March 24, 2016
'You get strong in the gym-you get lean in the kitchen.' After reading a popular bodybuilding magazine yesterday, this was the only gem I came away with. Part of this is that I didn't read anything new, nothing that hasn't been said before, many times, many ways. With my 40th-year-in-the-gym celebration coming up, I've learned a thing or two along the way (actually, pretty much seen it all in the gym) and until we start harnessing bionic parts or some such embellishment, the exercises don't change that much and neither does the approach. The other part is due to the fact that so much of the content was devoted to advertiser's products, with each one claiming to be able to help you get the physique of your dreams. Such grandiose claims! Those claims mean nothing if you don't exercise patience, consistency, realistic goals, and thought process/behavior modification tactics. The multi-billion dollar diet supplement industry is alive and well in the bodybuilding arena, where these products...
March 20, 2016
I know I said I didn't reach my goal (refresher: to enter a Natural Body-Building Competition) - but, I never said "I give up" and I never will! Now that you can see for yourself, what do you think of my progress towards that goal? I wanted to keep, and hopefully put on, some additional size (biceps, triceps, chest - more please! Butt, thighs - take a hike!) and that caused me to go lighter on cardio, keep my calorie intake on the high side and my reps low with heavy weight. As a vegetarian (I do use animal products of the raw, organic, grass-fed sort though the list is short: eggs, yogurt, cheese, 1/2 & 1/2 and goat milk), many poo-pooed the idea that I could do this without real protein. Now you see why I never go down that road to argue a point that is simply based on your lack of nutritional knowledge. I think it is just that many people don't want to let go of dependency on meat - what would they eat then? It takes work to make changes, even when those changes can...
March 17, 2016
Before the leash is let go, let's get the statistics out of the way first so we can move on to the results!
Start Date: 10/10/2015
Weight: 154 lbs.
Measurements:
Chest - 39 1/2"
Right Arm - 12 3/4"
Left Arm - 12 7/8"
Right Thigh - 23 3/4"
Right Calf - 14 1/8"
Left Thigh - 23 1/2"
Left Calf - 14 1/4"
Waist (over navel) - 32"
Hips - 39 3/4"
Beast-Release Date: 3/16/2016
Weight: 137 lbs. (on gym scale at 9:45 am) AND 132 lbs. (on a different scale at 1:45 pm) Hmmmm, still don't care (it's just a number)!
Measurements:
Chest - 37" (down 2 1/2")
Right Arm - 11" (down 1 3/4")
Left Arm - 10 1/2" (down 1 1/4")
Right Thigh - 20 7/8" (down 3")
Left Thigh - 20 1/2" (down 3")
Right Calf - 13 1/2" (down 5/8")
Left Calf - 13 1/2" (down 3/4")
Waist - 27 1/2" (down 4 1/2")
Hips - 35 1/2" (down 4 1/4")
Total Weight Loss: 22 lbs. OR 17 lbs., depending on which scale was accurate!
Total Inches Lost: 21 3/4"!
And now (drum roll please!), the AFTER:
Having already discussed (yesterday's blog I Cou...
March 16, 2016
If blushing can make a whore appear virtuous, however momentarily, could not knowing the reality of my measurements make me feel thinner? Today is the big unveiling and as promised, my weight and measurements will be posted along with the photos (on 3/17/2016). I was so excited this morning and jumped out of bed, ready to face the music! I thought I would be hearing the strains of We Are The Champions but no, instead - it was a soulful refrain from Is That All There Is? when the tape measure delivered very discouraging results. How can it be that all my clothes are so loose, yet I have gained 2 lbs. and some of my measurements have gone up?! You see, I know the logic behind these changes and really? I'm absolutely fine with it! But there was that few minutes when I was so bothered by numbers, numbers that don't change what I've accomplished or how I look but proof that the whole psychology behind them packed a powerful one-two, followed up with a sneaky left-hook, leaving me TKO'd for...
March 15, 2016
Oh yes, there will be a butt (wait for it...)! Doesn't my body understand that I'm on a schedule?! As the date for my AFTER photos rapidly approaches (3/16/2016), I have been scrutinizing my results as I practice pose (this still feels weird). I am proud of the progress I have made (here it comes...) BUT - it will not be exactly what I was hoping for. Did I do everything right? Out of 159 days, I've had 3 cheat episodes totaling about 7,000 calories (or 2 pounds worth of energy I didn't plan on adding back into the equation) and while there have been tons of comments from the general public about my new physique (Thank you everyone!), the goal is a Natural Body Building competition so my guidelines are quite different.
Fortunately, I am not bothered that I will not yet be in competition shape; maybe it's not in the cards for me (I'm not ready to accept this as a fact). While those cheat-fests didn't help and probably set me back 3 weeks, I am super excited to share my results in just a...
March 11, 2016
I thought I understood guys and that only women confuse me with their covert pecking-orders and constantly altering relationships. But now, having had 2 stalker incidents in the past week, I'm wondering if men understand women. Let me re-phrase: Not every woman is an easy target and I'm issuing a big BEWARE. Ever had (or heard stories of) a pet dog that turned and attacked? Well, welcome to PitBullTown - Population: ME! I'm already feeling a bit Linda Hamilton (think The Terminator) but give me another month and I'll be in full-blown Xena: Warrior Princess form!
Perhaps men are confused about women. This could be due to the significance of historical statistics of women as victims, though may I suggest that there may be a group of women you don't want to mess with (those born in the 1960's in particular!). Why? We grew up with changing societal messages, the Free-Boob Revolution and the advent of Home Economics as an elective! Looking back, I think I was a rebel because I embraced this...
March 8, 2016
I mean, this woman sleeps with them and look at the effect it has had on her! And I thought I loved weight training - this is real commitment to training. You've heard of sleepwalking? Welcome to sleep training: Training so amazing, you'll swear it was a dream! I joke because when it comes to women and weight training, myths abound! If this has kept you from incorporating weights into your routine, you have been missing out BIG TIME! Check out the facts:
Myth: Weight lifting is dangerous.
Fact: Yes! It can be! So can life, no matter how careful we are. Weight training, when done properly, is extremely safe. In fact, it can help prevent injury by improving the strength of the muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones. Stronger muscles and tendons help hold the body in proper alignment and while I bet the woman above is aligned quite nicely, she will appreciate it even more when she is in her 60's and beyond. I hope she continues to train!
Myth: Women shouldn't tr...
March 8, 2016
How do I subscribe to a feed? Because of course, you don't want to miss a single post!
For PC users:
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Open Internet Explorer by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Internet Explorer.
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Go to the website that has the feed you want to subscribe to.
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Click the Feeds button to discover feeds on the webpage.
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Click on the Feed you want to subscribe to
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Click Subscribe to this Feed.
For Mac users
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Open Safari and visit a webpage that has an RSS feed available that you wish to subscribe to (for example, the lovely fiftyfierce.com)
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Click on the sidebar button to expand the bookmarks and subscription bar
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Select the @ at symbol tab to visit the social section, then click on “Subscriptions” at the bottom
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Choose “Add Feed”
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At the “Subscribe to” popup, select “Add Feed”
That’s all there is to adding RSS feeds to follow in Safari. You can repeat the same process on any website that offers RSS, you’ll find that most blog and news websites offer the...
March 7, 2016
Wowsa! Well, what do you think of physical transformation now?! Okay, let me first say that this is NOT a preview of my After photo (duh! But if you thought for a moment that maybe it was - thanks for believing in me!). It is a photo of Rachel McLish, whose legs (well, her whole body, actually) inspired me to venture into the weight room. Of course, I found out that it takes a LOT more than pushing a few pieces of iron around to get into that kind of shape. It's also this knowledge that causes me to have that "Oh, honey - if only it were that easy" internal dialogue when I hear a woman say "I don't want to weight train because I don't want to get bulky." This doesn't even happen for a lot of men! Unless you have exceptional genetics, this usually requires the use of steroids and the willingness to tempt fate with illegal sports performance enhancers, all in the name of getting bulky. And hopefully, making money in a corrupt arena.
There have been truly ama...
March 6, 2016
And now, it's time for another episode of 'Tales From The Gym.' I put myself through a grueling workout tonight, finally feeling the effects of the creatine I started taking 10 days ago and Shazaam! I feel as though I've been transported to a parallel universe where I have a ridiculous amount of untapped potential that I'm suddenly able to access and I go berserk! It's a true love affair; I can get carried away. Case in point: I was super-setting 5 exercises, trying for as little time between sets as possible. I left my towel on one machine and then started a circuit of 4 X through the 5 exercises. Well, of course I pissed someone off - without intending to -and I got super yelled at, so embarrassing, the whole gym must have heard. I know it was just a misunderstanding of basic gym protocol, but it really messed with my focus and brought this bad vibe. Tsssk, yeah right, for like 30 seconds! I kicked ass on that negativity damn fast, I'm SUCH a champion! Let's face it - weight t...
