Hello Globo Gym

Saturday after CrossFit and running some errands, I decided to go to 24 Hour Fitness (yes, I still have my membership just in case…I have a cheap rate) for some strength work that I haven’t been able to work on in a while at CF310.

Mind you, I’m wearing my typical CF attire: striped knee high socks, short shorts and my deadlift girl tee.

I do a quick warm up, stretching, then head straight to the weights - not machines, and lucky girl I am, there’s an empty barbell not being used. I decide to work on front squats.

Start with 65lbs, then 75lbs, then 85lbs, then 95lbs - starting to get pretty heavy at this point, so I’m making faces, slightly grunting. Get up from that and notice the looks from the guys around me (because as usual there are no women in that area). Surprise? Awe? Creeped out? Haha, who knows. I just giggle to myself and proceed to add weights to the bar. I move onto 110lbs (my PR) and balls, that was a toughie, but I made it my bitch.

When I finished three reps of those, a guy who had been watching me, approaches me and says, “That is one awesome shirt by the way, I love it, have a good workout.”

I felt weird, bit uncomfortable, yet proud to be in there, showing that girls can be strong, too, and that no, it’s not weird.

Looking Back

As I do my routine in front of the mirrored walls of the empty gym classroom I am in tonight, I thought back to when I started.

First of all, how self-conscious I was to do a routine by myself like that (not with a class) where anyone who is working out in the main area could see me.

But second of all, I physically struggled a lot, would have to stop to catch my breath often. Get exhausted easily.

And third of all, I highly disliked looking at myself in the mirror as I worked out. Really disliked my “jiggly” bits, my thighs/legs specially. Perhaps that alone was part of my motivation to keep at it. But I knew the mirror was important for proper form since I was doing this all by myself - no trainer, no instructor to tell me how my form should be. I did all the research and asked around for all the proper forms for each exercise.

And now, I have much more confidence, could care less or even notice who sees or watches me, and I am extremely proud of the changes my body has made. My legs, thighs specially, are far more thinned out and toned than ever, my stomach is much flatter and less jiggly, and my arms are more toned than they ever have been.

And I feel great. And getting this far, I know I can keep going, excel, and get to where I want to be. And that alone is a feeling that’s indescribable.

04.01.10 More Frustrations Resolved

So today….ugh….I totally fell completely off the wagon….carb overload!!!

Ok….ok….I kid I kid…April Fools! Hehe that was lame.

Anywho! Breakfast was one of my average ones of bacon and Greek yogurt w/fruit.

Mum made us a shredded chicken breast with a baked sweet potato and salad. Good stuff. Oh crap, I had 3 strawberries I forgot to include for lunch. Bah humbug.

Fitness…was my day to run and do abs….so I headed to the gym, mind you, totally not in the mood to run, specially on a dreadmill (was pretty windy outside). I actually GET a treadmill (after work it’s usually so crowded) and I get set up (headphones, arm band, sweater off, etc) and start by power-walking with a plan to do sprint intervals…and the damn treadmill was like shaking every time I took a step, as if the belt needed some major wax action…and I got fed up…and went to do my love…circuit training. I’ll talk about that experience in a different post, don’t want to elongate this post more than I already did.

Dinner…well dinner was spontaneous and delicious, check the previous post to see it in its glory.

I firmly believe that 90% of this weight-loss business is mental, and that if you can win the battle with your brain, your chances of success are a great deal higher.With that in mind, here are some mental “games” you can play to help keep you dialed in and focused on the task at hand… When you’re at the gym, pretend that one of the other people there is a murderer. Ask questions to the people around you and see if you can guess who it is (hint: the murderer likes the treadmill). Try e-a-t-i-n-g in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n. Whenever you’re in a restaurant, imagine disgruntled, low-paid employees are in the back spitting on your food (if it helps you, there probably really are disgruntled, low-paid employees in the back spitting on your food). You = Godzilla. Baby carrots = screaming Asians. Give yourself a point every time you don’t eat a corn chip. You’ll get a better workout from a highly motivated personal trainer, so before your session, inform your PT that you just keyed up his or her car. Think of yourself as a real-life Ms. Pac-Man; you should eat healthy food (like cherries) and go running every day (so ghosts don’t catch and kill you). Every time you get an email, drink an 8 oz. glass of water. Imagine that fresh ripe succulent fruit is something delicious instead. Work out with your imaginary friend Sergio and his pet Chihuahua Miss Tizzy. Run a mile every time you use a swear word. It’s more exciting if you think of your salad as actually being in 3-D. Source: Jack Shit
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I firmly believe that 90% of this weight-loss business is mental, and that if you can win the battle with your brain, your chances of success are a great deal higher.

With that in mind, here are some mental “games” you can play to help keep you dialed in and focused on the task at hand…

  • When you’re at the gym, pretend that one of the other people there is a murderer. Ask questions to the people around you and see if you can guess who it is (hint: the murderer likes the treadmill).
  • Try e-a-t-i-n-g in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n.
  • Whenever you’re in a restaurant, imagine disgruntled, low-paid employees are in the back spitting on your food (if it helps you, there probably really are disgruntled, low-paid employees in the back spitting on your food).
  • You = Godzilla. Baby carrots = screaming Asians.
  • Give yourself a point every time you don’t eat a corn chip.
  • You’ll get a better workout from a highly motivated personal trainer, so before your session, inform your PT that you just keyed up his or her car.
  • Think of yourself as a real-life Ms. Pac-Man; you should eat healthy food (like cherries) and go running every day (so ghosts don’t catch and kill you).
  • Every time you get an email, drink an 8 oz. glass of water.
  • Imagine that fresh ripe succulent fruit is something delicious instead.
  • Work out with your imaginary friend Sergio and his pet Chihuahua Miss Tizzy.
  • Run a mile every time you use a swear word.
  • It’s more exciting if you think of your salad as actually being in 3-D.

Source: Jack Shit

I need to grow some balls

Super cute guy working out right next to me in a nearly empty classroom at the gym.

I was sneaking peeks.

He was sneaking peeks.

Both sweating like we stole something.

We both suck at life because we didn’t find our balls.

03.09.10 I’m gonna miss little Wino

Hard-cooked egg, couple bacon slices, a peach and some coffee action? Sounds like a grubbalicious start to a day. Twas good.

Now lunch, I searched and searched for the totals of a Low Carb Burger from Carls Jr with no mayo, only ketchup, no cheese, no pickles….but with no luck, so I had to split it up. My burger only had the patty, lettuce wrapped, bit of ketchup, onions and tomato. Out of the list of patties I chose a bit larger one. Scouts honor, got to stay accountable. Please keep in mind that my dear mother isn’t feeding us this week and I hate eating AT work because I feel irritated with boss man lurking around. Anywho, it was very filling and true to my primal ways.

Fitness *sigh*. I strayed from my usual schedule (I was due to run and do abs today) but only because it is my last week at LA Fitness (since I had moved, I joined 24hr bc it’s closer) and they have an amazing instructor for the boot camp class. Works us hard to the core. Non-stop circuit training for 60 minutes. I put 50 minutes because there’s a total of 10 minutes of warm-up/cool down. I’m really gonna miss that class and that instructor who I call Wino (not to her face) because she looks kind of like a healthier Amy Winehouse without the beehive.

Dinner was yummy, you can see ingredients above or check it out in my previous post HERE.

Totals were pretty good, bit under in my cals sadly, but good on fat/chol and under on my carbs yay! Sugars, ehh, I love my fruit and it’s all natural, one thing I won’t give up is fruit. I’m curious why fiber is in red if it’s slightly under? Hmm….all is good in protein hood.

Does anybody else get weird crazy treadmill thoughts? I have a tendency of thinking things like, “What if I completely ate shit on this thing? What would people do? What if my shoelace suddenly came undone and got caught on the belt and I eat shit and bang my head on base or handles? What if I trip and I go down and with normal reflexes I try to grab onto something to save my fall and I end up bringing down someone with me and it’s like a domino effect and I get banned from the gym?”

Yeah, those thoughts happen.

Does it stop me? No.

On sticking to it

notgivingup:

overmyfatbody:

I think I am going to try to challenge myself by going to the gym six times a week for 4 weeks (roughly a month) and see if I can stick to this. I really wanted to do the Couch-to-5K but I’ve read in many places that running at the weight I am will be bad for my joints, so I need something do-able but still challenging. Let’s see if I can do this!

Heh, I am 20 lbs more than you and I am training for a 5K. :o The soreness has gotten much better the longer I’ve been doing this.

I like your 6x4 Gym Challenge! As I am losing my personal trainer after this upcoming week, perhaps I need to challenge myself to do the same. :} Challenge — not just SAY I will maybe go to the gym if I have time.

I’ve been going to the gym/working out 6x a week for almost 2 months now! I give myself one day of rest. It’s hard, and takes dedication and can’t make excuses! Before I was so quick to be like, oh I have to run some errands (that weren’t very important), or I’m so sleepy I’m just going to take a nap instead, or it’s cold out so I’m just going to stay in and watch tv/movies, or anyone calls me up to meet for dinner and I jumped at the chance…basically ANYTHING to not go often. But from experience so far I can tell you that (at least for me) I finally got to a point after like 3 weeks where I actually look forward to my work outs and don’t dread them like I did in the beginning. I am in a constant state of sore, but a good sore, I feel good. And I’m losing weight/inches slowly as is recommended, and believe that was the hardest to come to terms with because I am terrifyingly impatient!

How to Walk the Treadmill Like It’s The Runway

sheddingit:

Are you a first-timer heading to the gym? Awesome! You’re going to do great. But if you find the gym intimidating, or feel like people give you dirty looks, it might simply be because you don’t know some basic rules of etiquette. I’m here to help!

1. Do not wear pajama pants to the gym. There’s nothing worse than seeing some pale, unattractive fool sweating all over the elliptical trainer in a baby blue pair of pants with duckies all over them. NOT OKAY. I’m not sure why so many people choose to do this—flannel doesn’t exactly breathe. I know you want to be comfortable, but go ahead and invest in a pair of $6 sweatpants from Wal-Mart if you want to go straight out of bed.

2. Wear a bra. Let me say it again. WEAR A BRA TO THE GYM. And wear a sports bra. You know, the kind of bra designed specifically for exercise so that your big guns aren’t flopping around on the treadmill. We know it must be incredibly painful, so just leave the bouncefest to the basketball court and strap those things down.

3. Steer clear of spandex. You don’t need to strengthen your camel toe. Here’s the thing about spandex: it’s okay to wear slim-fit black cotton pants with a little bit of stretch to them. Those are flattering. It is not okay to wear Lycra bike shorts that look like they were painted on. Ditto for leggings. The fact of the matter is, the people who wear skintight clothes to the gym fall into two categories: those who are being ridiculed by everyone else at the gym, and those who are making the rest of us at the gym feel bad because you have a smokin’ hot bod. For all humanity, just don’t do it.

4. Make-up is really unnecessary when working out. If you’re at the gym at night and don’t bother to remove your make-up before going, fine. But if it’s 8 am and you can’t go to the gym without a blowout and a full face of make-up, you’re an idiot. Why apply something meticulously only to have it smeared all over your towel after 3 minutes on the Stairmaster?

5. It should go without saying, but in general, you should wear athletic shoes to the gym. Not loafers. Not wingtips. And you shouldn’t be walking on the treadmill barefoot. (I know it seems obvious, but these are all things I have witnessed.) OK, fine, if you’re one of those barefoot-runner types, but you better look like a sinewy Kenyan if you’re not wearing shoes. You should also wear a shirt at all times.

6. Wear deodorant. I must have really bad karma, but I always manage to get on the machine next to the guy who smells like curry and skunks. I usually notice about 3 minutes into my workout, when it’s too late to do anything but hold my breath and run like hell. You don’t have to smell like a Stetson ad, but come on now. A little Speed Stick never hurt anyone.

7. Don’t wear shorts if your legs rub together so much when you run that they cause sparks. Invest in some flattering pants!

As for gym behavior, follow three simple rules: hang up your cell, observe the 30 minute time limit during peak hours, and wipe down your machine when you’re done. Oh, and guys, don’t put the heaviest weight possible on the bench press machine and then stare at the girls while you grunt like an ape. We’re not going to have sex with you.

I’d like to add one more to this list…..Women (or those men with long hair): Tie your hair in a ponytail!!! I do not understand how some women work out with their hair down! Do you like the feeling of hair sticking to your neck and face? Unless you’re at the gym with no real intention of working out but only to look at the boys lifting the heavy weights then you probably should stay home and not take up space.

Pet Peeve

#3 - Women that go to the gym and work out with their hair down.