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Author Archives: garagegym107

Carole 165# Dead-Lift

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I have some pretty amazing clients.  I’m blessed and grateful all at the same time. I’ve been working with Carole for a year and a half now.  We’ve been focused on over-all body strength.  Carole just turned 65 years young a little over a week ago.

Today, she dead-lifted more than her body weight. This is one of the most inspiring progressions I have witnessed.  You see, we don’t train dead-lift once a week, once every two weeks, and some times we go a full month in between dead-lifting at all.  Instead we work on all over body strength.  The style of training varies.  Kettle-bell training, dumbbell training, barbell training, and body weight training.  She never says no to anything I ask her to do.  She does band assisted pull-ups, ring-rows, barbell hip thrusts, sit-ups, anything I ask. I hope this blog will encourage other women to reach out to a reputable personal trainer and get you some strong! Find someone you are comfortable with and get busy.  Change doesn’t happen overnight.  Change happens with practice.  Consistent practice.

Congratulations Carole!!

Carole 165DL 7-14

Baby Steps and Monster Leaps

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A couple of weeks ago I posted an update on passing my Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coach’s certification.  It took a bunch of baby steps to get on with it after procrastinating for a good while.  I learned a lot of lessons along the way.

Just a few of them are:

1) You’re never too old to reach for amazing.

2) Procrastination is still my crutch, even after all these years.

3) You can never learn enough concerning a topic you are passionate about.

Fast forward a couple of weeks later.  I’ve committed to the Level 2 Coaching program with Precision Nutrition.  It’s a year of intense training toward becoming an even more effective coach.  I’m humbled and honored to have this opportunity.

Baby steps and monster leaps to better coaching.  I consider this Level 2 a monster leap for me.

Believe it

 

 

Doing the TGU Turkish Get-Up

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Of late I’ve been adding the Turkish Get-Up (TGU) to my own workouts more than ever. About two months ago I witnessed my neighbor take a spill while working in her yard. She lives on a slope and when she fell, she was unable to catch herself, resulting in a broken right arm and broken left hand. She is my age. Since that day the TGU has been coming to mind over and over.

By adding it to my program I’ve also gone through a cycle of self-realization. One, progress comes more rapidly when I get completely uncomfortable. You know that whole “suck it up Buttercup” thing. Secondly, the brain and central nervous system play a huge role in Turkish Get-up.

I’m strong, that’s not a secret. But I lean to the rather uncoordinated side for sure. In example, some folks take to the snatch and overhead squat like they were born to do them both. Me? It took months and months of skill drills to improve on both of those movements. Same with the TGU.

The TGU shows the uncoordinated and off-center balance I have and the need for unilateral training better than anything else I’ve ever done.

I have also begun adding the TGU to clients training protocols as well. The pictures below are of one of my clients. She turns 65 years young on Friday. She is just as concerned with functional fitness and mobility as I am. She successfully completed 3 sets of TGU yesterday. We both learned a lot about where our focus needs to shift in her training. She gladly allowed me to take these photo’s to share with you. And BTW, at a few days shy of 65, she can dead-lift her own body weight.

Update Precision Nutrition Certification

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Pn1_Coach

 

Nothing feels better than to accomplish a measurable goal.  I started this road trip a year ago.  I allowed myself to get side tracked and distracted.  Should have, could have, and would have, are no more.  It’s done and it’s official.  I am now a Certified Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coach!

I firmly believe in order to be a good Coach, you must absolutely continue your education.  Times change, scientific data changes, people change.  Onward and upward!

 

What’s In Your Head

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A few months back I did a Guest Post over at 43 Fitness about the big M.  Having settled in to my 50’s I was very frank about how I felt about the changes to the body regarding menopause.  The things I’ve experienced and the things I haven’t experienced.

I’m back today to give more insight into my head space in case there are any other women who find themselves in a similar space.

As I progress through my 50’s there is one thing I didn’t really touch on in my guest blog. After having a discussion with a friend yesterday, I realized it was time to write about it.

The mindset of aging came out of nowhere for me.  I’ve always been a positive, age is mind over matter, it’s just a number, and so on.

Over the past several months (I wrote the guest blog in February) since my 51st birthday in March, the “old lady mindset” has tried its best to take over the power of positive thinking.

Mortality is real, keeping yourself healthy is real, and sinking all of your energy into worrying about something that is going to happen anyway is a big fat waste of time.

Yes, after my 51st birthday, I fell into this obnoxious habit of seeing only the aging in the mirror.  That my friends, is something you really want to prevent if you aren’t there yet.

It’s June now, so that means I have spent a full 3 months in the “Oh my it is happening to me” mode.  Looking in the mirror thinking thoughts like:

Is this appropriate for a 51 year old?  Dang that face powder sure does stick in those wrinkles.  Holy crap, is that a new wrinkle? Oh dear lord where did those lips I used to have go?

If you’ll notice, I never once thought about WHAT MY BODY CAN DO, I was focused solely on appearance and I began to become miserable.

Not going quite as hard in the gym, eating a little of this and a little of that processed, packaged food (which I am absolutely certain causes that middle-aged mid-section women whine about).

Mentally saying things like “I’m old, why bother.” “Am I getting too old to wear LuLuLemon?” “Should I be wearing 3/4 length sleeves all the time now instead of sleeveless?”  What a load of crap I was trying to convince myself of.

This past weekend was the second annual Beast of the Valley Competition.  I met so many new young women, beautifully spirited, strong, fit, and yet they were as down to earth as they could possibly be.  More than once I got the “I hope I’m still lifting when I’m 51″ comment.  I digested the event through a different set of eyes this weekend.

Older and wiser eyes.

Yes, the time passes and we age, but we don’t have to give up what we love to do.

Instead we must absolutely focus on the positives that come along with training and stay far away from the wrinkles and the flaws.

We all have them, it’s just a matter of whether you will allow the aging process to steal your joy and zest for life, or you make a list of your positive attributes and keep moving forward.

There is absolutely nothing my body isn’t capable of doing, only my when my mind interferes does my progress falter.

Stay strong ladies!

BB FC 130 5-31-14 SP 115 5-31-14 SW HS 90 5-31-14

 

The Big Picture

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Just a few days ago I was talking with a friend.  She is in training to become a Life Coach and you can read about her Here.  She is an amazing person and friend. Anyway, I was doing this little test to help her out with something she was working on. little did I know at the time I volunteered how big an impact it would have.

As we were going through the exercise I got dialed in to my usual fitness related mindset. I answered the questions and wrote down things that came to mind.  As we continued on talking through the results I had an epiphany.  My epiphany was that I often have tunnel vision. I’m not really good about taking a few steps back from this fitness goal or that fitness goal to see what I really want long term in life.  It’s been a week since my friend and I had the conversation. The exercise we did has come to my mind at least once everyday since, but in most cases its been two or three times per day.

It’s very clear in my mind that my health and my fitness is important as I go through the next season or chapter or whatever the buzz word for it is. But up to that phone call, I hadn’t really stopped to think “what do you really want?”.   After pondering what I want, I realized there are some things I must get in order to be prepared for the next big phase.  I told my friend what I really wanted to do and one of those things requires reading a specific book I bought.  She challenged me not with reading the book, but with simply “get the book out and txt me when you do”. It was perfect prompting.

Then she had me set a deadline for reading chapter one.  Before I realized it I was through with chapter five. I’ve taken some baby steps to get started and before long, I will be knocking out what I need to knock out.

Not only did doing those little things help me with that very personal project goal, they fired me up to start logging my food again, which I haven’t done in a while.  Food logging is a healthy thing for me.  When I’m not logging, I’m eye-balling and I have some big ole eye-balls.  Sometimes you have to know what you want before you know what to do.

I feel at peace right now more than I have in quite sometime. Peace with the big picture, not just my fitness and nutrition goals.  I’m sure that before too long, the personal project goal will just right smack dab into my fitness/nutrition goals and try a hostile takeover, but I’m going to be ready for it.

The lesson brings home the old adage “you can’t see the forest through the trees”.

Hat Tip Photo Courtesy Ann Joiner

fog-forest-wallpaper

 

Moving Past That Place

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Twice this week I’ve had conversations with women who find themselves at a crossroads.  It’s the crossroads to long-term change.  It’s a frightening place to be.

To the left is everything you know, comfort, habit, status quo, the norm, the place you’ve known for what could be your whole life, failures, the past.

To the right is belief, discomfort, truth, health, happiness, knowledge, pressure, fear of the unknown, trials, failures (yes you have failures on both roads), wisdom, desire, change, gratitude.

I know this crossroads all too well.  In the spring and summer of 2010 I stood at the very same crossroads.  I had just won the Body-for-Life challenge which had been a goal for 9 years. Everyone thought I had it all figured out. What people around me didn’t know, was what was happening on the inside. Even my best friends had no idea.

I was terrified. Afraid I’d back slide back to the 328# person I used to be. I was terrified I would fail again. I was terrified that I was a fake. I was afraid I didn’t believe in myself as much as others believed in me. I was afraid of the future.

Looking back on that crossroads now it seems silly. But at that time the fear was very real, very much a part of my daily life.

In order to overcome that fear, I had to put some daily habits in place. Below are the most important ones listed in the order of importance for me.

  • No Negative Self-Talk. EVER
  • Write down 3 things I’m grateful for daily
  • Write down 3 positive affirmations about my body daily
  • Get the fear out of your head

These things may look trivial to some, but to a person who doesn’t believe in themselves, I believe these things are a game changer.  Let me elaborate.

  • No Negative Self-Talk. EVER

Negative self-talk is the single most detrimental habit a person can develop.  Negative self-talk comes up when you look in the mirror, when you are handling your personal finances, when you go to work, when you parent your children, in your marriage.  It’s everywhere. SHUT. IT. DOWN. You are worthy of greatness, no-one, not even yourself should tell you otherwise.

  • Write down 3 things you’re grateful for

Gratitude helps you realize in the big scheme of things you’ve got it really good. Be grateful you’re healthy and not fighting for your life. Be grateful you have a roof over your head. If you are reading this, be grateful for the very device allowing you to see this, even if it’s a loaner. Be grateful for the simplest things in your life. Once you remove your “woe is me” tunnel vision, you get to fully see what you have to be grateful for.

  • Write down 3 positive affirmations about my body daily

I don’t mean the same things every day.  Each day find 3 things you love about your body.  They may or may not have a thing to do with your physical appearance.  I love my eyes because they allow me to see things.  I love my strong and powerful legs that allow me to move heavy things. I love my ears because they allow me to hear beautiful music.

  • Get the fear out of your head

If you are afraid of something talk about it with a trusted friend, a person who’s walked this path before you, or if nothing else, write your fear down in a journal.  What I found over time was the fear was much, much greater in my head than it ever was out in the open.  I’ve written letters to people and then burned them (very healing). I have sobbed on my friend’s shoulder when faced with the realization I wasn’t going to reach a goal I set. Getting your fear of failure out of you mind clears the space so that it can be filled to the brim with positive and grateful thinking.

All of the above may seem trivial, but if you are at the crossroads of significant weight loss, throw these habits in to play and see if you don’t find some peace from the constant fear of back-sliding.

Want it more than afraid of it

Strong Legs

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It seems like all I write about lately is the legs.  Well mostly anyway.  I’ve neglected to push my legs at the same level I’ve pushed my upper body, so now I’m playing catch up.  I’ve used every excuse under the sun for the past four years as my excuse for not being more goal oriented on these strong legs.

As most of my readers know I’ve lost a lot of weight, with the losses, I’ve gained some unflattering skin issues on these strong legs.  THAT has been my number one excuse for not being overly concerned with them.  The whole “I’ll never wear shorts again” excuse.

Well as you can tell I’m sucking it up and getting busy changing these strong legs into even stronger legs.  The lower body contains the largest muscles in the whole body.  The more I work them, the more dense with muscle both the legs and glutes will become.  I will burn more calories as well, like a big old furnace.  I can’t wait.

I don’t expect them to be perfect because that would certainly be unrealistic.  I’m all too familiar with unrealistic expectations, they set you up for failure.  All I will say is that I have before pictures and I’m making videos along the way of this journey.  I will stay the course and you guys will get sick of the updates.  Until then I’ll keep sharing what I’m doing and you guys can cheer me on.

 

Whew Those Glutes

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My focus this year is legs and glutes.  Much more focus than last year.  Not just heavy lifting but attention to detail with hamstrings and hip flexors as well. I like reading a lot. Anything to do with muscle activation and building I’ll read it. One thing I used to assume was that if I squat enough I didn’t need to work glutes separately.  After two years of little change in my butt and the back of my legs it’s past time to step-up my backside.  I began doing 3 sets of 25 body weight Glute Bridges every day since Friday.  Wow. Talk about muscle awareness.  I find it interesting how muscle can somehow become inactive, perhaps disengaged because other muscles start overcompensating.

My glutes are tender today, that’s a good thing.  That tells me the work I’m doing is needed and it is working.

As most of my readers know I’ve started doing random videos of my workouts. I’ve learned a lot about my form and things I need to correct.  In example I did 65# front rack position barbell walking lunges. Watching the video below I realized I turn my toes in terribly during these sets, I don’t normally turn my toes in doing walking lunges.  Correcting it should be as simple as reducing the weight and doing higher reps.

Today’s Workout:

3 Sets x 25 reps Glute Raises Body Weight 
3 Sets x 20 reps 65# Hip Thrust
3 Sets x 8 reps 65# Walking Lunges
5 Sets x 10 35# Back Extensions
5 Sets x 10 reps Reverse Hypers
 

Lunges, Back Ext, Reverse Hypers

 

YOTL Progress Update

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Just a quick update on the progress for this week.  I have two more videos to edit and get added.  One is a thruster workout and the other is a hip thrust workout.

I had no idea when I set out to start these videos exactly what they’d teach me.  As a coach, I watch and correct other athletes.  It’s easy to see things that need to be corrected.  As an athlete, it’s impossible to see yourself and correct things when you workout alone.  I can’t stare at myself in a mirror mid snatch, thruster, or hip thrust and see where I’m doing something wrong.

In example, I did snatch pulls from the hang yesterday.  I was rudely awakened by my horrible form on my snatch pull.  That explains my not so great snatch form.  A lot of bells and whistles go off when I watch these videos.  It’s a great tool.  Even if you don’t ever show a video publicly, seeing with your own eyes where your weaknesses are can be a real game changer.

I want to give a shout out to 43fitness for her long distance support and encouragement.  She is a wonderful conspirator in this whole fitness journey, I learn from her more often than she knows.

Excellence

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