wackday

wednesday was one of those days.  when i don't get enough rest my world comes crashing down.  i wanted to say screw this whole competition, quit, and eat an entire papa johns pizza. :evil:  i want to eat an entire pizza every day, but that day i threatened myself out loud.  it just got worse and worse as the day went on.  i worked out with my trainer that morning, and i somehow hit the gym in the evening for round two.

i took a pic just so i could remember this very day and my mood at the time.  i can laugh at it now, but i'm pretty positive i'll feel like this again or worse in the next few weeks as my journey to the stage draws near.  and come on, a journey wouldn't be a journey if it didn't have a mixture of good, bad, high, and low days.

keep. pressing. forward.

that was prolly my worst workout of this entire journey though.  i could barely get my heart rate up to my fat burning zone, and i literally struggled to keep it there, which is always relatively easy.  after my last meal that night, THANKFULLY Chiso calmed down enough to go to sleep early with me even though he took a late nap.

Thursday was a new day. a better day.  a high carb day.  i DID get some good rest the night before and felt tons better, mentally and physically.

Chiso wasn't the only one enjoying fresh fruit that day :)

this is just some of his meal... sweet potatoes, avocado, and his fav, strawberries.

i got in some posing practice that night after my cardio.

POW, stick that hip out there!

i can be silly/goofy/flirty, but being serious/sexy/flirty WITHOUT laughing and feeling like an idiot is the tough part.  how i will ever manage to sell it and make it believable on stage is beyond me, but i have 3 weeks to figure it out.

i feel wack taking these pics of myself but who do you think i am, june ambrose!? i need a picture snapping assistant.  sometimes.

this will be my final pose before exiting the stage. :shock: kidding.

i didn't even think to bring my show suit with me-  my coach said i should be practicing in it or at least less clothing from here on out though. she's absolutely right cause i could not see my body the way i needed to.

some days i feel way too skinny, some days i feel like i could maintain this weight.  either way, Sonny reminded me that if i do fall off the wagon after this competition, i now have the tools and the knowledge to get my body back where i want it to be. well, what could i say after that lol?

i made more banana pancakes this morning cause they make me happy.  and i need all the happiness i can get!!!!

  i think i have made/eaten them for the past week and i can't stop.  until i can add more crazy ingredients to my batter, i'll have them just like this up until the show.  so YES, more pics of pancakes are coming, you've been warned.

have you made these pancakes yet!? what did you put in yours?

*****HAPPY FRIDAY*****

le

le's leg day circuit

man my heart rate was already up as i walked into the gym today!  i got into my fat burning zone right away as i warmed up on the elliptical for about 10 minutes before hitting the weights.

to get the blood flowing in my legs, i did:

leg extensions / leg curls superset -  4 sets of 12-15 reps using med-heavy weight.

next, 4 sets of 12-15 reps of seated leg press with heavy weight.

1st heavy set w/ feet shoulder width apart,

2nd heavier set with feet shoulder width apart

3rd heaviest set with feet shoulder width apart

4th burnout set with light weight (kept going until it buuuuuuuuuuurned) with my feet shaped in a v (heels together).

now for the fun stuff!!!

 i went into my gym's empty group fitness room (take advantage if your gym allows it and there's no class going on) and did the following 3 times each: (burned over 500 cals after all this!)

*****le's leg circuit*****

using 25 lb. dumbbells,

and a step bench w/ 5 risers on each side,

*i mentioned on IG that you can add more risers if you'd like, but i'm super clumsy and went with 5 today.  it was still a nice height, trust me.*

do the following straight through w/ no breaks.

• 1. 20 squats holding the dumbbells in each hand and squeezing your glutes the entire time.
• 2. walking lunges going forward (i used the length of the room, bout 30 ft i guess!?! i'm horrible with estimations), then backwards ( no, don't turn around, stay facing forward but just lunge backwards. do your best to push yourself up back up to standing and maintain that balance.)
• 3. 20 deadlifts (feet shoulder width apart (1st set) narrow stance (2nd set) wide stance (3rd set))
• 4. 20 box jumps onto your bench. drop the dumbbells first please!  be careful and land softly by putting all your weight into your heels.  drop your glutes as low as possible and get into that squat before you jump back down.

 after a round of that, my heart rate was easily over 170 according to my watch!  i walked in two big circles around the room and let my hr drop to around 130 before i started again.

lastly, i finished up legs with 3 sets of 20 reps of jumping lunges.  make sure you drop that back knee down- no slacking.

i said i'd do abs at home (i always say that lol) cause i had to hit the grocery store before i could even get home.  making progress, but i need some separation in my upper abs since i have NONE.  that's my goal for this week.

 1hr of fat burning cardio on the elliptical later, leg day was over.

startin' the week off right!!! have a GREAT evening and try this workout and lemme know what you think!

burn FAT effectively

earlier this week, i got some help in the weight room from my professional basketball playing bro-in-law,

Brian!

 he is also a trainer in his off-season.  can you tell?  he provided me with a fantastic upper body workout cause i need all the help i can get when i'm on my own.

we did a bunch of stuff! variety is so important in order to tone and grow the entire muscle group- i appreciated (but hated) them all.  s/n,  i'm looking forward to a nice, even tan.

hammer curls. i've ALWAYS wanted bulging biceps, especially when my arm is relaxed!!

lat pull downs with straight arms- great tricep/back/shoulder exercise.

afterwards, i did my cardio with a concentration on burning...

******FAT******

HR monitors have completely changed the way i workout.  up until i became a Lifetime Fitness instructor, i figured a super-duper sweaty workout = the BEST workout ever.  if i didn't achieve sweaty-mess status every single time i hit the gym, i didn't feel like i burned enough or did enough, and i'd leave feeling inadequate.  i soon learned that different zones burn different things.

i found Sonny's Polar FT7 on amazon.com as well as my own.  how it works:

1. put the wrist watch on (serves as a plain ol' watch as well)

2. strap on the chest transmitter, and make sure it's secure and close to your heart, literally.

3.  start the watch, do your workout, then stop it.  afterwards, you can look forward to seeing:

your average and max heart rates,

your total workout time plus the total amount of calories burned,

AND,

just how long you stayed in your fat burning zone! isn't that awesome?! love this thing. this is super important to me because my training focuses on staying in my fat burning zone, not so much my total amount of cals burned.  also, that was a very brief synopsis- you still need to read the directions :)

more convincing:

•  not all gym equipment is up to date- some machines don't have those neat sensors on them you can hold to find your heart rate.  one of the machines i like to use in particular is the stairmaster, and the ones in my gym don't have sensors.  plus, i don't like to have to hold those side rails anyway!  having a HR monitor handy solves that issue.

• even if you are on a machine with the HR sensors present, your chest transmitter syncs with the machine's signal and displays your HR without you having to grip them! i appreciate that.  sometimes those sensors just don't work correctly at all, or it will give me a crazy triple digit number that is clearly false.  and again, having to hold those sensors slows down my groove.

• most watch models have a feature that beeps when you are out of your fat burning range to let you know whether you need to speed up or slow down. neat!

now, HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR FAT BURNING ZONE????

 this info is no secret and is available all over the net! follow these steps and you can't go wrong.

220 - age - resting heart rate x .60 + resting heart rate = bottom range

220 - age - resting heart rate x .70 + resting heart rate = top range

what's your resting HR?

 when you first wake up, check your pulse for 15 seconds, then multiply that # by 4.

sure, other zones burn other things, but i focused on fat for this post.  so ultimately, your fat burning zone is where your heart rate needs to STAY for the duration of your workout to burn MAXIMUM fat.

le

epic dad's day

Happy Father's Day to all fathers- earthly and the one and only heavenly!

since i am currently in competition mode, for once we didn't go out to eat to celebrate:(  it's crazy cause that's normally the very thing we do.  celebrations call for EATING in our house.  couldn't even do fro-yo :evil:  all in due time though.  we spent QT with our families and each other:

my two loves... big Nnamdi and little Nnamdi.

 i didn't make Sonny suffer completely- we went to my parents house to visit my folks and my mom cooked a nice T-bone steak meal for my dad.  for the first time ever, i could only smell and look but not touch or eat:

talk. about. torture.  mac n cheese is at the TOP of the list of foods i can't wait to eat again.

one of Sonny's gifts was a heart rate monitor watch- a black and gold Polar FT7!

just what he wanted! do you wear one when you workout?

 

if not, consider it.  there are soooo many makes and models, but a basic one is all you'll ever need, IMO.  i did check out some reviews first.  how they enhance your workouts:

• accurate calorie counter- who doesn't want to know this info??  don't trust that elliptical or treadmill number :-|
• ensure you are at an appropriate intensity level.  if your heart rate gets too high your activity can become counter productive;  too low and you're not pushing hard enough to gain any substantial health benefits.
• find and monitor your target heart rate (50-85% of your maximum HR).  you can find this number *roughly* by subtracting your age from 220.
• your watch will tell you which zones you are in so that you can burn optimal fat, carbohydrates, or sugar.

1. fat burning 50-60% ideal for endurance and weight loss; the body uses stored fat as fuel.
2. endurance 60-70% ideal for endurance and weight loss; the body uses stored fat as fuel.
3. aerobic 70-80% cardiovascular and muscular strength and endurance; burns fats and carbs in this zone.
4. anaerobic 80-90% enhances lung capacity; muscles become tired and breathing becomes heavy. working hard and burning sugar.
5. V02 Max 90-100% helps enhance speed in athletes; can only exercise in this zone for a short period of time as the muscles go quickly into oxygen debt.

• prevent overtraining - maximize the efficiency of your training while minimizing the opportunity for injury.
• provides feedback on your improvements over time.

he can't wait to put it to use!  me neither cause i WILL be borrowing it.

le