Two of my favorite IFBB Bikini Pros, Dianna Dahlgren and Cristina Vujnich, have a weekly radio show on RX Muscle called Muscle Girls Inc. For a few months now, I listen weekly and am in love with this radio show. You can stream any podcast on their website. They talk about personal topics, as well as bodybuilding and fitness topics. I have gotten an unbelievable amount of knowledge from these girls and I think everyone interested in fitness should listen!
A couple of weeks ago they talked about a pretty hush hush topic among the fitness community, binge eating. I know many people, myself included, have experienced this from time to time. Sometimes it just happens once, but sometimes it can become a regular thing and get out of control.
I thought them discussing this topic so openly was impressive, as most people prefer to pretend it doesn’t happen. Out of sight out of mind, so to speak. It is entirely too common though, and not healthy at all.
If you have about an hour out of your day you can take the time to listen, I highly recommend checking it out. You can also go through the archive and pick out other episodes to listen to based on the topic, or who they have as a guest that week!
Here is the link: http://www.rxmuscle.com/muscle-girl-inc/5601-jefftheproducer-musclegirlsinc-v15-4144.html
Stick with it and don’t give up! When most people decide to stop is right before the big changes show!
Cardio, cardio, cardio… Oh how we love to hate it!
At the beginning of my fitness journey, all I did was hours of cardio. If you read previous posts of mine you will see this actually made me gain weight. It is so important to lift weights in addition to your cardio, which will also let you be able to do less cardio. However, I feel it is still important.
I recently posted that I was going to try the Bizzy Diet I saw on bodybuilding.com. After a week I stopped. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, it was the hardest but best workout I’ve ever done. But, I actually gained 6 pounds in the first week. I was eating clean and doing the workouts exactly like it said. I decided to only weight once a week and when I weighed in, I was highly upset to say the least. I got to thinking, why did this happen? I was doing everything like they said, why am I putting on pounds instead of losing them? I thought it may have been muscle, which I’m sure contributed, but also I had lost zero fat from my body. So I stopped the program.
Now, after all that rambling, let me get to my point. When I began lifting and doing my cardio after my lifting routines, is when I saw considerable fat loss. I had previously done cardio before, like the Bizzy Diet calls for, and saw no results. When I changed to doing it after though, 30 pounds fell off me within a little under 3 months. Why? It is because of my body type, yes. Also, doing cardio AFTER weight lifting has been proven to cut fat better than doing it before.
This is because when you lift before, you are putting your full energy into that. You are able to push yourself harder than if you were to do 30 or 45 minutes of cardio and then try to lift weights. You are starting the fat burning process with the weight lifting, and by the time you are done and ready for cardio, your body is in it’s prime for fat burning. I find it incredibly easier to lift before cardio too. Cardio tires out your whole body, whether you try to or not.
So next time you are getting ready to workout, try lifting first and see how it feels. It makes such a huge difference, and if you make this change for good I can almost guarantee you will see results faster!
lost an inch off my waist! Whoever said weights make you manly and thick lied! #fitspo #girl #nofilter #workout #abs #toned #muscle (Taken with instagram)
(via carolinegetsfit)
One of the biggest reasons people stop their weight loss journeys early is because they aren’t seeing results as quickly as they’d like. You can not work out for one day, then have the overall results you want the next.It is just not possible!
You can however see fast results when you first start a program and stick to it. I have noticed significant changes in my body within the first month of a new plan. I am always on the lookout for new plans and diet programs and came across one today on bodybuilding.com that I am so in love with!
I plan to start this program within this week, with before and after pictures. I know I have said before, but like everyone else I have been off track with not seeing results I’d like.
I feel like this plan is the perfect way to jump start a new plan and my beach body!
I HIGHLY suggest you look at it! There is a video on the page, as well as tons of supplemental information to get you on the fast track to a new, healthy body.
I just read also that the women’s e-book for this plan will be up on bodybuilding.com TOMORROW!!
The best part about this plan?IT ONLY LASTS 21DAYS!!That’s it! I know without a doubt I can do this for 3 weeks, and I have full faith most other people can as well!
Here is the link!!
If you have just began working out, you may see a lot of terms you don’t recognize while looking at training programs and diet plans. I was in the dark a lot of times about what certain terms mean, and what they pertain to. So I’ve written down a few of the terms I know I had never heard before I began working out and want to explain each of them!
1.) Superset
A superset is a term that you will often see in a workout plan. Example, when looking at a specific training schedule on a leg day it may say something like leg extensions superset leg press. This just means that you would do the leg extensions and with no rest period go straight into the leg press exercise. This technique is used to make large muscle gains quickly by forcing a lot of blood into the area being worked which makes for a more intense workout.
2.) Drop set
Drop sets will also been seen in a lot of programs. Drop set exercises are usually performed on machines because it is important to drop the weight fast and go into the next set. This technique is used to make big muscle gains as well, but in another way. Here is how it works: Say the maximum amount of weight you can do a bicep curl with is 60 pounds. What you would do is do AS MANY curls with 60 pounds as you can, without compromising your form, until failure. Then, you would drop the weight down to 50 pounds and do the same, as many as you can without compromising your form, until you just can’t do anymore. Once again, you would drop the weight to 40 pounds and keep going as far down the weights as you want.
3.) Pump
Pump is something a lot of bodybuilders or people on a diligent plan talk about having. It is often a point people working out strive to get to. Basically, when you have “the pump”, more blood than usual is rushing into your muscles and they are noticeably larger and you will often appear more vascular .Most people say it is an absolutely amazing feeling that is like nothing else, and is often called a bodybuilding high. A good way to achieve a pump is to perform a drop set, or other exercises to failure.
4.) Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy is basically muscle growth. It is an increase in the size of the muscle
cells.
5.) Plateau
Probably one of the most common terms, this just means that you’ve stopped seeing positive changes in your body. You may feel like you are stuck in a rut so to speak, and not seeing any losses or gains. There are many easy ways to avoid or get out of a plateau such as periodic changes to your routines, trying different types of cardio, or using methods (drop set, superset, HIIT, etc.) that your body isn’t familiar with.
Everyone has one body part they love training, and one they hate. For me, I love doing arms and back. I absolutely hate, with a passion, legs! I am always insanely sore for days after and I just never liked doing the exercises.
Let’s back up to my old leg training routine. I would always choose a track on the elliptical and up the resistance as my main leg workout. Because I would be so sore I stayed away from a regular leg routine, so in addition to the elliptical I would occasionally do the leg press and calf raise machines. HELLO?! No wonder I was so sore! It’s not because I was doing too much on my legs, I wasn’t doing enough!
My legs are the most underdeveloped part on my body. I still have a lot of fat from when I was bigger and it is all sitting on my legs and butt. One day I decided, I’m going to look up some leg routines and try them. The first day I did 12 deadlifts, 12 princess lunges, 12 walking lunges, and 12 walking lunges with a kickback; I did that three times with 12 pound dumbbells. Can you guess what happened? For ONE WEEK I could barely walk, climb stairs, or do anything that even remotely involved my legs. So one again, I decided to go back to my old leg routine. After seriously thinking about this, I decided to lower my weight to 10 pound dumbbells and only 6 reps of each. This worked! I was a little sore, but not enough to interfere with my daily activities and keep me from training.I have been doing this for only a couple of weeks and already see a HUGE difference in my legs and the muscle definition.
The point? Don’t neglect the body part you hate training and expect it to change. I just thought magically the fat would fall off and I would have beautiful legs underneath, no way! It may be awful while you are doing it but in the end the payoff is much better than the small amount of uncomfort you will have, and you may even begin to like it!
OH MY GOSH.
I just stumbled upon training videos of Dana Linn Bailey, an IFBB Pro Physique Competitor. I’ve heard her name mentioned often and seen pictures of her, but her training is unreal. It made me feel like I need to go work out,right now.
One of the biggest things that I love about watching her train is that no matter how tired she is, at some points her whole body is literally shaking, sheneverstops. She mentions that she uses different things to push her through like thinking she is almost done, or thinking how great she will look on stage.
DON’T STOP!If you are almost done and have a few reps left, find something that motivates you and push! I always think about how awesome I will look in a bikini and how one day I will look amazing on a stage competing. As soon as I picture this in my head, an unknown strength comes over me and I am able to push out the last few reps or sets.
Yes, it hurts. Yes, it is tiring. BUT you have got to think how amazing you will feel once you are done compared to how bad you will feel if you give up with only a small way left to go!
(Oh, and I highly suggest you check out her youtube, her attitude is amazing as well as her body. You will definitely be motivated!) http://www.youtube.com/user/DanaLinnBailey?feature=watch
I’m starting to really notice definition in my arms, specifically my biceps, when I’m not working out. One of my biggest goals was to have muscle definition while my arms were at a resting state, it’s happening!!!!
Noticing changes like this is a HUGE piece of motivation and if you ever start I feel discouraged keep pushing on. One day you’ll notice the changes you wanted to see and I guarantee your motivation will sky rocket!
Morning meal! Cinnamon oatmeal and a big glass of water! I’ve already had a mango shake and one container of water.
