Geat Plyos (Plyometrics) - Cardio boost + Carbs as Fuel

Every day is a great day for a great day :-)

This morning I had an amazing workout - I went in not knowing what I would train yet allowed myself to know/believe that I would figure it out and make it good once I hit the gym floor.
I had my oats and 7g protein and noted I felt sort of tired/lazy before leaving the apartment. I think it was due to the 1/2 tsp Magnesium salts I took in the morning. I should've known better! Magnesium is typically a relaxant and usually taken pre-bedtime to promote better sleep. I took it this morning because I was listening to a podcast (one of my faves, Ben Greenfield Fitness), and he mentioned that Magnesium is helpful in promoting Adinopectin which is a hormone integral to body fat composition and seems to be found in higher concentrations in lean people. From a 2005 study found on PubMed:

"adiponectin levels are lower in obese subjects than in lean subjects. Apart from negative correlations with measures of adiposity, adiponectin levels are also reduced in association with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes."
Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15655035

To increase/promote Adinopectin production you can take magnesium which is found naturally in pumpkin seeds as well as through an MG supplement. Since I've recently been cutting down my pill supplements, including MG, I realized that I've been missing Mg and thus added it this morning. Thankfully, I counterbalanced the slight sluggishness by drinking my 2 cups of delicious coffee, ensuring it buzzed my system. In the end it most certainly worked its magic.

Going back to the original point, once at the gym I 'woke up' so to speak and realized I was going to focus on plyometrics and raising my heart rate throughout with some emphasis on biceps. It was tons of fun. Burpees, jumping jacks, supported pullups, inverted rows, high quick knee raises, mountain climbers, star jumps, squat jumps and quick alternating toe-to-bench taps. I definitely raised my heart rate and experience some challenge to the muscles, which is great.

I also observed I was very energized and had an amazing workout - it just may be the case that the carbs I've been adding to my system are serving as potent fuel for my workouts.

So far so good, and I hope for continued positive outcomes along the way.

Tomorrow is legs day - finally I have a full, normal weekend again! After one month of training classes, which were really stimulating and engaging, I am also thrilled I can sleep in, eat my breakfast with peace and ease and make plans to enjoy the two days of REST albeit without rest from the gym tomorrow ;-)

Finally, the most valuable aspect of this all, for me, is that I have a healthy, vital, active, functioning body. I'm so blessed and thankful I can jump around in creative, fun ways; i can grow stronger and have new experiences within my own skin n bones. It's remarkable. I realize one day in the distant future my activity levels will be modified; thus, I'm thankful for this moment now, this moment in time, this particularly stage and chapter in my 20s where I am so passionate, devoted and excited about weight training and being fit. It is just amazing that this can endure for the rest of my long and healthy, joyful, love-filled life. :-)

xx

Self-experimentation: Decaf

Sometimes Mother Nature has other plans in store for us all. 

Today is shaping up to be a wonderful day so far - it's the first of the week, and while Sundays (Mondays) can have us feeling a bit disoriented, dazed or fatigued, I've been noticing the recently I am really well prepped for the beginning of the new work week. It feels great.

I think it's because I have good weekends, really enjoyable weekends, and thus I feel refreshed and eager to resume a new work week. Sometimes I feel like the weekly cycles are just that - cycles. A cycle is inherently repetitive...so in order to redirect sensations of ennui, I've been listening to motivational podcasts, uplifting information and thus helping myself to view each day in a positive light. Specifically, that each day is full of new potential, surprises, unexplored possibilities and brimming with my creative capacity. I think that each day can be made even more significant and unique by creating something new. Perhaps writing a new poem, a new blog entry, a new article, or for those who are more artistic - creating a piece of art or taking some pictures that represent an artistic view on things that others may not capture at first glance.

I was hoping to go rollerblading this morning for a change however it was raining quite heavily and thus plans changed. I still had a window of opportunity to get a workout in, if only I scooted to the gym. I had an awesome HIIT cardio session on the treadmill, 45mins and I felt really uplifted. I normally prefer to workout for 1.5 hours to feel like I'm doing something, however, the experts all agree - you should workout even when you're strapped for time: 15min, 20 mins, 30mins... So considering I had 1 hour, it was an opportunity goldmine. 

You just have to identify, decide and go for it.

DECAF COFFEE EXPERIMENT

Since last week I am trying to stay on decaf coffee in the morning pre-workout to see what changes I experience in my body and mood. Caffeine causes our adrenal system to get into high-gear in order to clean it out of system. Add to that the stress and cortisol induced by exercise, work stress, relationship and life/road stress, and you can see how adrenal fatigue easily manifests and can take a toll unless you actively apply relaxation techniques (yoga, meditation, deep breathing, massage, and such). 

Adrenal fatigue impacts energy levels and also sleep. And so, last week I had decaf coffee Friday-Wednesday. Everyone says that missing your regular cup o'Joe will make you feel cranky, moody or else "not yourself". I admit, the first 2-3 days that I was going sans-caffeine I did feel slightly moodier, 'off' and like I was missing that extra zest or fire. In fact, one of my friends noticed during our lunch together that my eyes were a bit tired, as if I had not slept well. I had slept just fine, however it was my first workday without the caffeine. Anyhow, I just got on with it. The more we live, the more I realize that you just have to crack on and not get too attached to a minor physical temporary discomfort since it's ephemeral, and there will be discomforts anyways so it's more about the mental strength of facing that unease, accepting it and overcoming it/moving past it.

In terms of exercise:  At first, in the beginning of my workout I was a bit calmer than usual however by the time I was 30mins in, I was energized as I normally am and pushed on. In any case, I rationalized that in reality the energy for the weight I'm moving comes from muscle glycogen stores, and these were replenished since I have my oats pre-workout. So basically, I can manage well w/Decaf coffee before a workout. Yes, Caffeine has that desirable fat-burning mechanism...well, I just have to trust that I am working out and giving it my best shot to build muscle which will in turn increase my metabolically active lean body mass and thus burn more calories and fat overall throughout the day.

It's recommended to avoid caffeine after your workout because your body's cortisol levels have been elevated by the exercise and thus you want to avoid further increasing cortisol production since it wouldn't be beneficial in the post-workout window.

Excessively elevated Cortisol --> Belly fat!

How I felt after 6 days caffeine-free:

Wednesday night, Feb 5, completing the 6th day caf-free, I slept amazingly well. So deep, full and wonderfully. I awakened on Thursday eager and joyous to seize the day and attack my full-body circuit workout. It was awesome.

These days, I am really well-energized for my workouts and sleeping well. Overall, I think comes down to prioritizing sleep 7-8 hours per night, cutting the caffeine, and I also take Valerian Root, 5-HTP, and Magnesium at night pre-bedtime. Keeping a regular, consistent sleep/wake schedule might also be beneficial since the body is allowed to maintain a healthy, stable rhythm of bodily processes. I also don't smoke or drink alcohol...

The oats+protein powder pre-workout are my staple now in the morning, and it's been really pleasant to have this meal in my nutrition. I added the oats (30g carbs) on December 17, 2013 (almost 2 full months ago) after reading Layne Norton's article "The Ultimate Cutting Guide". So let's see. Since then, I've also incorporated 1 TB milled flaxseed and 3g Black Chia Seeds into the Oats to deepen the nutrition and make the plain oats more exciting. I add 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt and mix different spices such as nutmeg, all-spice, cloves, cardamom, coriander, and cinnamon of course!

Oats are yummy and good all around. Simple, quick and nutritious - a real power-food in my kitchen.

Other power-foods in my kitchen aka favorites:

- Chia seeds, flaxseed, coconut oil, coconut butter (manna), cinnamon, dark unsweetened cocoa, celery, spinach, ginger, nuts, and Raw Protein powder (although I love the other commercial protein powders that are not so chemical-free). These are the ones that first come to mind.

Eating well and nutritiously is satisfying, fulfilling and medicinal - I love it! 

Hippocrates: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

Proof is in the pudding...or Tricep Pushup - Getting Stronger :-)

Today I enjoyed an awesome Arms workout - yes, the guns: biceps and triceps :-D

I got my workout lineup from Bodybuilding.com and approached it as biceps first, followed by Triceps. The reason being that yesterday I read an article indicating that it's more sensible to do all exercises for one set of muscles (i.e. Biceps) and then switch to the other (Triceps) since they are antagonistic muscles and so exhausting one group leaves the other group in a weaker, less primed state to bear weight. Not that I subscribe 100% to this idea but I figured I'd give it a shot - why not!

Doing all biceps movements in sequence, and supersetting for the most part, effectively fatigues the muscle. I also noticed that doing one muscle group at a time allowed for greater focus and concentration on that muscle group since I wasn't switching back and forth from one mindset (muscle group) to another. It's actually pretty cool to feel that greater focus because you feel that you are really targeting it and working for its particular growth - like nursing a child, haha.

What motivated this particular post is the discovery that I am indeed getting stronger!!!
I know this without a shadow of a doubt because today I was able to belt out 4 sets, 10-12 reps of Triceps Pushups (hands shoulder width apart, targeting the triceps). I did each of the 4 sets with solid form!!! For me that is WOW.  Exactly one year ago when I started focusing on weight training 100%, I could barely eek out 6-8 reps w/Narrow-Hand positioning - I felt quite weak in that particular move whereas I was stronger in the traditional pushup (wide hand placement). It was incredible and I could scarcely believe it were it not for the fact that it was me, moving up and down, efficiently and absolutely. Wow, it felt awesome :-)

It's incredibly uplifting and empowering to witness with your own eyes that you are changing for the better, improving, that you are transforming day by day and growing stronger.

That's me and how I felt at the gym after each set of Tri Pushups - Woo hoo!!! :-) Pat on my back :-D

Also note that these are real pushups - no modifications. In fact, I've never performed modified pushups since I feel it's a movement to be done with integrity in order to really test your performance and reap its rewards. Best thing to do if you're starting out is to build up the volume. If you can only do 1-5 reps, then start there and build up gradually adding 1 extra push daily. Also, the body should be in a straight line, bum in line with back (not piking up towards the ceiling, which subsequently makes the move easier). If you're doing the Tri-Pushup, the elbows should be kept close to the waist and not pointing/bending outwards. The image below (lady in red) illustrates it really well.

The feeling of self-empowerment and growing stronger is irreplaceable. I guess the key is to be consistent, continue with your training, challenge your body with gradual progressions of heavier loads for all exercises. Sometimes we don't know what we are truly capable of, we don't push our limits and stay in a comfort zone assuming we're not "there" yet (to go heavier). Well, you won't get "there" if you don't try the heavier weight in the first place! I say this as a reminder to myself in large part because I've noticed that the one time I trained with a Personal Trainer in NYC (Legs) he was great and pushed me to heavier weights, which I thought I wasn't able to handle but which turned out to be challenging yet manageable. It showed me that I tend towards weights that don't truly test my capacity even when I am focused on going heavy...it's almost like I've designated a zone of maximum discomfort for myself. While it is indeed challenging, it doesn't reveal the greatest strength and highest capacity my resilient and strong body can withstand.

With this in mind, I have been approaching, and will continue to do so, training in the coming days are unique opportunities to try the heaviest weight I can handle and use it a baseline, and to retest this maximum weight (the well-know 1RM, rep max). It takes a lot of work, consistency and proper eating for women to gain lean mass - we don't just bulk up or build muscles as soon as we lift Dumbbells etc. We don't have the necessary amount of Testosterone to easily build such mass. Anyhow, point is, my goal is not the 'bulk up' but rather to grow stronger as I already am and to see more overall muscle definition as I go...Muscle definition can only come about by lowering body fat, which is the layer covering up our muscles and which shields any definition or cuts.  And so, slowly, slowly, I will continue training by lifting as heavy as I can (using good form of course), and as importantly - Eating Well! I have personally experienced that one's physique is a result of how we eat and even minimal tweaks in a nutrition program can impact body development. Yes, as they say: a tone, muscular and fit body is 75-80% nutrition, and the rest from work in the gym.

It's a combined, multi-pronged effort and it easily becomes a lifestyle if you want to successfully achieve your particular fitness and/or physique goal(s).

All I know is that I'm having fun and really enjoying the training process.

My original goal was to reach 15% Body Fat, down from 25%...I reached 20% in August and I've continued training at a good pace and intensity since then. I haven't re-measured since August 22nd however I feel confident I'm on the right track by the way I feel and what I see in the mirror. Minor changes but they are changes nonetheless. Besides, I wholeheartedly accept that progress takes time and I am not employing any drastic diets or other extreme schemes. My thinking is that I want to be able to achieve the body of my dreams by eating in a sustainable manner - that I can see myself eating this way in 1 year, 5 yrs, and even 10yrs. So far, so good, and I feel satiated. I've discovered I love the taste of fats and protein, and not so much the starches - I can do without them however I intake healthy options like sweet potato, protein cakes/squares which I bake with coconut, amaranth, oat, and fava bean flour (this unusual one caught my attention and it tastes alright).

Eating nutritiously and with a workable nutrient split. As of this weekend daily macro-nutrient targets are:

• Higher protein = 155g 
• Higher fat = 45-55g 
• Carbs lower in consumption relatively speaking = 50g-75g per day, and aiming for no more than 25-35g Sugar daily.

I've been using MyFitnessPal.com to track daily consumption and I recently realized we can log our foods from desktop, online (duh, Jen) (I had been using my iPad exclusively), making it far easier to input data from my desk. It's a terrifically helpful tool  - thank you to them!

Tomorrow is Legs and Chest, some abs, although I'd love to give my legs some more rest and hit them on Thursday. That's what I did the past two weeks, so maybe I should train them tomorrow to mix it up a bit to surprise my body. Variety is the spice of life!