Crystal Renn "I lost Weight" secret meaning.

God I am a blogger! This is a post from a blog I did two years ago... I just fell in love with myself <3 Read and you'll understand.  Crystal Renn is amazing.

Day 32: Yes, I have lost weight!

I stumbled across this article today about Crystal Renn.  She is a size 12 supermodel who started out like the rest of them, too skinny unhealthy and told they're perfect by societies standards.

She changed that real fast. Turned herself into what is beautiful by realities standards...(click here for the article)

This article was called "Yes, I have lost weight" and it goes through a multitude of photos from the beginning of her career all the way to where she is today.  It was very interesting the way they spun the "I have lost weight."  She didn't literally lose weight, she lost the concept of weight.  Something we all should do!  What I have said all along, the number on the scale is BULL SHIT!  Are you healthy? That's what's important!  I started all this not because of the number I saw on the scale, I hardly EVER step on the scale.... I started this because I had no energy, I felt frumpy, I had issues sleeping.....
I had already drastically cut back on my alcohol intake, quit smoking, started taking vitamins and was using exercise and my Yogi tea as a way to relieve stress... but I guess I also turned to eating WHATEVER I wanted.
That is not the way to be either.  So I changed my mindset.  My little sister had posted yesterday a quote:

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."

                          -Norman Vincent Peale


That is exactly what I have been doing and it has been working!  I feel healthy now, mind, body, and soul.  Life is great.  And it's not because of anything anyone said or did.  I didn't get a promotion, I actually got shipped to a very chaotic store which is very stressful.  I didn't win the lottery. Nothing spectacular happened in my life. I just started being grateful to be me. I look in the mirror and I like what I see because of me. I did this, and to feel good about myself BECAUSE of myself is the best feeling.  You should try it.
They say in the past people thought that mirrors had the ability to show you your soul..... so what does that say when you see something ugly looking back? Change your thoughts, and change your world. 

Thirteen!

So apparently jump ropes need to come with a warning label on them..........

My wonderfully athletic fiance had his daughter over last Wednesday.  She found my jump rope and wanted to have a jump rope competition with him.  So they are outside jumping rope and getting to about 15 jumps, he was getting to about 20.  So I go out there and say OK guys THIS is how it's done. I bang out 100 jumps and hand the jump rope off.
My wonderfully athletic fiance tries and fails then hands it off to his daughter and she gets 20 jumps.  GREAT for a kid, but not great for my wonderfully athletic fiance.
I say to him, I'm gonna kick your butt because this is what I do... I jump rope.... I jump rope almost everyday to get my cardio in.  I am now a PRO at jumping rope!  I tell him soon Frankie wants me to get double jumps in and he says "Oh you mean like this, watch Rocky Balboa style!" He does double jumps AND falls to the ground writhing in pain.... He has ruptured his Achilles tendon..... And now his daughter is scarred for life and will NEVER jump rope again....  Off to the hospital and yep, ruptured Achilles tendon.  He will now be a gimp for the next three months.  Shoulda left the jump rope to the pro ;)


Ok so I have moved my training sessions with Frankie to Thursdays... So much more convenient.   So Thursday comes upon me.  I go to meet up with Frankie.  Today is lifting day!  Woot woot no cardio!!! So excited!!!! So Frankie has me on the 'mens' side of the gym... I am always the ONLY female on the free weights half of the gym, it's so awkward!  But I'm there with Frankie so I could care less.

He sets me up with the 45 pound barbell.  We are doing something like a dead lift row... I can't remember what he called it.  Basically I do a dead lift but once I get the bar to my hips I shrug my shoulders and pull the barbell to shoulder height then flip the barbell up so it looks like I'm about to press it up, but then I just drop it.

He has me do 10 reps of this with the 45 pounds.  I am HORRIBLE at coordinating my movements, I think things through WAY too much.  So the first ten was another "was that it!??" "No" "how about that!??" "uuuh, almost"  "Did I do it!???" "Just keep trying"

After the 45 pound set he adds 20 pounds and now I have to do 65 pounds.... That was a struggle but I think i got the movement down!  Or Frankie just gave up and let me do whatever I was doing....  He says to me you should be feeling it in your hamstrings, I say yea I feel it right here I must be doing it right!  He says, yea those are your quads you need to squat less and dead lift more. Oops...  Silly me....

After that set he sets it up to 95 pounds!!! WHAAAAAAATTTTT you gotta be kidding me!   It was funny because this guy was sitting across from em watching and the look on his face was a replicate of the look on my face (but then I looked at what he was lifting and it made me chuckle).  So now that I have an audience I have to put on a show. I dead lift and PULLLL and it doesn't go anywhere... Frankie tells me I have to do it all fast or else that will keep happening.... (yea right) So I try it fasssssst and I DO IT!!! Holy crap it is heavy, almost throws me on my ass when I flip it, but I did it!  Now only 9 more.... phewww..... 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and done!!! I am a beast!

What's next I ask.... Oh some cardio... :(  I have to row 300 meters in 1 minute 20 seconds then I get a minute rest, BUT during the rest I HAVE TO PLANK!!! What kind of rest is that!?  I tell him I feel like I'm at work where I get a "One hour" lunch but I have to work through it!

I'd rather row than plank... and rowing 300 meters in a minute 20, what the hell is that about? I just have to do this 4 friggin times..... I thought today was a lifting day?

Anyway, I make it through rug burning my damn elbows.  I'm gonna catch a staph infection from those nasty gym rugs and all these planks. Too bad if I plank on the mat I slide off of it.... The price we pay to get fit.

Oh by the way, we took measurements today... I've dropped another inch off my waist and hips, 1 1/4 inch off my calves, an inch off my thighs and a half inch off my arms... and dropped 3% of my body fat.  No pain no gain!!

13/52  ***Going going GONE***

Eleven and Twelve....

Last Tuesday was a very frustrating day.  I wanted to punch someone in the face,   But I didn't.  There were just too many people that inspired my inner serial killer... but I subdued that inner devil and hit the gym hoping Frankie wouldn't kick my ass too bad.

It's like he knew I had a frustrating day... the workout he gave me was perfect for all the bottled up aggression I had!

For starters, I had left the house to go to the gym. Half way to the gym I realized I forgot a bottle of water and all I had in the car was an empty coke bottle.  Oh well, it'll do.  So I walk in at about 7:29pm and see Frankie with his 7pm appointment still working out.  So I hit the locker room and fill my bottle.    Once I head over to them they were sitting down and Frankie calls me Miss Late Pants.... I think to myself, oh shit I remember what happened last time I was late.... please don't punish me........

But he actually doesn't.  PHEW!!!

We do a quick workout (because I was late).  We're doing 3 sets of two different moves each time.

First move is with the 18lb medicine ball.  I have to hold it above my head and bounce it near my left foot, catch, lift and bounce down to my right foot.  Do this for 30 seconds.

THIS IS GREAT.  It is just hard enough to challenge me and just heavy enough to allow me to chuck the ball at the ground as hard as possible and get all that aggression out GRRRRRR!

Then after that I have to do mountain climbers.  Slowwwwwly.... He tells me to focus on pulling my knee as high to my chest as possible.  30 seconds of that.

Now I get to rest for a minutes.

Next is a move I will refer to as the Richard Simmons....
Too bad I left my fluorescent hot pants at home...

I have to do high knees. Left right left right etc.... all while holding my arms above my head straight and moving them down past my knees with each knee. So I look like Richard Simmons jazzercizing. "Ok people lets go!!!" 30 seconds of this.

Then is suicides.  Yep plain ol' school suicides.  Run backwards to a point, drop and touch the ground, push off and sprint forward, drop and touch the ground, then run backwards to a further point, drop touch the ground and sprint forward to starting point, then one last time run backwards to the furthest point, drop hit the floor then sprint forward to the start.  Done.

Rest for one minute.

This last one he has me do is the worst.  He has me stand on the treadmill, with it off.  I am to push the belt to move, with it off, and 'run' for 45 seconds.   That is one long 45 seconds, let me tell you. My calves, quads, hamstrings you name it it was on fire.

No rest for the wicked, straight to the next move!
Back to the medicine ball.  This time I have to lift the ball, bounce to my left foot, catch, lift, bounce to my right foot, catch, lift, bounce down the middle.  Then repeat for 45 seconds.

Then we were done.  I feel like I cheated myself out of a good workout because this one really wasn't that challenging.  Maybe that just means I'm turning into beast mode!  Killed it!

This Tuesday was all about cardio.  Not even enough to write!  It was a half hour of pure treadmill running.

Frankie texted me around 6:15 asking if I wanted to come in earlier, he had a cancelation.  Lucky for him I just so happen to be sitting around cursing myself for setting my training appointment for 7:30pm... So I jump at the offer, hell yea I'll be there at 6:30p.

So I get there and we get straight to work.  Frankie explains to me the end of October and November are all going to be about cardio.  Every other workout is going to be pure cardio.  So today is the first of them. 

All I have to do is:

Run .12miles... rest for thirty seconds

Run .25miles.... rest for a minute

Run .50miles..... rest for two minutes

Run .50miles..... rest for two minutes

Run .25miles.... rest for one minute

Run .12miles.... DONE

And So I did.  Running an eight of a mile is a piece of cake.  Following that with running a quarter mile is not so bad.  Following that with running a half mile is just a bit tiring.  Following that with another half a mile my body is asking ARE WE THERE YET???? Following that with a quarter mile is really not that bad and ending off with an eight of a mile is a friggin piece of cake. 

Now I am absolutely drenched in sweat I feel like I just ran through torrential downpours.  

But hey, we're done!! 

Torture Sessions: 11/52 and 12/52 KILLED

***BEAST MODE INITIATED***

Erasing Sunday Funday!

This is how Sunday went....

I started my day walking 3 miles at the American Cancer Society's Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk... 

Apparently I reasoned with myself that because I did so, I earned a free pass to sloth and gluttony...

Of course we were home just in time for 1:05pm kickoff and of course football goes hand in hand with ingesting calories.

Here's what was on the menu today:

Sweet and sour BBQ chicken wings

Spinach veggie dip w/ townhouse pita crackers

Buffalo chicken dip w/ baked tostitos scoops

Spinach pies

Chourico Pies

and

Bud light

Now all this was for 4 people......... I have always over prepared for Sunday Funday.

By 6pm I was ready for bed.  Had to force myself to keep my eye lids open and drink water to flush all the toxins I just ingested out of my system!!!  Ohhhhh why did I do this to myself????

So now Monday has arrived and, naturally, I am having a fat day.

So I created a 15 minutes kickass workout... if I do this everyday I can actually not feel SO bad about enjoying Sunday Funday....  and it's an at home workout where the only equipment needed is a jump rope.

This workout works everything... core, legs, arms, and butt.  Keep in mind this is a 15 minute workout so you have very little time to rest between moves.  

1. 30 seconds or 50 jumps with the jump rope.  I did 30 seconds and tried to see how many jumps I could get in. Easiest way to do jump rope: Keep your feet together and jump with your feet, don't use your knees.  Try to keep you legs straight with just a slight bed at the knee.

 Tops was 63 jumps today.

2. 10 burpees.... YES I had to throw in this torture move.  No pain no gain!!! Plus if I can get myself used to these Frankie can't torture me as much...  Now remember, the burpee move starts on your feet in the crouched position  Kick yourself out into push up position then jump back to crouch position, stand and jump straight up.  I have 8 feet ceilings so I made sure I touched the ceiling every time. 

3. 10 sit ups.  Feet together, knees to the floor, kinda like a diamond.  Make sure you keep your spine straight, otherwise you're not engaging all your core muscles. 

4.  5 push ups. Feet together arms shoulder width apart.  If it's too hard you can spread your legs further apart or drop to your knees.

5.  20 squats.  Make sure your holding your torso straight and chin up.  It helps me to hold my arms straight in front of me and focus on a point straight ahead.  That way my head and torso stay unmoving. 

Just do this three times and you're done.  SO basically you have 5 minutes for each set.  That's a minute per move, so if you want to figure rest in there you I would take it after the burpees and rush through the sit ups and push ups.  Rest after squats and blast through the jump rope and burpees again.

Now if you were really bad on Sunday Funday (like me) do ten sets in a half hour ;)

Ahhhh I feel better already.... and sweaty.... and my legs feel like rubber...