Monica

Remember "Monica" from my gym? She became a major motivator for me with just her presence taking my workouts up a notch. And her body has continued to improve. Wow, she could easily compete. However, now that I know the reason why, I must revise my April statement. I will NOT be doing what Monica does to get what she has.

Apparently, Monica, and a few other women at my gym, take steroids. I found out because they were recently offered to me, as well. I had a long discussion with a bodybuilder I trust. He said normally he is pro-hormones, but never for women because steroids are not women hormones. After he told me that, I started to pay attention and noticed that many of them do have a slight masculine facial appearance. While they have amazingly gorgeous bodies, I am not willing to masculinize my look at all. The first time I was exposed to hearing about women taking steroids was from a stripper I knew a decade ago. She didn't look masculine, but maybe she took very little or was new to them. I don't know. I just know that I am not willing to take this risk. Even for a perfect body.

What I do miss is the ECA stacks. Aspirin and alcohol (separately, not together) are both much more dangerous than ephedrine. The argument that ephedrine is used to make meth so it needs to be made illegal is just ridiculous. Baking soda is an essential ingredient to make crack, but you can still buy it everywhere. Ephedrine got a bad rap.


How disappointing ECA is gone! Equally disappointing is that those women got their results through steroids since I am not willing to go that route. I still go to the gym. I still stare at their bodies. But I no longer believe I will accomplish the same results.  :(

Lent 2013 - First 10 days

25% of the way through and so far my "Lent Jar" contains $24. Here is a summary of my first 10 days of Lent:

February 14 - Cursed 4 times = $8. Had dream I ate sweets but, since it was only a dream there is no penalty.
February 15 - Cursed 1 time = $2.
February 16 - Cursed 3 times = $6.
February 17-19 - No fines!
February 20 - Cursed 2 times = $4.
February 21 - No fines!
February 22 - Cursed 2 times = $4. Also had dream I cursed 3 more times...but again, since it was only a dream there is no penalty.
February 23 - No fines!

Sugar has been easier than I expected. My diet is pretty healthy, so this extra step just eliminates items I shouldn't be eating.

Cheese has been tougher than expected--especially while eating out! Cheese is in many of the foods I love.

Of course I have cursed, but it's going better than anticipated. This is a nasty tough habit to break.

I've always been a weight lift girl, so daily cardio is new for me. I am happy to say that, since the treadmill and I have become friends, my body is showing results.  :)

Today I am sick (flu?). I would have forced myself to go to the gym anyway, but someone reminded me Sundays are taken off during Lent. Yes! Just to be clear: I'm not doing this for any of my sacrifices. I'll accept this cardio holiday because it is best to heal before taxing my body further.

Ash Wednesday

Not being religious, I am lucky that I found out Lent started today.

The way the brain works, if you can do something for 21 days you can make a permanent change. Lent is 40 days.

This year for Lent I am consciously giving up (1) sugar, (2) cheese, and (3) cursing. In addition to these sacrifices, I will do a minimum of 30 minutes cardio every single day for these next 40 days.

New for this year, I am also going to add financial consequences for slip-ups.

Eating sugar - $10 
Eating cheese - $10
Cursing - $2  (I'm scared this one may add up quickly)
Missing cardio day - $20

These fines are designed to get me back on proper course --not a "cheat pass" opportunity . Because my full intention is to succeed, I am not even thinking up what to do with any money that ends up in the Lent fund (hopefully there will be none).  I officially start tomorrow.   :)

New Year Resolutions

The secret to New Years Resolutions is to only commit to changes that you really want.

Every year people make New Year resolutions that they are unable to stick to. No, that's not accurate.. Every year people make New Year resolutions that they are unwilling to stick to. We make choices in life; if your New Year resolution is to eat better or exercise--and then you don't, it's because you chose not to stick to it. This means that making a resolution that you don't want to stick to is either torturing yourself or lying to yourself.

What is my New Year resolution for 2013? I will stop hitting curbs with my tire or rim. It's not that I am particularly a bad driver, I just haven't been careful enough when parking. My goal is reasonable and I am ready to make this change. Since January 1st, I've been parking while consciously paying attention to where my tires are (in the past I would focus on why I was parking instead of being active in the moment). This is an easy change which only requires dedication. In a few weeks, my brain should be re-programmed to always park this way.  :)

Why did I not choose eating properly or exercise, like millions of other people? Easy. I do these things already. Well, at least 90% of the time.  Not because they were successful during a previous New Year resolution, but because this is the lifestyle I've trained myself to be happy with.

Making resolutions is awesome. It is a way every year to fix something about yourself...something that you are ready to change and are willing to tackle all year long.

The Perfect Body

My computer wallpaper shows the body which I consider ideal:


Staring at her reminds and motivates me to eat healthy and exercise. Who is she? Her body is phenomenal.

When I quit smoking pot, I gained 10 pounds that I haven't been able to lose. Today is Renewal Day, and I'm committed to doing whatever it takes to get my model body back.

Justification for never running again

I found this article at: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do;jsessionid=52581B1402D69C3F61DE3B7433E87952.hydra?id=1785278


Running To Get Fit
by Tony Gentilcore

Mike Boyle has often been quoted as saying, "You can't run to get fit, you need to get fit to run." I couldn't agree more with this statement. Most (read: not all) people shouldn't be running in the first place. This is especially true for women.

What's the first thing that women do to get into shape? They hightail it to the local store and buy a new pair of pearly white running shoes and go for a jog outside. Conversely, what's the first piece of equipment that women will gravitate towards if they've never set foot in a gym before? The treadmill. And more often than not both scenarios do notlook pretty.

I watch some of these women running (you men too--you're not off the hook) and it just looks painful. How can they possibly think this is good for them? I can walk on a floor of broken glass barefoot or listen to Paris Hilton speak and both would be less painful than watching some of these women run.

I'll admit, the girls on the left are rockin the headband.

Why is running not so great for the majority of women? There are a few reasons, but the main one boils down to basic biomechanics and the Q-angle. Women by nature have a greater Q-angle compared to men (wide hips, narrow knees), which predisposes them to a number of problems that aren't normally an issue for men. Research has shown that women are six times more likely to tear their ACL compared to men.

Add that to the fact that many women tend to be very quad dominant and are weaker than a baby's fart (i.e. they don't lift appreciable weights; sorry, pink dumbbells for 20 reps don't count) and you have a recipe for disaster.

Women aside, running is a fairly advanced form of exercise. Within any given mile there are roughly 1500 foot strikes. Ask any strength coach or decent personal trainer (yes they do exist) if they'd ever allow an elite athlete (let alone your average weekend warrior) to perform a plyometric protocol which calls for 1500 foot strikes on a daily basis, and I'm willing to bet you'll get some perplexed looks.

Yet day in and day out I see men and women who are 20-50 lbs overweight trudging over to the treadmill to get their three miles in because this is what they feel will get them fit. Even worse, I'll often hear trainers or internet gurus on various forums tell these same people that they should be doing sprints to get lean. [Picture me here banging my head against a brick wall.]

Bang away

Before you send the hate mail, please understand that I'm not saying that running is "bad" for everyone, nor am I saying that it's "bad" in general. There are a plethora of health benefits to be had by including aerobic training such as running/jogging into your repertoire.

However, I feel there are better options for those people who are overweight and relatively new to training looking to get into shape. And that's the point... you need to be fit to run and not vice versa.

Side Note: Eric Cressey wrote a fantastic newsletter a few weeks ago detailing how a novice runner's stride (heel strike) is different from the advanced runner's stride (balls of feet). Long story short, "we" need to teach people how to run.