I'm Back.
Sunday, December 5, 2010 at 11:43AM
Good MORNING Kittens! I feel like I've been out of Blog-Land forever! Dang! I will say this, the title of this post is true. I'm BACK. For all of you that have been emailing me, thank you. It appears that everyone has 'turned the corner' sickness-wise. My poor niece broke her fever on Friday, after 6 straight days of a HIGH fever in the hundreds. I was SO worried about her! ;-( Anyway, she was happy that she got to go see "Tangled" over this weekend, so it's all good! AMEN!!
I'm so thinking of Amy at the Vegas Rock n Run right now. I can't wait to hear how she kicked butt, I just know she did. I'm disappointed I am not there, in a big way, but I know I did the right thing. I don't regret staying here one bit. I just got my latest Runner's World magazine and plan to pick my next first (ha ha!) 1/2 Marathon for 1Q2011. I think there is one in Miami!!! Yummy.
So I had to feature my girl crush Jessica Biel today because she's just killer badass chick. I love her workout approach, you can see that she mixes it up all the time, which is what I love to do, or I have found I love to do. I LOVE running now and can't wait to really be back at that on a regular schedule of some sorts, whether I'm training for 1/2 marathons or not. I love heavy isolation training in the gym, and I also love kickboxing, kettlebells, yoga, bootcamp and SOON.....TRX and Crossfit.! WOOT! That's me. What works for me and what I love may not excite YOU- and that is the key!! YOU have to find what you LOVE to do- because that is the training program that will be most ideal.
Granted, if you only like to sit on the couch and do curls with your Cheetos and Bud Light, you aren't gonna end up looking like this:
*Ahem*
And if your idea of staying active means twiddling your toes around while you sit at your desk drinking Frappuccinos with whipped cream and reading People.com, you probably won't end up looking like this:
So, be realistic. You want to lean? You gotta move. You want fantastic muscle? That doesn't come without moving some serious weight. Ladies, do we really need to get into the whole "I don't want to be bulky..." whine fest? I don't think so.
I've learned some GREAT (yet difficult) lessons in 2011. I've learned to conquer my psycho-diet mentality and have a more reasonable approach to food. (Yes, for those of you that have asked I will shoot a vlog about the ESE approach and how it helped me and what I'm doing now....) I've learned to stop adjusting MY training whenever I hear some advice, unsolicited or not, about what's the "best" cardio or the "most ideal" way to train in the gym.
Eat Less, Eat Good. Move More. Lift Heavy.
That's how I roll now.
I'm not obsessing over training in a Heart Rate zone and flipping out if I went to 161 instead of training at 155. I'm not losing my mind if I'm on the road and have to have Arby's for lunch instead of that ideal salad with tuna that I'd really like. I'm not pissed off if I only get in 45 minutes of working out instead of 90, when I'm at a conference that keeps me busy from 8am to 11pm.
I will run when I want to and not listen to ridiculous advice like (cough cough JNL) "No one that trains in the gym EVER runs!! We laugh at those people and call them skinny fat!" #FAIL.
Jessica Biel is my girl crush because she is buff and isn't trying to look like everyone else in Hollywood. She trains hard and it is clearly a lifestyle choice. I finally feel like that's where I have arrived....this is all part of my life, I'm comfortable with what I'm doing, I'm seeing MAJOR RESULTS now (fat loss AND muscle conditioning and growth plus cardio capacity that blows my mind) and I'm making no apologies.
I've read some questions sent in to fitness magazines about "waaah I'm bored with my workouts". Seriously? There are like 100,000 things to do to get/stay fit. My Gosh, I am at the point that if I wanted to, I could do a different routine every day for 5 years. Really. Get creative! Who is going to take the time to write in a letter to a fitness magazine instead of going online and reading some killer blogs and checking out YouTube and getting off you DUFF???
Do you see what she's using here? Those are the lovely ValBands from Valerie Waters that I've told you about in the past. AWESOME. I use these when I do Butts N Guts by Cathe. Holy Crap. (Firewalkers!!)
I've also told you about Valerie's Valslides. Seriously, if you want to invest under $50 for two little tools that travel well and have about 200 different moves for your core, your butt and your legs, BUY THESE. I have one set for at home and one set for travel. Best investment ever. I've provided the link HERE and no I don't earn a dime from sending you there. Val is my BFF and she is awesome.
This really is just a peek. I find that the more I vary my workouts, the more fun it is. It becomes more of a choice in my mind of "What do I GET TO DO TODAY?" as opposed to "What do I HAVE TO DO TODAY?"
Success is all in your head. The only way to FAIL is to QUIT.
So, the QUESTION OF THE DAY IS: How do you plan to kick it up a notch this month so you have a head start on 2011??? 
Reader Comments (10)
Holy crap firewalkers it right!
I'm getting to that point as well where I don't freak out about things. I'm not going to gain 10 lbs by not working out for 1 day or not eating at the 3 hour mark.
GO APRIL!! hey are you going to the Arnold??
Kickin' it up a notch now! Why wait? :-)
Love the Nike vid.
Doesn't Nike make the best videos?? Dang!! ;-)
It's great reading how you are changing, it's like you're finally becoming comfortable with what works for you.
that's true- thanks so much Laura. ;-)
Dear JNL: skinny fat is a term used to describe people who appear thin but have a too high body fat percentage, something NOT common amongst runners. Phew, OK, I feel better ;) I am kicking major butt, definitely amping everything up a notch this last month of the year, heavier weights, mixing up workouts, rocking the food choices...results will be mine this month and on into 2011!
Kerri- I want to send that same letter!! haha
And it sounds like you ARE owning this month- you GO GIRL!! WOOT!
Oh, just you wait until you try Crossfit! I'm always hearing how my bootcamp classes kick butt and so I imagined Crossfit would be tough, but not more than I could handle. LOL, after being forced to do 100 pull-ups (with a band-assist) after running 800 meters and doing some really REALLY crazy strange stuff, well, my arms didn't want to work for 3 days. Then there were ladders: jumping on a 24 inch step, doing a front squat with 65 lbs, running 50 yards, then doing 2 jumps on the step, then 2 front squats, then 3, then 4...all the way up to 7 then back down 7, 6, 5, 4....I was cursing that 24 step by the time I was done. Rowing 500m then doing 15 airsquats and 10 pushups 5 rounds for time... I could go on and on. I'm a beast and can keep up but Lord have mercy! It's no surprise they have a Pukie Club. All the pull ups and muscle-ups on the rings are just brutual, sheerly brutal. I think you're a lot like me so you will LOVE being challenged like this.
Glynis, OMG I soooo can't wait to get in to CrossFit!!