Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate!

I took some time out to enjoy the holidays with my family and with Sean. I also had the distinct pleasure of losing my job on December 23 (sense the sarcasm?). My former employer certainly had a sense of humor when it came to handing out pink slips.

But the good news is that I always come up swinging. I have been working on a huge project and it's finally a done deal! I am going to be working with a big name company, their marketing reps, and a big city marathon. As soon as I have permission to share all the details I promise I will!

I also scheduled my ACSM Certified Personal Training exam for the end of January. Thanks to this I may have a job at my gym. They hope to be hiring a new trainer in February so the timing may just work out perfectly!

Last but not least, I have applied to be an adjunct instructor at a career school. I'm awaiting a review of my qualifications and transcripts but hopefully I will also be teaching classes such as Kinesiology and Anatomy & Physiology in February!

 Post-Christmas lunch cuddles

I've still stuck to my plan through all of this. I started week 8 today and Sean has been going with me every day for the most part. It's been hard being surrounded by treats and junk food. I can't say I haven't fallen off the nutrition wagon a few times but I'm still doing the best I can. I have 4 weeks to make the best of my lean out phase after this week and I intend to kill it.

Christmas Selfies at the gym

On a final, and much funnier, note I saw the weirdest and coolest thing ever while at the gym yesterday. I was on the treadmill doing my long run and I glanced up out the window to see a man with a leash in his hand. Attached to the other end was a large, brown animal. I assumed it was a dog at first but then I realized it definitely wasn't!

I thought maybe my pre-workout was the problem or maybe I was hallucinating. And then the man on the elliptical behind me exclaimed, "That man is walking a deer!" I let out a sigh of relief and then tried to get Sean's attention so he could come see. I didn't succeed so I did the next best thing and grabbed my phone!

Merry Christmas! Here is a pic of a man walking a deer! 

Hey You!

Hey you! Yes, you. I'm judging you.

The 'fat' chick on the treadmill. The big guy on the elliptical. The skinny kid lifting an empty bar. The old guy running with the funny gait. The clumsy girl on the secondhand bike.

 Who lifts two pound dumbbells?

 

You wear baggy clothes covered in sweat. Your footsteps are loud and uneven. And your breathing... oh my god, your breathing. Everyone around you is worried that a coronary is just around the corner. You stare straight ahead. I know you're not really oblivious to the looks from the regulars. You know they think you're just another resolutioner. They feel smug knowing that you'll disappear from their realm in a month, maybe less. You keep your head down and plod on. Why? Why do you bother?

Eat another slice of cake why dontcha?

 

I know why. I understand. If you would just look up, you would see that I'm not looking at you with disgust. I'm looking at you with hope and awe. I have been fat. I have been skinny. What I had never been, before those first steps, was strong. I look at you and see potential. Unlimited, bottomless potential. You can become a runner. Or a cyclist. Or a body builder. You can be healthy, fit, or strong. Or maybe even all three. Whatever you want to attain is just a few months of hard work away.

 

If you would just look in my eyes you would see that I want to help you. I want to offer you hope and encouragement and maybe even some advice. I want you to stand tall because you won't give up in a month no matter what those stuck up meat heads think. You will soon be a regular and no one will look twice when you walk into the gym or step onto the road. And then it will be your turn to open your arms to the new guy or girl.

 

You're not even wearing 'real' running clothes!

 

So whether you're old or new or haven't even started yet.... Welcome. Welcome to my gym. Welcome to my roads. Welcome to the world of fitness. Don't give up. And for goodness sake don't let anyone make you feel like you aren't worthy. We all started somewhere and not very many of us have reached our goals. So lift your head, look around. I bet you'll find those looks are a lot friendlier than you imagined!

 

Disclaimer: I wrote this post because I am sick of the jokes and snide remarks about the New Year resolutioners. And once upon a time I was one. The pictures included here are of ME! I can say these things about myself because I thought them at one time!

 

 

Stronger

Thanksgiving was not at all how I planned it but it may have been even better. Sharing an evening of non-traditional food, board games, and silly shows with my daughter and a great friend made the holiday memorable. I missed my family but I'm hopeful the weather will cooperate for Christmas.

Friday morning Gem and I packed our bags and headed south. The trip to Virginia Beach was fairly uneventful and I was thrilled to see two of my closest friends, Jenn and Dan. Gem hit it off with their children immediately. We spent Friday evening catching up before bed. We had to be rested Saturday for the main event.

After a hardy breakfast of ham and cheese omelets Jenn and Dan took me over to the Brute Strength Gym. My friends have been training for Strongman competitions and this was my first chance to see them in action. The hour long clinic was focused on tire flips and fingal fingers, neither of which I had attempted before.

Dan warming up with some Sara tosses

 

I stayed in the back and watched as women with muscles I dream of having heaved the 300 lb tire over. When it was my turn I put on a brave face and approached the tire. I've never deadlifted more than 145 lbs and I was afraid that I wouldn't even get it off the floor. But it came up surprisingly easily and before I knew it I was lining up at the 380 lb tire. That also went up and over without a hitch. Next up was the 500 lb tire. That was a little more of a struggle as you can see below:

 

 

 

After that I attempted 625 lbs but I couldn't even budge it. Oh well. Almost four times my body weight is a good start!

 

We moved on to fingal fingers after the tire flips. I had never seen a finger and it was intimidating. A hollow metal tube is filled with rebar to meet the weight required. If I remember correctly my weight was 207 lbs. The tube is attached to a pivot on the floor and the point is to deadlift the tube, clean it, and then quickly push it to vertical and over the pivot.

 

Fingal Finger picture (strongman.org)

 

I had very little trouble lifting and cleaning the finger but, once it was shoulder height, I couldn't press it to overhead.  It took everything I had to just work my shoulder under it towards the pivot one small bite at a time until I could heave it over. Upper body strength is clearly my biggest weakness.

 

Noodle arms!

 

The experience was amazing and gave me a new appreciation for lifting. I usually dread strength workouts where I feel trapped into 3 x 12 reps of standard exercises. Strongman workouts were more like really heavy playground excursions. I think I could really get into training like that. Tires, logs, rocks, and pretty much anything heavy and awkward can be used to create an amazing workout.

 

The aftermath of it is almost as entertaining. I am black and blue from shoulder to fingertips with a few scattered bruises on my stomach, hips, and thighs from resting the weight of the implements at different points on my body. I went for a haircut today and when I removed my coat I'm pretty sure the hairdressers jaw hit the floor. I almost wanted to explain but thought I might just come off as crazy if I tried!

 

My wrist is disgusting!

Left bicep

Right bicep

 

This experience was so worth the temporary pain and stares. And now I can proudly rock my Brute Strength Gym tank top!

 

 

 

 

Did your holiday involve any unexpected or exciting workouts? How did you counter all those tempting calories?

 

Hitting the Gym

If I haven't mentioned it lately, I LOVE my LA Fitness membership. I go to the gym on my lunch breaks and work up a sweat without taking time away from my family and other commitments. I get to relieve stress, blow off steam and feel like I'm doing something for ME for that 30 or 60 minutes.

I also work out with a personal trainer one day a week. He makes sure I incorporate strength training and some HIIT ala-CrossFit rather than just running. I really enjoy my sessions and always wake up with a good case of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) the next day. So I thought it was really cool that my trainer offered to add an additional session per week at no additional cost.

Now I think he had another motive other than my typical badass, work-myself-to-death-and-love-it attitude. During my last session my Ink N Burn camisole flipped up during burpees showing my tramp stamp lower back tattoo.

A very old pic showing all my ink.

I got this tattoo on my 18th birthday and I don't regret it but I don't show it off either. My trainer has lots of tattoos so I wasn't worried about it. He made some small talk about our tattoos and future plans for more ink but I didn't think much of it. At some point he used the word 'cute' in what I thought was in reference to my tattoo.

Apparently I was wrong. This morning I was on my way to the office and I got a text from my trainer. It's not that odd for him to let me know he has an open session or has to cancel by text so I checked it when I arrived at my desk. The ensuing conversation went like this:

Trainer: Hey I didn't offend you with the cute comment did I?

Me: No. Not at all!

Trainer: Ok good! Cuz you are very cute. 

*insert the theatrical music here.... dun, dun, dun....*

Me: Uh, thanks. LOL.

Trainer: LOL. You're welcome. Are you shy?

Me: No, not really but I am happily married.

End conversation.

Now I'm worried and upset and lots of other weird feelings. I never looked at my trainer as anything but a guy with a lot of muscle who knows a lot about workouts. I am not attracted to him and I would never betray my husband like that.

In essence, I'm worried that my gym, my sanctuary, has now become a place of stress. That it will be awkward to work out with him in the future. That, if I were to switch trainers, I might not get one as knowledgeable and well trained. That I might need to just cancel my membership and lose out on those lunch breaks altogether. And that, if I tell the gym why I do any of these things, he will lose his job. I don't like any of the solutions and I don't like being in this situation.

I wear my wedding ring to the gym, I talk about racing with my husband, I talk about our children and I can't think of a single time when I've ever given any hint that I'm not happy or would ever want to change my current status. I feel guilty, like I must have given the wrong impression at some point. I feel angry that my trainer would think it's appropriate to use his work to pick up married women. I feel confused about what to do and, most of all, I feel sickened and disgusted that this is happening at all.

So tell me, has this ever happened to you? If so what was the outcome, what did you choose to do, and why? What do you think that I should do and how should I handle it?

Where Athlete and Fashion Meet

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm NOT a 'fastinista'. When running comfort is my biggest factor. When I find something that fits, stays put, and doesn't chafe I stick with it. If it looks good then that's just a bonus.

I must be beginning to soften in my old age though. I gave in and let my stylist take me from boring ponytail to stylish assymetric bob a month or so ago. I have to admit I love it! Then my biggest problem was how to RUN with something I couldn't pull back.



Thankfully, BIC Bands came to my rescue! They're site convinced me that this was the brand to try! Who doesn't love a company that gives a portion of their profits to charity?!

"B.I.C. Bands gives back to those in need with every purchase!
B.I.C. Bands are headbands that will not slip~ (SERIOUSLY!) They are great for any workout, a trip to the coffee shop, going out with friends, work....
you name it, your B.I.C. Band will keep your hair looking FAB! They are headbands that stay in place and help others win their race!"

I tried them out and now I'm hooked! I even sported one to the office today! See?


If you want to score some BIC Bands you can enter to win them through my giveaway that benefits the IAFF Burn Fund. I've got a DOZEN to give away!

Now if someone could just point me in the direction of a tutorial on office AND gym friendly make up? (And maybe a spray tan too! Can you say glow-in-the-dark?!)