garagegym107

Archive Page 10

Oct

Fear

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: Body-for-Life, BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fat loss, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, Inspiration, Long term weight loss, Motivation, nutrition, Weight Lifting, weight loss, Working out, Workout

I had a conversation with someone yesterday and unbeknownst to her I could detect a strong vibe of fear radiating from her. Self-doubt. As soon as the conversation started the list of health issues came tumbling out. As if in some way that list lessened the importance of her overall goals. She said “I just want to be healthy”.

Being healthy is a great goal. In the beginning using the term “I just want to be healthy” is ok.

Fear of thinking too far ahead is very natural in the beginning, especially if you have significant weight to lose. I understand that fear. I’m absolutely certain I emanated that fear myself 12 years ago when I started my journey.

But I learned the hard way that you shouldn’t allow yourself to stay in that zone for very long. If so, you become reliant on your excuses. I remember the big one… “my knees hurt”…yes, when you carry 168# of excess weight everything tends to hurt.

At some point that vague statement of “I just want to be healthy” must transition to a plan. The plan must transition to action. The actions them must provide measurable results. If you can’t measure your success, you are subject to relapse into old behaviors, often.

See yourself as you want to be, not who are today, but as the fit and healthy person you want to be.

Oct

Issues, We All Have Them

By garagegym107 6 Comments

I was chatting with a friend who is struggling this morning. As we chatted, I was thrown back in time to that exact point in my journey.

I don’t know where these things come from, they just seem to come from deep inside somewhere teaching me again, that I have learned some lessons over this journey of mine.

“We all have issues. My issues are not smaller than yours. I’ve learned not to use them as an excuse to crap on my goals” ~Garagegym107

There is so much meat in that statement, I immediately had to type it out and claim it.

For years I allowed my issues to be my excuse for chronically sabotaging my fitness efforts with poor quality food. It took me quite some time to figure out that when I ate poorly, I in turn felt even more poorly and my issues seemed ginormous (yes, I know that’s not really a word).

It happens in the lives of most women who struggle with dealing with emotional eating. You are not alone.

Sooner or later, you must confront your fears in order to move past these issues. It’s not about willpower so much as it is about willingness to change and will to let go.

Our issues can stay buried deep inside and something silly can pull one of them back to the limelight.

In example, I’ve written about the online trainer that literally told me I needed to rethink my goals regarding physique training. In that moment that little liar in my head came screaming forward saying “see I told you so”.

I could have let both the negative self-talking voice and the online trainer derail me completely. The old me would have allowed just that.

The stronger, wiser and much more at peace, and confident me simply said “watch this”. My goals are set, my countdown app on my phone is set and I’ve been busy doing.

Sure, I have issues, we all do. Step back and think things through. If you are reaching for food, you are still allowing those issues to rule your roost.

Oct

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

By garagegym107 7 Comments

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: BodyBuilding, Clean Eating, Motivation, nutrition, Training, Weight Lifting, Workout

I’ve been working out for a long time. Seriously. Today I have one of the worst cases of delayed onset muscle soreness in as long as I can remember.

Yes the funny holding on to the stall walls, etc. I asked myself a couple of times over the last 24 hours a few questions.

1) Did my minor shenanigans post Warrior Dash wreak that much havoc on my body?

2) Did I do one killer lower body combo on Monday?

I prefer to go with the latter as the main culprit with a kick in the pants from the first option.

You see for me, I’ve learned that when I’m eating really clean, as in, goal seeking week after week goal seeking, clean eating, just the smallest infractions wreak havoc on my digestive system.

I learned a valuable lesson, even on a relaxed day, I need to remember that my body prefers a pretty high standard of fuel.

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), also called muscle fever, is the pain and stiffness felt in muscles several hours to days after unaccustomed or strenuous exercise. The soreness is felt most strongly 24 to 72 hours after the exercise.^[1] It is caused by eccentric exercise.^[2] After such exercise, the muscle adapts rapidly to prevent muscle damage, and thereby soreness, if the exercise is repeated.^[3]

What I really need…

Oct

Warrior Dash My Version

By garagegym107 2 Comments

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, Community, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, Inspiration, Motivation, Warrior Dash, Working out

Saturday I ran my first ever Warrior Dash. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and Warrior Dash like. It was 66 degrees and started raining while we were in the starting chute waiting. Muddy slopes to slide down and hills to slip up. I had a blast.

But my Dash comes with another story. I ran with two friends, or better yet, they ran with me. You see I’m not as fast as they are and I am much more cautious, mainly out of fear of an injury.

My story is for all of the youngguns out there. You want to do something big in your life?? Wait for a friend.

The sacrifice my Warrior friends made by waiting for me didn’t go unnoticed by me. They are competitive, they like to do well at what they do. Who can blame them, they are both swift on their feet and great runners.

Saturday, they waited. They waited as I cautiously went over things that scared me. Laughed at mud running down my face when I slid down into a muddy pool. But they waited.

Do you know how much patience it takes to cool your jets long enough to think of someone else? They set aside personal goals and personal bests to wait for a friend.

This life will pass you by in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, life takes over and your internal Warrior gets set aside for kids and life. But it’s never too late to bring your Warrior back. Out of over 6,000 people, there were only 27 or so 49-year-old female participants. I was one of them and I had a BLAST!

I was one of them, and these two ladies are the ones who waited. They are the rock stars!

Before the Dash.

And after the dash!

Oct

Peer Groups

By garagegym107 4 Comments

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman

As I prepare to take on the Warrior Dash this weekend I decided I wanted to stick my hair up in a Mohawk. Mainly because that’s what kind of race it is and that’s what kind of girl I am.

I’m just old enough to break all the rules established by whomever it was that said women my age shouldn’t do things like that. They also say woman my age shouldn’t lift heavy weights either. Phhhffttt!

I suppose one of the benefits to aging is that eventually it just doesn’t matter what other people think. The way I see it is that this is my life mine all mine. I choose to be light-hearted and make the best of my days.

Today was a beautiful day when we got to do our workout. Not too hot, and sunny with a light breeze. A great day to be outside.

It’s certainly a day to enjoy this life we’ve been given. I’m a people watcher, it’s fun. People are all unique, each their own. I’m not a believer of shoving everyone in the same box.

When was the last time you didn’t follow someone elses rule?

“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it” – Henry David Thoreau

I’m digging that rule. Of course I’d probably still be all uptight about breaking rules if my kids were still at home.

Oct

Never Going To Steal My Joy

By garagegym107 22 Comments

Over the past month I have seen numerous postings of one of my best friends before and after photos. Ironically, these photos are being taken by people attempting to claim her success as being a part of whatever fitness and training quick fix they are pushing.

What’s been interesting about the whole thing to both of us is reading all of the comments associated with her transformation. Especially the nay-sayers. One woman claimed to be “a trainer with 30 years experience” she didn’t believe the photos were real.

In my humble opinion, I’d run from that trainer. If she doesn’t believe this type of transformation is possible then you sure don’t want to pay her to convince you that it is not possible.

That’s why I love my friend and I love my life. We live our transformations every single day of our lives. We don’t have to go around using other people’s pictures to build ourselves up. Instead we use our own photos to build others up.

You see, no-one can ever steal our joy, we built it, we earned it, it’s ours to share.

We can walk the walk not just talk the talk. Let me just say this, it hasn’t been a cake walk. It’s much easier now than it has ever been before for both of us. But were it not for the road we’ve traveled, I would not be writing this blog.

People want change but people want change for nothing.

For all the ladies in the house…grab a tissue because this is a good one!

Let me introduce you to my friend Michelle T. . She is real, she is authentic and she is my mentor.

She has listened to me sob over realizing that a goal I set wasn’t going to happen. She never said I wouldn’t, just said maybe now isn’t the right time.

She has stood by me and patiently watched me impatiently struggle with being too strict with food and over training myself in to the ground all the while knowing that in my own time, I would come out on the other side.

You see, here is the thing about all of that weight-loss. Everyone is different. With personal patience, self-awareness and a personal belief that never waivers, long-term successful weight-loss can happen.

Each one reach one…Thank you Michelle for paying it forward!

YES this picture is real! Yes I have seen her in a two piece! YES IT CAN BE DONE!

Sep

Encouragement for Newbs

By garagegym107 8 Comments

Categories: Nutritional Cleanse Experiment
Tags: BodyBuilding, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fitness, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, goals, Inspiration, Motivation, Weight Lifting, Working out, Workout

About a month ago I started helping a girl from another floor with some workouts. We go up on the top of our parking deck at work and we workout. We laugh, we play and we work.

I live by the philosophy of “each one reach one” because in my own little naïve way I believe that it can be done.

We started with just the two of us. As of this week, there are now 6 of us. All shapes, sizes, ages and fitness levels.

I want to talk to the newbies out there. All of you new to fitness and getting healthy.

Taking that first step and sometimes that second step is really hard! You might be last when you finish, you might be embarrassed because you don’t yet have a range of motion that you need and you might just have very little belief in your own ability to prevail.

Well let me tell you this, if you really want to make changes in your life, you really gotta work at it. You can’t just say “oh that was hard, I’m going to lunch with my friends instead”. You can’t just say “well, I was last so why bother?”. You can’t just say “I’ll start next Monday”.

You get to go through all of the growing pains of the process for a multitude of reasons.

First off you must prove to yourself that you are willing to change. So get up day in and day out and get busy. There is no quick fix fat fixer.

Secondly, you must get over yourself and any need you have to feel sorry for yourself. You are now making changes and some of them might hurt. Suck it up Buttercup!

Third and probably the most important of all, no negative self-talk EVER. You may not be perfect, you may have caught a bad deal in this life, but beating yourself down day in and day out fixes absolutely nothing.

Everyday find something in yourself to be positive about. If you look past all of the hurt, anger and loneliness, you’ll find the beautiful worthiness. It is in each of us.

Sep

Think Happy Thoughts

By garagegym107 1 Comment

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman

By the time I reach the close of my work and workout week, I’m literally tired. Both mentally and physically. It’s during these moments when weakness likes to creep in and attempt to take up residence. Weakness wants you to stray from your plan.

In my opinion, being consistent and disciplined is probably harder than doing the actual work. Once the habit is developed and a plan put in place, it is kind of like kicking ignorance to the curb. You simply can’t go back to the old ways, unless of course you just give up on yourself. This morning for example, I really wanted to sleep in. I didn’t.

I’m glad I didn’t because as I drove to work at 7:31am this morning the thought crossed my mind that my workout is done and I have showered and I am on my way to work, most people are just getting up. That my friends is a happy thought.

Those happy thoughts make this journey possible. This past weekend, this little guy slammed himself into our large window and knocked himself silly. I walked outside and there he lay on the deck all dazed and confused. Like the good nurturer that I am, I gently picked him up and rubbed him just a tad as he shivered. I picked up a chair cushion and put the little hummer on the cushion and then put both on the table. Not once did I think he wouldn’t snap out of his confusion. Sure enough an hour later he flew off and on to business. When life knocks you silly, press on!

Sep

Scales and What Not

By garagegym107 8 Comments

Categories: Morphing of a Fit Woman
Tags: BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, Clean Eating, Community, CrossFit, exercise, fat loss, fitness, gaining self confidence, goals, Inspiration, Motivation, Weight Lifting, Weightloss, Well-Being

No, not fish scales. Weight scales.

I work with so many women regarding weight-loss and fitness. I’ve talked about scale weight before and how it fits in the big scheme of things.

If I could somehow be Glenda the Good Witch for just one day, I swear I’d love to banish all scales from the land!

Have I ever told you guys the story of going to our company “health-fair”? I consider myself pretty fit in the big scheme of averages so the health fair didn’t deter me. They checked both my good and bad cholesterol and both were impeccable. My blood pressure was also in the very good category.

So off I go the new super-duper body mass index machine. To use the machine you must be in your sock feet. I took off my shoes and when it was my turn, I jumped up on that bad boy only to receive this little ticker tape print out showing that I was by American standards “obese”. I literally laughed out loud.

One of the guys I workout with was right behind me. He 26 years old, six feet tall and has six-pack abs. Yes, I saw them during a workout class. You know what? His BMI put him in the obese category as well. I was already skeptical about our BMI standards anyway, but that pushed it over the top. The number one reason is that the technician never bothered to ask either of us if we work out on a regular basis. There is a different selection for athletes. Either way bad data.

Anyway, back to where I was going with all of this. Data is just data. It’s not a sign of success or failure, it’s a number. It is what we do with that number that matters.

If you struggle with getting on the scale to gather data then it’s time to ask yourself “why does this number matter so much to me?”.

What should really matter to you is if you are doing better today than you did yesterday. If you strive every single day to be a better person, whether it’s in your workouts, your finances, your savings, keeping your kids clothes clean and helping someone else out in some small way. You are moving forward.

Progress isn’t about what’s happening on the outside. It’s about what’s happening on the inside. When you figure out why you wrap success or failure around a number, changes begin to happen. You stop paying so much attention to the scale and to your appearance and start focusing on your workouts, how consistent you are, and if you are doing them correctly from a technical standpoint. Suddenly your body image starts to improve as does your ability.

One of the most refreshing things I’ve read lately was Lifting My Spirits about page and reading that she went on stage to compete in her first bodybuilding show without even caring what her BF% was. She just new by looking in the mirror and by doing the right things with her workouts and food that results were there. And that’s how this should be.

Do the right things and results will come.

Sep

I Don’t Have Time

By garagegym107 6 Comments

Categories: Living Fit Daily
Tags: Body-for-Life, BodyBuilding, Bright Spots, exercise, gaining self confidence, Goal Setting, goals, health, healthy-living, Inspiration, Motivation, nutrition, push ups, Training, Weight Lifting, Working out, Workout

I hear this comment often. “I don’t have time to train and eat right. I can’t imagine packing my meals and being at the gym at 5:30am. ” “I can’t imagine doing that with 3 kids”. In reality we all have the same number of hours in our day.

Some days I’d like to be a real hard nose about it, but the old fat chick in my head says “remember when that was you?” so I refrain.

What I would really like to say is this. You have a lot more time than you think you do so stop saying you don’t have time.

Swap half of your social media time for working out. Swap all of your TV time for food prep and you just might find a little extra wiggle room in there. I the beginning it seems like an undoable, impossible idea. It does for most people so you are not alone.

Give it two weeks. Set a timer and limit yourself to 10 minutes of social media at a time. For the next 10 minutes, try doing some air squats or some push-ups (even if your push-ups are on your knees or your leaning against a wall) or some good old-fashioned sit-ups, just do it for 10 minutes.

You will soon realize that you don’t have to move a bus to feel better, just move yourself. Care about yourself enough to do it.

I’ve learned that my commitment to consistency has been the greatest link to my success. Day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year.

Things got so much easier when I quit chasing “the end” of each phase. When the end comes, it’s over but you are not finished. I never imagined when I was 38 and just getting started that I would be creeping up on 50 in the best shape of my life and still working out consistently 5-6 times per week.

Ironically, I’m not finished. Now I see 80 as a new challenge. Just how good of shape can I keep myself in over the next 30-ish years. And even better? What do I want to accomplish?

Getting and staying fit is the greatest gift I could have ever given to myself. Learning to live this lifestyle has taught me that anything is possible. Now go get your greatness!

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