I'm Back--Under A Different Name

I haven’t been on the blog in a few months and BAM my URL is already given away. Why?! I will be blogging under this blog now since www.missfitbrittblog.com got given away...grr.

Wow. Long time no talk. I haven’t blogged it what feels like eternity. Sorry for the hiatus…life catches up to you sometimes I suppose. Over the summer I genuinely had no motivation to be blogging; I just wanted to live up my last summer break before the next one where I would be prepping myself to go to college...oh boy. Thanks to my uncle though who inspired me to pick up blogging again! You know who you are. ;)

...Well, this girl is finally a senior in high school. By the second week of school, senioritis kicked in and I am still struggling with it. I do not think I have completed homework at home once this entire year. Thank God that I have first hour study hall to cram, although, truth be told, I haven’t even received that much homework to begin with.

Applying to colleges has been a real pain…talk about STRESS. I need to get my transcript sent here, my ACT scores sent there, finish this essay, pay for that application, get that letter of recommendation, etc. I can’t wait until I commit to a school. And then I get to stress about how ridiculously expensive a college education is, because we all know it's true.

Right now, my first choice is New York University. I want to go there SO BAD! I am actually going to NYC in about two weeks, to walk around and see campus. I can’t wait to go to the city; it is my dream place to be hence why I applied to other universities near NYC including Fordham University, Adelphi University, and Hofstra University. Even thinking about NYU gives me goosebumps! I also applied to University of Miami because you know, it’s a great school and OH it’s located in Miami and all, no big deal. ;) I will probably be applying to other schools too, but these are the base ones as of right now.

I plan to major in psychology so that I can become a registered clinical psychologist and hopefully I am able to minor in something like nutrition or exercise science so I can do personal training on the side. Clearly I have big goals set for myself one day. Ambition flows through these veins.

In terms of my fitness, things have definitely been altered in my mind recently about how I view fitness, and that's okay. If you guys remember from when I first mad the blog, about a year and a half ago, I was incredibly skinny. I was maybe 110 pounds or so at 5 ft. 7 in. NOT HEALTHY! At the same height right now, I am about 135-140 pounds, I have SIGNIFICANTLY more muscle, and I don't feel like a toothpick when I look in the mirror anymore...especially my legs. These babies used to be sticks, and now they're massive and leg day is still my favorite day. Obviously. :) I will provide more information later about my progress and how I now view fitness.

Alright well that is now for all, I have no motivation to write right now so I will be back!

I'M BACK

I haven’t been on the blog in a few months and BAM my URL is already given away. Why?! That’s okay, it’s mine again, emphasis on MINE (not to sound possessive or anything...)

Wow. Long time no talk. I haven’t blogged it what feels like eternity. I hope I am not just talking to myself either because no one reads this blog anymore, LOL! Sorry for the hiatus…life catches up to you sometimes I suppose. Over the summer I genuinely had no motivation to be blogging; I just wanted to live up my last summer break before the next one where I would be prepping myself to go to college...oh boy. Thanks to my uncle though who inspired me to pick up blogging again! You know who you are. ;)

...Well, this girl is finally a senior in high school. By the second week of school, senioritis kicked in and I am still struggling with it. I do not think I have completed homework at home once this entire year. Thank God that I have first hour study hall to cram, although, truth be told, I haven’t even received that much homework to begin with.

Applying to colleges has been a real pain…talk about STRESS. I need to get my transcript sent here, my ACT scores sent there, finish this essay, pay for that application, get that letter of recommendation, etc. I can’t wait until I commit to a school. And then I get to stress about how ridiculously expensive a college education is, because we all know it's true.

Right now, my first choice is New York University. I want to go there SO BAD! I am actually going to NYC in about two weeks, to walk around and see campus. I can’t wait to go to the city; it is my dream place to be hence why I applied to other universities near NYC including Fordham University, Adelphi University, and Hofstra University. Even thinking about NYU gives me goosebumps! I also applied to University of Miami because you know, it’s a great school and OH it’s located in Miami and all, no big deal. ;) I will probably be applying to other schools too, but these are the base ones as of right now.

I plan to major in psychology so that I can become a registered clinical psychologist and hopefully I am able to minor in something like nutrition or exercise science so I can do personal training on the side. Clearly I have big goals set for myself one day. Ambition flows through these veins.

In terms of my fitness, things have definitely been altered in my mind recently about how I view fitness, and that's okay. If you guys remember from when I first mad the blog, about a year and a half ago, I was incredibly skinny. I was maybe 110 pounds or so at 5 ft. 7 in. NOT HEALTHY! At the same height right now, I am about 1350149 pounds, I have SIGNIFICANTLY more muscle, and I don't feel like a toothpick when I look in the mirror anymore...especially my legs. These babies used to be sticks, and now they're massive and leg day is still my favorite day. Obviously. :) I will provide more information later about my progress and how I now view fitness.

Alright well that is now for all, I have no motivation to write right now so I will be back!

So It's Been A Month

Holy cow it's been awhile.

I'm not going to sugar coat it: I haven't been blogging because I have had absolutely no motivation to do so recently. I've been stressed to the max and to be quite honest, dealing with some sadness issues which I am overcoming by the hour. 

Since my last post (over a month ago) many things have happened. My brother graduated high school for one. Oh and also...

THE BLACKHAWKS WON THE STANLEY CUP.

My family is a big Blackhawks family. My grandpa was a HUGE Blackhawks fan and died without ever seeing them win the Stanley Cup, and they won twice within four years? Insane. When they scored those last two goals within 17 seconds, we went crazy. Now that's some good hockey!

On another note, since this blog is really about fitness, I've reached a point where I'm just bored in the gym. I have been doing 'bodybuilding' style workouts for the past year and a half. So I did decide to switch things up a bit. As of now, I'm doing mostly compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, etc.) and doing more push/pull and a lot of metabolic resistance training (e.g. burpees, jump squats, jump lunges, Tabatas). I find this more enjoyable than doing three sets of ten to twelve reps for a given exercise. Yawn.

I will be uploading some progress pictures soon. The progress I have made in the past year is unbelievable. I've gained a good amount of (much needed) weight and I'm at a healthy weight for my height and age. My legs are no longer toothpicks but rather sturdy hunks of meat capable of doing some heavy lifting. My arms aren't sticks anymore either. In general, I feel more confident. Yes, sometimes I do feel that pressure to be 'skinny' because that's what is plastered everywhere these days: on billboards, commercials, magazines, etc. But in the end, I'm happier being more curvy than a stick who was tired of the comments about my stickliness. 

I'm tired of seeing skinny girls claiming they're going to gain this amount of weight and get so shredded and then do figure competitions!!! Like what? I used to be like that, and yeah to be blatant I'm not interested in doing fitness competitions anymore... I know right. Crazy!!! Things change, and my mindset has changed. I find it ridiculous the amount of hardship bodybuilders must go through to get on stage... eating next to nothing, two cardio sessions per day and no social life? No thank you. If I ever do decide to compete, I won't be doing a ton of steady state cardio and surviving off of tilapia and asparagus. Yuck. 

In general, I find that skinnier girls trying to put on mass want to do competitions because it gives them an excuse to put on weight, but still not be fat. I'm sorry but it's true. That's how I was. It's like "Oh, well everyone is telling me I need to put on weight... so I'll start building muscle and competing so at least I'll be heavier but I won't be fat!!!" That's not right. You need to EAT, just shut up and eat and it doesn't all have to be healthy. Go eat pizza, ice cream, fried Oreos double dunked in peanut butter, whatever it is just go and eat it. You won't gain weight if you're eating healthy all the time, and you won't put on the weight you need. And YES, some body fat is necessary to function! No one, ESPECIALLY women, walks around at 5% body fat all the time. That's dangerous and not necessary.

So that's my two cents...

But here's some other pictures from the past month so you all can get caught up :)

My brother and I then and now. We are growing up way too fast.

Some selfie action goin' on.

A trainer at my gym gave me this. It's a protein rice krispie treat... ohmahgawd it was to DIE for.

Aaaand this is a maple bacon shake that my co-worker and I made at work. SO GOOD!!!

Have a great day!

How I Work Out

Hey guys! Long time no talk. I've been caught up in school (AP tests will get you) and living life where I haven't had the time nor motivation to blog. But here's an update!

Everything is well, I have my up and down days, I'm a normal human bring, blah blah blah. Nothing new there. ;) My outlet and world has been hitting the gym and smacking the iron in the face, as usual. 

Lately I've been receiving a lot of compliments from people around me telling me how "jacked" I've gotten. Like what? Me? It's so surreal! I've heard things like "I'm afraid to make her mad because she might punch me..." (although I would never, I am in no way like that at all) and this coming from a male soccer player my age: "I hate going to the gym when she's there because she lifts heavier than me and it's embarrassing." LOL! 

Although I don't lift to impress everyone, it sure is nice to hear that other people are seeing my progress. I am no longer a twig and I strive to put on muscle. Shocker!

I train in a way that works for me, and I honestly do not care what people have a problem with. Since I love making lists and haven't made one in awhile, here's how I train. And I am content with how it's working. :)

1. I make lifting an absolute priority. Cardio can come later.

I'm not concerned if I can 'fit in' cardio either before or after a workout. As long as I lift, I'm satisfied for the day. As much as I believe a little bit of cardio is important, I truly believe that lifting weights makes all the difference. Hence why the girls that constrict themselves to the cardio equipment have absolutely no muscle whatsoever, and have pancake asses. Sorry not sorry. If I do cardio, I love sprints, the StairMaster (my idea of fun), bodyweight plyometrics (e.g. jump squats, burpees, jump lunges, box jumps, etc.), Jacob's Ladder, the row machine, and occasionally the PreCor elliptical (but only if I am feeling frisky). ;)

2. I almost never do the same workout twice.

I understand that a lot of trainers suggest repeating a workout routine 2-4 times to see how you progress, but I hate repeating a workout. In my mind, I already did the workout, so how is my body going to respond to change if I am doing the exact same thing I did before? The body is super smart; it gets used to routine quite easily. Even repeating a workout twice I feel limits how shocked your body will be. Shocking the body --> growth --> happy Brittany. Plus I get bored real quick so I always need to change things up.

3. Despite the fact that I always change it up, I do have staple exercises.

So yeah. For certain muscle groups, there are exercises that I typically always do, which seems to contradict my last point. But I always change up the order, variation of the exercise occasionally (for example, doing front squats instead of back squats) and number of sets and reps. A few staple exercises are the back squat for legs, incline dumbbell chest press for chest (I'll explain why later), the conventional deadlift for hamstrings and back, shoulder press for shoulders, and one-arm dumbbell rows for back. Almost all of these are compound movements, so more muscles are being worked than the main muscle identified. Plus, I get core benefits and overall strength benefits, not to mention I feel like a beast when I complete all my sets. And I just LOVE one-arm dumbbell rows for back. Nothing compares to wrapping my straps around a heavy dumbbell and thrusting it up. I can go almost twice as heavy as the boys my age in the weight room with those. Pure awesome! 

4. I don't bench.

For one, I HATE the bench press. I have weak wrists, so holding bar tends to bend it in a way it is NOT meant to be bent. The movement also simply doesn't feel right to me, so I just don't flat bench. I will occasionally incline bench, but that's as far as it goes. I don't feel like flat benching is all that essential to overall strength, because it places a lot of strain on the shoulder and it is so easy to injure yourself in the process of flat benching. I don't do it, and I don't care. 

5. I looove supersets.

It's simple: I get more done in a shorter amount of time, I get a cardiovascular benefit, and I feel like a beast. A sore beast, but a happy beast. I want to do as much as possible in my workouts, especially since these days I never know how much time I will get in the gym. Sometimes I get a lot of time to spend and do straight sets, but most of the time I have an obligation to be somewhere and I need to get out as fast possible but still get a kickass workout in the procress.

6. I like people screaming at me.

Some people are more timid, where they don't like deriving motivation from people screaming at them to get the weight up. I, however, adore it. My training partner does this every training session. I don't want to hear fruity things like "Yeah Brittany good job! You can do it!" I want to hear (and excuse my language) "BRITTANY GET THAT F***ING WEIGHT UP NOW. DO IT DAMMIT." When you piss me off, you make me stronger. That's why I love getting mad before a workout. :)

7. I don't really use machines.

I love using free weights and cables, and occasionally I will use a Hammer Strength machine, but other than that I tend to stray away from machines. Not because I have a problem with them, but because I usually get a tough workout from free weights and cables alone, so doing unnecessary work on machines isn't on the agenda. However, I do like the pump I get from using the leg extension and lying hamstring curl machines.

8. Speaking of leg extensions...

I do them. I don't care about "strain on the knee" or all that crap. And I do a LOT of upright rows for shoulders, because I love them. Am I damaging my shoulder? Maybe. But they help my shoulders grow, and leg extensions make my quads look like tree trunks. So naturally I will continue doing them.

9. I do legs twice a week.

Lifting legs = more testosterone. More testosterone = more muscle. Therefore, I do legs twice weekly, not only for the muscle-building benefits but because I genuinely love leg day. I love the rush I get after squatting and lunging and stepping up and leg extending and deadlifting and hamstring curling and yeah. I love legs. :)

10. I lift primarily lift heavy.

Blah blah blah "switch it up--do high reps one week and low reps the next". Yeah, no. I don't enjoy having workouts where the majority of my sets are done with light weights. Yes, I DO have workouts where some exercises require me to do many reps, but somewhere in the workout there will always be an exercise where there will be low weight and I lift heavy. I just love lifting heavy, and doing "light weight" doesn't require me to dig deep to push out that last heavy rep. How much of a beast do you feel after doing 20 reps of something? Yeah I definitely do not feel like one. Now how about when you lift something super heavy that you never thought you would ever be able to lift? Talk about beastmode!

Okay, so that's how I work out. Now, since I haven't shared much lately, here are some random pictures that have been taken throughout the past few months of my life. :)

My beautiful friend and I at prom!

I was doing back...but my leg looked good so naturally I take a selfie. No big deal.

I live in the North. It's been cold for MONTHS. I finally got to dress nice!

My adaptive P.E. class that I student teach for. I love every single one of them. :)

My prom date obviously knew me well. He asked me at the gym literally mid-squat!

I like to take ugly pictures. They are much more fun. :)

This is my training partner! Chest day--get SWOLE.

Progress! Quads are bigger, ass is bigger, arms are getting there!

Andes mint cupcakes with a mint Oreo on the bottom... enough said.

Christmas eyes. What a loser :)

Have a great day!

Metabolic Damage

Before you read this, please click here and read this article by Joe Donnelly.

Okay. So you're done reading it? Well, I think it is AWESOME.

I really want to get into the fitness industry. It's been one of my goals for a long time and there's no doubt that my career one day will inevitably involve fitness in some way. However, I think these days, the fitness industry is a bunch of bullshit. There, I said it. Sorry not sorry.

I think fitness competitions are more than just 'winning' or presenting the tightest body on the stage to show everybody "Hey I look freaking AMAZING!!!" Honestly, if your only motivation to compete is to look hot, I'd say reevaluate your goals because for me, personally, that's bogus. I would understand if someone lost half their body weight and wanted to show off their hard work, but that's about it.

I really can't even fathom how some women can do 2 one-hour long cardio sessions per day, on top of their weight training and then juggle their life that hasn't already been consumed by fitness. I'm not shaming them, because I think that takes a lot of dedication. But ultimately, I think it would wear not only on their physical health, but their mental health as well.

I don't think it's worth it to damage one's metabolic rate for the sake of looking shredded on stage. After a show, Joe mentions that some women's metabolic rates go from around 1,500 calories (about average) to an astounding 200-300 calories ]because the weeks of excess cardio and food deprivation has really taken its toll on the body.

Sometimes it takes years to improve the damaged metabolic rate. Seriously, is it worth it? I would argue against that. I really want to compete one day, but I plan on breaking the "norm" of endless cardio and living off of tilapia and asparagus and proving that you can get stage-shredded by not overdoing it. One thing my mom always told me while growing up is that "less is more." I believe it.

Joe mentioned that his girlfriend, famous fitness model and competitor Chady Dunmore, doesn't do two hours of cardio per day and deprive herself pre-show. I love that. I agree with Joe's assertions about how to get shredded and avoid metabolic damage: doing 1-2 sessions of all-out HIIT per week (and I'm talking all out, to the point where breathing is the only thing that is desired in that moment), keeping calories at a level where the body is not deprived of the nutrition that it needs but still enough to stimulate fat loss, and hitting the weights hard, which in the end is the most important exercise component. Screw cardio!

Chady Dunmore is a stunner. (Source)

I know there's this cycle where girls will have a "cheat meal" (oh, how I LOATHE that term) and they may go a *little* overboard, so they get this sense of overwhelming guilt and decide to deprive themselves of food for the next few days completely, so as to correct the overindulgence that had occurred because life happens. Then, they decide that they absolutely *MUST* do at least an hour or two of cardio to burn it all off. This WILL destroy your metabolic rate. You give your body a lot of excess calories, so your metabolism has to work hard to burn through it all, then BAM, all of a sudden it's getting next to nothing so it slows down significantly. Don't do this!!! When you indulge, because NO ONE CAN LIVE OFF OF VEGETABLES FOREVER, the next day, get right back on to your normal eating habits, drink a lot of water, and ***MOVE ON***. 

I know that's easier said than done because let's face it, I experience the guilt too. And I may wake up in the morning feeling like an overstuffed pig. But then I think about how I should NOT fall into that trap that so many women fall into, because it's mentally dangerous. THAT's how eating disorders develop. Some fitness competitors develop EDs post-show because they hold themselves up to this expectation of always being shredded, because they were shredded on stage for that one specific time. That is simply not okay.

It's important to know that one's body cannot look like a Greek statue 24/7. I understand this. When I compete, I know these mental barriers are going to be a lot harder to understand than trying to now, but I will know that two hours doing cardio and eating next to nothing is NOT the life for me. If you knew me in person, you would know I have a BIG appetite (I could probably not one, but TWO deep dish pizzas to myself) and I despise cardio unless I'm in the mood, which is a rare occurrence.

I hate to see some seasoned fitness competitors and models show this image of health and wellness when doing excess cardio and not eating enough is honestly far from healthy. And destroying one's metabolic rate? Definitely not healthy.

I may be the minority in this viewpoint along with Joe Donnelly and Chady Dunmore, but that's okay. I have a lot of opinions, so there's that. :)

Have a great day!

Pray For Boston

Keep your loved ones close today.

(Source)

Updated Goals

I never really set goals and I usually just go with the flow. If progress comes, then progress comes. However, I do think implementing goals is useful and fuels your fire to keep the motivation constantly burning. If you have a specific goal in mind, you push harder for it because you don’t want to disappoint yourself if you never achieve it.

After my little hiatus this winter, I’m going to start ramping up my goals. They will be more specific, because specific goals are easier to achieve rather than setting a rather broad goal which almost certainly increases the chance of failure. For example, if you’re looking to clean up your eating goals, I would say that it is better to start with a goal of “I will include a veggie in at least one meal per day” instead of setting the goal of “I will refuse to eat anything unhealthy for an entire month.” It’s easier to focus on the specific goal because the other one is far too broad and causes too much pressure on an individual.

Alright, I’ll stop blabbing now and state my goals. 

1. Drink at least a gallon of water per day.
I’m really bad at slacking off on my water intake. I drink more than the average person does, at least five water bottles per day. However, a gallon is equivalent to about 8 500mL water bottles which is my ultimate goal. I talked to a few kids at my school and many of them say that the maximum amount of water that they drink per day is three water bottles. That doesn’t seem like enough to me. Although I HATE having to pee every 30 minutes, I know drinking a lot of water is important for proper functioning of the body. It should be noted however that although drinking a lot of water is good for you, drinking TOO much can cause damage to your kidneys, so don’t go and drink four gallons per day. ;)

2. Focus on lifting heavy for upper body.
My legs used to be sticks, let’s face it. But now, my legs are huge due to the amount of squatting, lunging, leg pressing, stepping up, etc. that I’ve been doing to build my legs. I can’t even fit my old jeans around my butt anymore. And that’s a good thing! But my upper body hasn’t quite caught up yet. I want to focus on building the strength for my upper body. I’m not saying it’s not strong; it’s just not as strong as I feel like it could potentially be.

3. Implement more core work.
I don’t completely slack on the core, but I feel like I could do more to ramp it up. After every workout that I’ve been doing so far with my training partner, I have been doing one or two core exercises that focuses on a different section of the core each time. For example, after my chest day I did upper body core work, and after my back day I did lower body core work. I also want to have specific metabolic core workouts that challenge the core in unimaginable ways. I recently did one that involved a circuit of exercises including cable crunches, standing barbell twists, kettlebell oblique twists, stability ball planks, and many more pain-inducing core exercises. I see SO many people do “ab” workouts that are simply bicycle crunches, or standard crunches, or maybe a few sit-ups. Although bodyweight core work has its place in core training, it’s important to also throw in some resistance to challenge the core. Bodyweight core exercises target the shape of the abs, while resistance-based core exercises challenge the bulkiness of the abs. So a balance of both is proper for the body. I will continue to change it up and keep my core guessing, not simply because I want “abs” but because I want to strengthen my core (which includes the abs AND the lower back). It is the powerhouse of the body.

One of my favorites--but extremely difficult! (Source)

4. Get at a minimum seven hours of sleep per night.
I know for a teenager like myself that seven hours of sleep per night is not enough. For a teenager, at least nine hours is recommended. However, considering I usually get between 4-6 hours of sleep per night, I think aiming for nine is too far of a stretch, so I will settle for at least seven. Between my AP classes and their rigorous workloads and my typical inability to sleep at night (those darn thoughts that just bombard my head!), I haven’t been sleeping much lately and it has not only affected the intensity of my workouts, but also my mental energy. I need to prioritize sleep more than ever at the moment.

5. Increase the weight I use on at least three exercises.
I don’t want to fall into that trap where I am always using the same weights for each exercise. So I want to also focus on increasing the amount of pounds in the weight I use. More weight = stronger Brittany! I’m hoping that I at least raise the weight for the essential compound exercises like squats, shoulder or military presses, Olympic bar rows, deadlifts, and bench press. Particularly, I would like to increase the amount of weight I can lift on the deadlift. But I definitely will take what I can get.

So those are my goals that I hope to achieve by the end of the school year. I hope everyone has a fantastic day. :)

Some More Updates

Hi guys!

So I just returned from Florida and it was marvelous. My friend and I visited the University of Florida at Gainesville and we are basically already considering ourselves "out-of-stater gators"! 

Swag.

My friend wants to be a veterinarian, and they have a great veterinary program at UF. I am going to be majoring in physiology (it's the gymrat in me...) and they have a great physiology program there, so needless to say UF is definitely one of the best contenders!

I had a great week off in Florida where I did not lift a thing except my large, PINK, over-packed suitcase (what can I say, I'm a girl). Taking a week off lifting was glorious, and now I have been hitting my workouts HARD. My motivation is DEFINITELY back. I've been eating like a well-oiled machine, and without even trying, I've got dem abs. (It might help that I got a tan from Florida and that makes the lines more visible, but hey who's analyzing that?)

My workout partner has kicked my ass, and will continue to do so. We hit a hard chest workout yesterday and we did an ab exercise where you set up the decline bench by the cables and hold the rope attachment by your head as you do a sit-up on the decline bench. One word: KILLER. My abs are completely annihilated today and I only did three sets of fifteen of those. Sometimes less is more!

I have become more at peace with my body, and it's so freeing. I used to overanalyze EVERYTHING just like any typical female would. Ugh, could my hips have any more fat on them? Damn, I hate how oddly shaped my legs look. Uhm, I have a pooch on my lower stomach... I'm not going to lie, sometimes these thoughts bombard my head, and they hit especially hard in the winter when the weather is crappy and when I'm just not feeling all that great about myself.

However, in the past couple of days, I have not even cared. Like I said, I have found peace with my body. It's as if since the sun has finally come out and I can hear the birds chirping that my mind is cleared. I look in the mirror and I KNOW I could be more 'shredded' however it's not my top priority. My top priority is to live my life to the fullest and I can't stress enough that worrying way too much about how you look definitely holds you back from that. So you're not at 9% body fat. So what? As long as you eat healthy and work out, the rest is taken care of. The more you stress about having those shredded six pack abs, the less likely you are to get them because of all the stress circulating throughout your body. The more careless you are about having them (and I'm not talking about eating crap and not exercising), the most easily they come! Weird, right?!

The way I see it, if you focus on eating healthy foods and killing it in your workouts, then the rest will take care of itself, including those abs or ripped quads or strong arms. Don't make aesthetics your goal. Make STRENGTH and HAPPINESS your goal, as cliche and lame as that sounds. ;)

I also mentioned how I would be including cardio in my new workout plan, but guess what? My workout partner and I have decided to take out cardio completely. Yep, that's right. Now some may cringe at my future heart health, but no worries. I feel happier when I DON'T stress about doing cardio. And let's be honest, when I'm on a cardio machine, I'm DYING to get off of it ASAP and to me, that's just not fun. So, I'm going to focus on making myself happy and just hitting the weights hard. That IS my cardio. I don't mess around in the weight room; I get to work so my heart rate is always up and I don't see the need to stress myself out for cardio. Cardio is stupid. Sorry not sorry. I may do plyometrics here and there, but that's it. Now I can give all my love and attention to my passion: the iron. And I couldn't be happier. :)

I hope everyone has a fantastic day! :)

Oh and always wear sunscreen on your face. ;)

Okay bye!

Back In The Game

I apologize in advance for my lack of posting in the past few months. It’s been winter—so naturally all I have been wanting to do is stay at home in a pair of sweats and nice cozy socks eating anything from peanut butter Oreos to barbecue-flavored Cheez-Its. 

My motivation for exercising has fallen by the wayside as well. Yes, I’ve gained a few pounds but no, it doesn’t bother me. I’m kicking my butt into high gear to get my motivation back! I do in fact suffer from seasonal depression, so during the winter I’m simply just not on my A-game. No worries, as the sun comes out, the snow clears out, and I can hear the birds chirping in the morning, my mood elevates and I have a lot more motivation.

This was on a bright, sunny day where I had tons of motivation!

Quad and booty progress!

I will indeed be posting my workouts on www.weighttraining.com to give you all a view on how I structure my workouts. Please click here to view my profile. My plan for my workouts will be changing. I’ve been doing a lot more straight sets and steady-state cardio lately and I am switching to lots of supersets, trisets, and giant sets mixed in with high intensity interval training.

I’m working with a partner, which is so strange for me considering I really hate working out with other people and I prefer to work out at my own pace. Often times, I see that ‘workout partners’ end up talking the whole time and that is definitely NOT me; I go into the gym with a mission and I come out achieving it. I don’t have time to mess around! But luckily my partner has a kickass attitude and murders every single one of his workouts, modeled after the incredibly inspiring Mike Raso. I definitely need a kick in the pants to get my motivation back.

Mike Raso is seriously a BEAST. (Source)

I will be doing heavy compound sets to begin my workouts, when I am ‘fresh’. So, if it’s leg day, it’s back squats. If it’s shoulder day, it’s shoulder or military press. If it’s chest day, it’s dumbbell chest presses or bench press. If it’s back day, it’s Romanian deadlifts. I am hoping this will help improve my strength even more. After the compound set, I will be doing supersets of a compound exercise and an isolation movement directly after. For example, if I’m doing back day, I may do lat pulldowns with barbell bicep curls right after. Or, if it’s leg day, I may do decline leg press with leg extensions directly after. The compound exercises will primarily be in the 8-12 rep range while the isolation exercises will be in the 12-15 rep range.

I also plan to do core three times per week, and perhaps maybe after every workout a 10-minute “workout finisher” which will include metabolic exercises such as burpees, jump squats, and ab wheel rollouts, among others. 

As for cardio, I mentioned I will be doing HIIT, which I also plan on doing three days per week on days when I am not doing core. I may throw in one day of steady-state cardio so as not to push it too hard if I am too sore from a previous workout session. 

I plan on working out six days a week. I know this creates some controversy from some people because there’s always an argument over what amount of days is best to workout per week. Some say four; some say seven days a week. I am a self-proclaimed gymrat, and I am fine kicking my own ass six days a week as long as I eat enough to fuel all my activity and get enough sleep. I would understand that six is too much if I am not properly getting enough calories per day or only sleeping five hours per night. Although I do not count calories, I know that I do in fact eat enough, and I do get enough sleep (for now). If I ever do not eat enough in a day or do not get enough sleep, I will promptly take a rest day and listen to my body. It has gotten a lot easier for me to listen to my body cues and know when it’s time to take a rest. Not all my workouts are going to be extremely intense. I plan on hitting the big muscle groups hard, like legs, and going easier on smaller muscle groups, like biceps. And I will definitely play around with rep ranges until I feel the one that I feel fits my goals the best. But, like anything else, it’s important to switch things up to prevent a plateau.

Wow. It felt good to type that all out, because now I am committing to all of my readers and I refuse to let you all down. Motivated Brittany is definitely back! I’m putting away the junk food that I have been eating daily and sticking to healthy diet because it legitimately makes me feel better. No, I am not ‘obsessed’ with clean eating and I never will be. I enjoy my treats every now and then and I have to have a Reese’s peanut butter cup at least four times a week… or maybe every day...shh. ;) But for the most part, it’ll be tons of chicken, oats, protein powder, eggs, sweet potatoes, bananas, nuts and nut butters, and every and all veggies for me! 

Delicious omelette and veggies that I made. :)

And update posts are a necessary component so expect me to be posting much more frequently than I have been. 

Warm-Ups, Cool-Downs, and Stretching

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There are some necessary evils that some people neglect, not realizing the negative impacts that these actions can have. These things can include not turning off all the lights before leaving the house, not drinking enough water throughout the day and becoming dehydrated, not prioritizing sleep and instead staying up all night browsing Pinterest (this one I am guilty of), etc.

One thing that should never be neglected, however, is warming up and cooling down when exercising. I understand that it's not exactly thrilling to warm-up and cool-down movements before and after a workout. But although these movements seem trivial, they actually have a serious impact on your body. I honestly despise stretching, especially if my muscles are screaming after an intense workout. Do I want to stretch my hamstrings after a heavy deadlift workout? NO. But if I don't, the pain could be worse the next day. 

I'll share what I personally do for a warm-up, cool-down, and stretching.

Warm-Ups

As you would imagine from the title, these "warm up" or prime your body to start working out. They are essential for preparing your body to do any strenuous exercise, especially weight training. You wouldn't start working out a cold muscle, would you? Think about it. Say, perhaps, you're about to back squat for 8-10 reps, which is relatively heavy. You clang on the plates on the Olympic bar, having not warmed up, and get to it. As you can imagine, it's not a fun experience: your muscles just went from being "cold" (or not actively used) to pushing up heavy weight without proper warm-up. That can be dangerous. You wouldn't throw an inexperienced bullfighter into the pen with a bull, would you? Okay, so that sounds a little extreme. ;) But you get my point!

In my gym class, I am an assistant teacher to kids with special needs. We play games like ping pong and washer toss that don't seem physically active, but nevertheless we always "warm up" before playing so that we can get that blood flowing. It may seem stupid, but it's our attempt to teach the kids that warming up before doing anything even slightly active is necessary.

Essentially, warm-ups do a few things: they get the blood flowing (allowing your muscles to take over and your heart doesn't have to work as hard to pump blood), they heat up the muscles to start to take a pounding, they allow you to be more flexible which helps with range of motion (making the muscle being worked get more benefit), they release important hormones such as ATP that help in promoting muscle growth, and they psychologically prepare your mind to get ready for your upcoming workout.

For me personally, I warm-up in a variety of ways. Before any cardio session, I do a few jumping jacks, high knees, and butt kicks just to get the blood flowing so I can go hard. Before every weights session, I do the same thing, and depending on if I am working my upper or lower body, I do targeted exercises to get the blood flowing in that particular muscle. For legs, I always do a set of 20 bodyweight squats and 20 alternating lunges. For upper body, I take a 5-lb. plate and do 10 forward and backward arm swings. And whether its upper or lower body, I always do a warm-up set before my first exercise. This means that for whatever exercise I am about to do first, I do a set with light weights before I start lifting heavy so I can let my body know what exercise it's about to do and warm up the muscles. For example, since I always start with a compound movement, if I am doing shoulders, I will do a set of 20 reps with a light weight of shoulder to press before I start doing 8-10 reps. This is the same for every muscle group.

Cool-Downs

Just as warming up the muscle is important, cooling down is just as necessary. Now I understand that it's not the first thing I want to do after a long, vigorous workout. I just want to go home and max out on my protein and carbs. However, cool-downs are vital to help build strength and muscle. 

The importance of cool-downs comes from allowing waste products, like the dreaded lactic acid, to be removed from the body, preventing DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) so that you can work a certain body part again sooner, and preventing blood from pooling the extremities.

After a workout, typically I will do some type of "finisher" circuit that includes exercises such as burpees, medicine ball slams, push-ups, etc. This not only helps boost my metabolism, but it also allows me to start to cool down. It seems odd, considering burpees are high intensity. But right after my "finisher" circuit, I immediately stretch, foam roll my sore muscles, hydrate with lots of water (because your body uses up a lot of water during exercise), and eat a source of fast-acting protein and carbohydrate to replenish energy stores and help my muscles promote an anabolic, or building, state and not a catabolic, or muscle-diminishing, state. Then I grab my stuff and I'm out of the gym.

Stretching

Here's  my confession: I used to never stretch. Ever. And it was bad! I would wake up the next day after a tough lifting workout and I would feel like I got ran over by a semi-truck. It's not pretty. I also get that stretching can be super boring, especially if you're like me and you have NO patience. I liteally do not want to hold a stretching position for 30 seconds straight because I cannot sit still and I get super fidgety. But I force myself to because it is SO necessary.

By stretching, you are preventing the chance of being in pain from DOMS and letting the blood flow to the muscles to help recovery. Before a WARM-UP you should do DYNAMIC STRETCHES such as jumping jacks and high knees. This gets the blood flowing, as I have mentioned. If you hold static stretches during a warm-up, you may actually increase your chances of getting injured during your workout. You want to get the body warmed up, not stretch it out quite yet. For COOL-DOWNS you should do STATIC STRETCHES which means holding a certain stretch for some period of time, typically 15-30 seconds. This includes toe touches, splits, etc. You don't need to do dynamic stretches because you don't need to warm the body up. 

Example of a static stretch. (Source)

So in total, what have we learned? 

ALWAYS WARM UP, COOL DOWN, AND STRETCH!!! 

Questions: Do you warm up/cool down/stretch? If not, what's your excuse?!

References:

The Importance of Aerobic Warm Up Routines

How To Cool Down After Exercise

Stretching & Recovery

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My Version of a Squat

Squats are, in my opinion, the king of all exercises, besides the deadlift, of course.

I see so many people at my gym (and they are mostly guys) who literally primarily work upper body, resulting in massively broad shoulders, a bulging chest and some rather daunting biceps. However, their legs show no signs of development... because they don't work legs.

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I understand the thinking for a guy. "But I don't want big legs, I want a big chest and huge guns!!!" Well, that's fantastic but if you want a body that looks symmetric and not deformed, then you're going to have to work legs as well, and that means doing more than the decline leg press. Especially adding in some squats to your routine. And there's another benefit to doing squats other than just building tree trunks for legs!

Erin Stern has AMAZING legs. (Source)

When you do squats, you're working the largest muscles in your body, which are found in your legs. These include the quadriceps, hamstrings, and the glutes (which can be sub-divided even further because the muscle is so big). It's a proven fact that the more of a muscle you work, the more you tear down the muscle and the more calories you burn, hence why always working your tiny bicep muscles (in comparison to the huge leg muscles) doesn't get you as in shape as you would like to be in.

When you squat, you're working all of these, so you are tearing through calories and breaking the muscles down. And, on top of that, when you squat, you release testosterone. This is a hormone that males have abundantly, and women have very little of, but still have it. Testosterone is the hormone that is anabolic, A.K.A. builds muscle. Why do you think female bodybuilders take testosterone injections? Because they want to build a lot of muscle atypical for a woman to have. Why do you think men are more muscular and can bulk up faster than women? Because they naturally have more testosterone.

The more testosterone you release, the more muscle you build. Therefore, when you squat, you're not simply building up the muscles in your legs, but you're allowing your body to take in that testosterone, which can help you build muscle faster everywhere and stay lean as well.

Now let's talk about the anatomy of a squat. First and foremost, THIS is a squat:

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This is what I like to call an "ass to the grass" squat. THIS is NOT a squat:

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This is a quarter squat. This will simply not do.

I hate to be picky, but I hate seeing someone with so much potential not go down deep enough. Get that ASS to the GRASS (excuse my French). Sure, going down a quarter of the way will work the quads, which is fantastic, but to get the most bang for your buck, which is working the glutes and hamstrings as well and releasing more testosterone, you must go ALL THE WAY DOWN. 

If you want to build a tight butt, you have to dig deeper because if you're not going down far enough, you're not working your glutes. I know people want to throw as much weight on the bar as they can, squat a quarter of the way, and say "LOOK HOW MUCH I SQUATTED!" I get it, I really do. But you're not getting stronger by letting your ego get in the way. Lighten the load, go down all the way, and you will see the difference (and feel it). You may notice that you're not that sore after doing quarter squats the next day, and the reason is simple: You didn't tax your legs hard enough because you didn't work all the muscles. When you get your butt to the ground, I guarantee you WILL feel it the next day and bask in your glory. That's how you get stronger--with proper form.

With that being said, there are also a few things that people need to work on when they squat, MYSELF included (and I have worked diligently over the past few weeks to perfect my squat). Here they are.

1. Letting your knees cave in.

This is a big no-no. If your knees cave in, this is an indication that you have weak hip abductors and adductors and you need to strengthen those before you go too heavy on the squats. Push your knees OUT, do NOT let them cave in towards each other as you bring the weight back up.

2. Not looking up.

There's a reason people who are squatting look like they are admiring the ceiling. Looking up allows you to put more emphasis on the feet to push the weight back up; it's a balance thing. When you look straight or down, your body wants to tilt forward which is not good indeed.

3. Setting the bar in a bad place.

The bar should not be right on your neck. This will cause some intense neck pain the next day. Instead, it should be held on your back nice and snug so it's not resting right on your bone.

4. Tilting forward.

This is very bad. You should always keep an erect back when squatting, because otherwise you will damage your lower back and tip forward, which could cause you to fall over, and well, you know the rest. Sometimes the weight may be too heavy as well, causing you to tilt, or your upper body to lean too far forward, so remove some of the weight and focus on proper form. Always make sure your back is straight and not rounded, and don't let your chest and shoulders droop forward.

5. Using your toes to push back up.

You cannot do this if you want to properly engage the muscles. You MUST push through your heels. Pushing through your toes may still work the leg, but again, pushing through your heels guarantees that you are putting the most emphasis on the quads, hammies, and glutes. So focus on pushing through your heels as you come back up.

I'm sure there's more things you can improve on in your squat, but these are the biggest mistakes. There are so many variations of squats: back squats, front squats, overhead squats, split squats, narrow squats, sumo squats, hack squats, etc. Always make sure you are using proper form, and DON'T FORGET TO SQUAT IN THE FIRST PLACE! And add some resistance!!! They really are the king of exercises for a reason--they build muscle ALL around! 

I love my squats, as you can tell. :)

Questions: Do you squat? Do you like it? Are there any no-nos I didn't include?

Another Weight Training Rant...

I know I've said this in a million other posts but I feel some reiteration from time to time is necessary. Are you ready (pretty much directed to the ladies)?

PICK UP A DUMBBELL. GET OFF THE TREADMILL.

I don't know... was I clear enough? I feel like I need a megaphone to preach this from the mountaintops, and even then I'll get the same responses of "But, like...lifting weights makes you all like, bulky..."

No. NO. No no no no no.

Most girls want this crap called "tone". What the hell is that?! Seriously? If I wanted "tone" I'd go do Tracy Anderson's little "metamorphosis" workouts with 3-lb. dumbbells. Yeah, no. You won't get "toned" spending two hours on the elliptical/treadmill/bike/(insert extremely boring cardio machine here). Yes, I do use cardio machines from time to time but I'm not on there for a long time unless I get distracted talking to someone. I keep it short on those things, and intense.

And you also won't get toned lifting pink-coated dumbbells that don't go above 10 lbs. Seriously.

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I'm not going to hate on the female bodybuilders, like the above Yaxeni Oriquen, but if you lift heavy weights you will not turn into She-Hulk. Female bodybuilders train for sometimes hours a day, eat upwards of 4,000+ calories to fuel intense muscle growth, and inject themselves with testosterone/steroids. Women don't have anywhere near the amounts of testosterone (a hormone essential to building huge muscles) that men do. Not even CLOSE. That's why women bodybuilders have to inject the hormone into themselves to get that big. 

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If you weight train, you'll look something more like this. Granted, this is bikini competitor Christina Vargas and she probably underwent intense dieting and training to get that body in that particular condition, but that's the gist of it. You won't have that low of body fat, but you won't have muscles growing on muscles. You will, however, have clear definition and a smokin' hot body.

You'll look lean, muscular but not overly done, and fit. Don't fear a little muscle! Muscle increases your metabolic rate, meaning you burn calories throughout the day even when you're not exercising, or simply just SITTING there. Yes, with more muscle, you'll have a higher number on the scale, HOWEVER, muscle is more dense than fat, so it takes up less space on your body. Case in point:

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This girl is a prime example: she gained 9 pounds, however she clearly lost FAT (what you want to lose) and gained MUSCLE (what you want to gain). 

Basically, the minute you step off that cardio machine, your calorie burn stops right then and there. When you weight train, you're burning calories all throughout the day and even during sleep because you have damaged your muscles to the point where they are constantly looking to be fed, burning calories in the process. 

There is a time and place for cardio, however, if you're looking to seriously "get fit" then I urge everyone to go pick up some iron. 

Okay, that is all. :)