Any man that belittles women has a serious self-confidence issue with himself .

I’ve been adding more unilateral work and mobility drills to my workouts lately. I love single-leg Romanian deadlifts, but I struggle with balance. I’ve tried holding onto a bench or wall for assistance, but the problem there is that I tend to lean too heavily on the bench and use way too much assistance, so the bench becomes a crutch as opposed to a teaching tool. I’ve recently discovered using a foam roller instead of a bench or wall.

The foam roller works great because it provides some assistance for your balance, but you can’t put too much of your weight on it like you can with a bench or a wall because it will just tip over. It forces you to keep your weight centered over your hips as opposed to moving forward, so it ensures that you’re doing the exercise correctly and hinging at the hips as opposed to shifting your weight forward to doing more of a single leg squat type movement. Lower the weight in line with the foam roller; this helps prevent against reaching forward.

My feet/ankles are a weak link, so I’ve been doing some single leg swaps.

Dr. Joel Seedman has some great stuff on foot/ankle biomechanics, so I highly recommend you check him out.

All 4 Me

Sunday, March 27, 2016 Fitness, Food, Life, Recipe, Thinking No tags Permalink

People often say to me, ” I bet you don’t eat a thing.” Ha! Quite the opposite. I’m usually hungry and eat all day long. A few weeks ago I started going weekly meal prep, so I have all my lunches and smacks ready to go and I just have to grab it on the way out the door. One f m new favorites is a take on dirty rice:

Measure 1 cup of brown rice, 2 cups of water, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a medium pot. Bring pot to a rolling boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer (without opening) for 40 minutes, making sure the water hasn’t all evaporated.

Dice a red onion, finely chop 8 cloves of garlic, and slice 4 scallions. Cook vegetables with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 pound ground turkey and cook for about 10 minutes until browned, stirring and breaking up chunks with a spoon. Add diced red pepper and yellow pepper, season with garlic powder, thyme, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste and cook for a few minutes longer. Stir in half a bunch of cilantro, finely chopped. Stir in cooked brown rice and adjust seasonings to taste.

Yum!

Gym Wildlife

Monday, January 25, 2016 Fitness, Ha!, Uncategorized No tags Permalink

Its fair to say that I spend a lot of time in the gym. I just pulled my stats for 2015, and last year I spent 365 hours just lifting weights. It’s also fair to say that I see some very interesting things in those hours. That’s probably why this video made me laugh so hard.

I for one am ready for all the New Years resolution people to go back to wherever they came from and stop coming to the gym. If I have one more woman ask me if I’m afraid of getting too big from lifting weights, I’m going to scream.

Gifts for the Fitness Lover

Wednesday, December 16, 2015 Fitness, Product Review No tags Permalink

Gifts for the fitness lover

Got a fitness lover on your Christmas list? Here are some great suggestions they’re sure to love (and actually use!) this year:

The water bobble. Hydration is essential when you’re working out. This BPA-free bottle comes in a multitude of colors and both 18.5 and 34 ounce sizes. Best of all, there’s an activated carbon filter, so you’re not stuck drinking water fountain water.
Suck it up, buttercup tank from Gymdoll.
Polar HR7 heart rate monitor. This comfortable HR monitor connects via Bluetooth to your phone or iPod and syncs flawlessly with the free Polar app. The sensor has batteries you can change yourself and the strap is machine washable. I can’t say enough about this product. If you run, bike, or workout in a gym, you need this!
Quad Lock armband. I love how secure this feels. I also love that there’s an accompanying mount for both your bicycle and car. If you’re running around with an expensive phone strapped to your arm, you want to be certain that it stays there.
Fit Four Spartan grip gloves. The open thumb design is great because that prevents bunching on the palm. Just the right amount of padding, my hand have been callous-free since buying these. The wrist wraps give great support.
Rock My Run. I’ve written about this app before, and it just keeps getting better and better. You can see my other review for the details. There are hundreds of mixes in most every musical genre, and the keep adding more weekly. I use this app every time I work out. You can choose the mix based on beats per minute, or set it to match your stride or heart rate (if you’re wearing a HR monitor). There are quite a few mixes that come with the free version, but I have the paid version called “Rockstar”. It’s well worth the nominal fee, and they’ve just added a lifetime membership option. Want to try a free month on me? Just go here and use promo code rockit7. You’re welcome. 🙂
Dona Jo leggings in Paulista. Cute, comfortable, and colorful. What more could you want? How about 20% off your purchase?

Ladies First

Thursday, November 12, 2015 Fitness, Ha! No tags Permalink

Thank you for sharing this with me, Edward. It made my day! It’s pretty much my motto in life. 🙂

Monday

Monday, September 21, 2015 Fitness, Food, Ha! No tags Permalink

Okay, those aren’t the only reasons, but they’re two good ones. There’s a guy who works at my gym and he’s in a wheelchair. This weekend he asked me why I’m always working out so hard. I told him that since God gave me a body that, overall, works pretty well, the least I can do is hold up my end of the bargain and take good care of it. He said that was the best answer he’d ever heard to that question. Also, I like to eat. 😉

My son came over Saturday morning. He usually does his laundry and the we go out to lunch together. This weekend his allergies were making him miserable, so he asked if we could stay in and make “that egg thing”. I said, ” Oh, chilaquiles?” Just to mess with him. He hates chilaquiles. He said, “No, that delicious omelette thing”. To him, everything that made out of eggs is an omelette. It’s actually a frittata. I love that I raised him to be independent enough to show up with all the necessary ingredients. Plus, he knows there’s no way I have bacon in my house. 😉 So we made the frittata together. He peeled the potatoes while I diced the other veggies. I’m a firm believer that everyone should know the basics of cooking a simple meal. When it was ready, we sat down to eat and I inhaled my first piece. I asked him if he wanted another piece and he said he was good. It was then that I realized that I eat more than my son. My son who is 6’2″ and 205 pounds. Yikes!

Saturday

Saturday, July 11, 2015 Fitness, Life No tags Permalink

I didn’t get in my bike ride today, but not because of rain. By nature I’m not a late sleeper. I think it’s partly due to my upbringing. In my family sleeping in late is a sign of laziness. Damn that Puritanical work ethic! My parents still get up at some ungodly early hour. When I stay with them they comment on the fact that I sleep in until 8:00 (gasp!) on the weekend. This week was long and tiring for me. I went to bed at 11:00 last night and woke up at 11:00 this morning. Nothing like a good, solid 12 hours of sleep. 🙂

I won’t be riding again tomorrow either because I’ll probably be crawling out of bed. Literally crawling. This was my workout today:

Where Are My Sunglasses?

Friday, July 10, 2015 Fitness, Life No tags Permalink

I walked outside this afternoon and as blinded by that glowing orb in the sky. I think it was the sun, but it’s been so long since I’ve seen it, I wasn’t certain. Seriously, I think it’s rained every day this week. Does the Midwest have monsoon season now? I haven’t logged very many miles on my bike lately due to the rain. I can work around summer heat, but forget riding in the rain. I’m going to drag myself out of bed tomorrow morning and ride while we have a brief break in the precip. Hopefully my legs will be less sore tomorrow because I killed them at the gym yesterday. New PR in hip thrusts- 4 sets of 10 at 135 pounds. What’s a hip thrust? A super strange looking yet super-effective exercise for your gluteus.

That’s Cute, Honey…

Saturday, May 9, 2015 Fitness, Product Review No tags Permalink

I read this recently and several of the points made me laugh. It’s funny because it’s true.

“IF YOU’VE EVER watched a man working out in a gym, you can be forgiven for not immediately recognizing the bountiful lessons he has to offer. Instead, if you observed anything, it was probably one or more of these:

poor form
overly optimistic weight selection, resulting in even poorer form.
odd, guttural noises, usually uttered while lifting too much weight with poor form.
a sudden inability to lift those weights after 8 to 12 repetitions (done with good or bad form), resulting in a pile of iron on the floor and an empty slot on the rack where those weights belong.
a curious attraction to the bench press, which not only results in all of the aforementioned problems, but also is performed with a dedication and zeal that leave no time for exercises designed to work the muscles he can’t see in a mirror.
an even more curious lack of awareness that other people can see the muscles that don’t show up in his mirror.”

I’ve been asked by other women at the gym if I’m worried about getting “too bulky” because I lift “heavy” weights. My answer is, “do I look too bulky to you?” Granted, I’m definitely an ectomorph when it comes to body type, but women simply don’t have enough testosterone to get big from lifting weights. Most men produce 6-8 mg of testosterone per day, compared to most women who produce 0.5 mg per day. That’s a huge difference!

I want to give a shout out to FitFour and the wonderful lifting gloves they make. (There’s a link to the product if you click on the photo.)

Finally, no more calloused hands. I had a problem with the stitching on my first pair so I wrote to the company. The owner personally responded to me and sent out a new pair for free. Now that’s great customer service!

Growth

Sunday, March 22, 2015 Fitness, Learning, Life Fitness, Growth Factor, Shoulders, Training, Weightlifting Permalink

I have a great sense of humor and I don’t take myself too seriously. Life’s a lot easier (and a lot more fun) that way. But I don’t get it when guys use cheesy, smarmy pick up lines. Seriously, does that ever really work?

I was telling my son a story about gym creepers this weekend. He couldn’t believe that guys actually do this. I see this as a strong indication that I raised him right. Nine times out of ten, a polite, intelligent conversation will get you much further than staring and/or creepily following around a woman. Crazy, right? 😉

Golden Ratio

Monday, March 9, 2015 Fitness, Learning No tags Permalink

I’m familiar with the Golden Ratio when it comes to photography. You may know it as the rule of thirds. It’s also known as the Golden Mean or Divine Proportion. This law was made famous by Leonardo Fibonacci around 1200 A.D. He noticed that there was an absolute ratio that appears often throughout nature, a sort of design that is universally efficient in living things and pleasing to the human eye. Hence, the “divine proportion” nickname. What I didn’t know until recently, is that this Golden Ratio of 1:1.618 also applies to bodybuilding. The ideal waist to shoulder ratio also happens to be 1:1.618. Currently, I’m right around 1:1.4. One thing I do know: clothing designers and manufactures (at least here in the U.S.) don’t know jack about Fibonacci. If something fits my waist, then it’s too small for my shoulders. And if it fits my shoulders, it’s huge on my waist. So almost everything I buy ends up being something made of stretchy material. As my son would say, first world problem.

There’s a great article I read the other day called Delts on Fire. Let me tell you, it is very aptly named. Two sets into the mechanical drop sets of Arnold Press/Overhead dumbbell press and my shoulders were burning. And that was just the beginning of the workout. My ice pack and heating pad were my BFFs last night.

Honestly, it didn’t matter how much my shoulders hurt last night because I wasn’t going to sleep well anyhow. I am not a fan of Daylight Saving Time. It messes with my circadian rhythms for weeks. Seriously, why is it still a thing?

For me it’s not the microwave clock, but the clock in my car that I have to remember how to change. I’ll do that in a few days, when I’m hopefully less groggy and foggy.

66 Audio BTS+ Bluetooth Sports Headphone Review

Friday, January 9, 2015 Fitness, Product Review 66 Audio BTS, Bluetooth Headphones, earbuds, headphones, Headphones for Workouts Permalink

I have no idea why I didn’t think of doing this sooner, but I finally bought a pair of Bluetooth headphones for the gym. For years I’ve been catching the cord of my old headphones on just about everything. I’ve tried running the cord up my shirt, but then it just yanks the ear buds out of my ears when I do certain movements. The cord was a constant source of irritation. About 8 years ago, I bought a nice pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones. They are indeed comfortable and have great sound quality. However, the cord was constantly in the way or getting tangled while stored in my gym bag.

Being the ~~dork~~, ~~nerd,~~ savvy shopper that I am, I did some research before my purchase. I wanted comfort, decent sound quality, and good battery life. Frankly, I didn’t want to pay another 200 bucks like I did for my B&O headphones. I decided that the best Bluetooth headphones for the money is the 66 Audio BTS+ Bluetooth Sports Headphone.
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The link goes to Amazon, as that’s where I purchased my pair. They had the best price that I could find, and I’m an Amazon Prime member, so I had them shipped to me for free in 2 days.

I’ve had mine for about 10 days now, and so far I absolutely love them. The sound quality exceeds my expectations. They’re comfortable and stay put when working out, even when doing moves like kneeling cable crunches. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a big head and big ears, and I have no problem wearing these for 90 plus minutes at a time.

I plan on writing more reviews in the future, because I find it useful to read other’s reviews of items while deciding upon a purchase. If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask.

Category Fitness