Assited pull ups

If they can do it, we can also!



Totally Sore

        On Wednesday, my trainer Matias, my Cunis (sister-in-law), and I, went to the field at Fitchburg State University to do some plyometrics. To do what? That's what I said...just learned the word yesterday.

In this picture we are doing an exercise is a Jump Squat. Starting from the ground on a squat position you explode up onto the box (a bench) and land softly on the box and jump back down, without turning around, to the squat position. The key is to do 3 sets of ten. My first set I did seven and the next two sets I did five in each. Remember that is better to do fewer if that helps to keep a perfect form through your sets.

This is me putting more effort on my face than on the exercise. Hey, I never mentioned it was easy. Just trying to do my best to get stronger.

Obviously, I foam rolled and stretched before and after the plyometrics and took some BCAA's. Among many benefits BCAA promote muscle synthesis in muscle, provide energy, and decrease post-workout soreness.

This morning I foam rolled and jogged for 4 miles and I was totally sore when I got back home. I am not complaining though, I actually label my soreness as victory because it shows me I'm on the right track. I just need to keep on drinking water and more organic green tea.

Wow! I didn't think I was going to make it, but here I am ready for some more. So bring it on Mati, I want to LIFT.

Please keep on posting comments with feedback and what you would like to see.

Until next time...stay strong.

On The Move

Here are some basic exercises to get you moving and start noticing where your muscles are.

This is a plank. Awesome for ab work. Recommended time is about a minute.

Push-ups are a complete body workout and should be done on a daily basis.

To start off, try a least doing one with the correct form. With time you will increase your resistance and strength. Don't be lazy trying to do push-ups on your knees because it is not the same. Unless you have medical problems with your hands or wrists, regular push-ups is the way to go.

Chin-ups are another complete body workout since your gluts and abs need to be activated. But since we are not all professionals at it, negative chin-ups are a great way to start.

Hope you try these exercises out and soon we will get into lifting.

Can't wait!

Recap

   On Sunday, August 14th I began what I would call a clean diet. To recap this what I said:

 NO soft drinks, alcohol, candy, pastries, junk food or cigarettes. NO fast food or fried food and cut back on breads.

Now you will read how my week went along and you can give me some tips in how I can
improve.

Sunday:     I focused on eating healthy, although I started my day with no breakfast. For lunch I made organic wheat pasta, with garbanzo beans and boiled eggs. For supper I took to work the same as lunch but a smaller portion and added a lettuce and tomatoes salad.

Not too bad for day one.

Monday:        Had the top of a bran muffin for breakfast. Worked out with Matias for 45 minutes and had 2 tablespoons of peanut butter for protein. Tuna and salad for lunch. Lentils for supper. Drank a gallon of water.

Tuesday:        Pasta for breakfast, because I didn't want to eat my kids' cereal since it has sugar. Eggs and salad for lunch and lentils for dinner. Drank almost a gallon of water. I also went to a KICK class at my gym since I love cardio workouts.

Wednesday:  Eggs in the morning, salad and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter for lunch and a veggie delight sub from D'Angelo with cheese for supper. I know supper wasn't the best. Drank a gallon of water and FOAM ROLLED.

Note:   I foam roll everyday. We will discuss the benefits of it on later blogs.

Thursday:      I had cereal with almond milk for breakfast.

Lunch was very late. I had a small portion of BBQ organic sirloin and tomatoes with oregano and olive oil. And 2 glasses of wine. The wine is not part of the diet, but I'm coming clean. I knoooooow...I ate meat and it was good. I was also full and very heavy for rest of the day because I'm not used to it, so I didn't have supper.


Friday:       I had whole wheat oatmeal for breakfast. YUM! Scrambles eggs and spring mix salad for lunch. Cherries for snack and shrimp and broccoli with white rice for dinner. No wine and 3/4 of a gallon of water.

Saturday:  Scrambled eggs and spinach for breakfast. Two slices of pizza for lunch. Dinner tomatoes and rice. Not very exciting. Only drank half gallon of water.

It seems as the week goes by, it gets harder to eat healthy and stay active. But no matter what I have to focus on getting strong and the only way is to put effort into it.

This week I will be posting some videos of some of the exercises I've been doing, so...

Fat Loss

   I would say fat loss is one of the biggest battles most people have in life. And there's always a secret pill or magic juice out there in the market that promises you (the sucker) to lose ridiculous amounts of fat in just 10 days. So if that's the case I'm going to give it a shot myself. Raise your hand if you want to lose fat? I promise that you will see changes right away only if you follow these simple steps. 

   

1. Get motivated to move. The weigh won't come off unless you actually move.
2. Review your diet. It doesn't matter how much you exercise if your food intake consists of a Nutrigrain with a medium extra extra coffee for breakfast, a large steak and cheese with one leaf of lettuce and a diet soda, and spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.
3. Be patient with results. I know that we live in a fast paced self-indulging society, but reality is that anything good comes from hard work and time.
4. Just because it's the weekend it doesn't mean you can stuff your face and sit on your butt. Our bodies need activity and good food all the time.
5. Alcohol . Refer to #4. If you want to enjoy a couple of your favorite drinks just do it in moderation.
6. Make the time to exercise, not excuses. I'm pretty sure everyone has an hour or more to watch American Idol, Glee, or whatever is on TV.
7. Get an exercise buddy. Even if you can only get together twice a week. It will start up a routine and get you motivated.
8. Drink a gallon of water a day. Nope soda, juice, coffee, green tea, although very healthy (I meant the tea), do not classify as part of the gallon of water.
9. Do jumping jacks with your children. They love to jump. If you don't have children do 2 jumping jacks and 2 push ups every hour. It will get your heart rate level up a little.
10. Stop reading crap magazines and subscribe to blogs that will actually drop some knowledge on you.

In conclusion, stop being lazy, get smart from smart sources, eat healthy and be realistic about what you want to look like and feel. There's no magic behind losing weight, only the want and effort you put into it will give the results you've been looking for. And now that I'm done writing I will print this blog and put it on my ceiling so when I wake up every morning I can be motivated even before I get out of bed.

First Things First

  

Well, this is me all done up at a family friend's daughter's Quinceañero, that I attended to at the beginning of June. Not bad, right? I was getting dozens of compliments, even from the waitresses and obviously I was feeling pretty good about myself, walking around like a 60's pin up doll. I had a great time (gracias Blanquita y Carlos!)

That night, after a few merengues, salsa, and some candombe, I got home with my head full of praises. As I stood in front of the mirror I took off my dress and exposed to myself everything that no one else could see, a wide wait, a flabby stomach, and YES...that horrible bulge. 

 Although the flattery was good for the moment, it was only about the superficial Nenu, adorned by a dress that formed curves, a bow that was higher than my waist and hid the "muffin top". And when I say superficial I mean it. Not only people can't see what's under my dress, but they also can't see the deeper stuff...what I eat.

So, here I am, a couple of months later I decided to challenge myself and bare it all out to you girls and guys. For starters I do not eat meat already, no chicken, no beef, no pork, etc., since January 2011. I only eat fish, veggies, and junk food. I don't like to eat fruit unless it's in a shake and I love pastries, cakes, torta fritas con dulce de leche, anything sweet that I can get a hold of. Sometimes I will workout for months and then I get lazy and won't hit the gym for another couple of months. I like to drink red wine about twice a week and enjoy smoking cigarettes. I work part-time at Dippin Donuts (hi Mona!!!) and I have to children that are constantly hungry.

 My diet is simple and you are more than welcomed to follow it with me and may be even give me some tips.

Diet: NO soft drinks, alcohol, candy, pastries, junk food or cigarettes. NO fast food or fried food and cut back on breads.

I began this challenge yesterday and so far I haven't had any sweets, I bought a Blu Cig, and I've been trying to drink a gallon of water a day. I'm not a soda drinker or bread eater, so that's not a problem.

For training purposes I hired my little brother Matias, who always forwards to me GREAT ARTICLES from Tony Gentilcore and T-Nation and pretty much is a workout nerd.

My Little Brother

Ok, ladies... focus, please focus. Back to the training, like I was saying, Matias will prepare a weight lifting program so I can burn fat faster, build more muscle, look leaner and be stronger. This week we are building mind-muscle connections and going after basic strength before adding weights.

At 138 lbs. this is what I look like post-workout without my shirt on and the doll dress.

  Therefore, whoever is shy to got to the gym, or is uncomfortable working out in front of others, here I am exposing embarrassing pictures of myself, to show that with self-control and determination anything is possible.

Follow me in my blogs and see the naked truth about my everyday life, my workouts and diets, all blend into one (fill in the blank)_______ day!