90% of health is in…….
Wow, it has been a busy few days. I hosted a lovely jewelry party at my Living Well Cafe yesterday and served a brunch along with it, so that ‘regular’ gym folks could sample some gourmet Living Cuisine and be amazed by how delicious it is. The party went very well with a lot of people stopping by, and the food was met with rave reviews, even by some folks who are decidedly NOT healthy eaters. You know how some people will go work out really hard so that they can ‘eat whatever they want’? (Have you also noticed that they never really change their appearance, and many times are even putting on weight and looking older? 90% of health is in the kitchen, folks, not the gym!)
I even had one fellow order the same food on the spot for pickup next week. So that was great! Many of the people who sampled were initially very resistant to the idea of raw vegan cuisine, so they were shocked when they loved the food so much. I served Mexican ‘Quiche’, a gorgeous organic mixed-greens salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette and Spanish Avocado Dressings, and an Apple Cobbler for dessert. I made up the quiche on Friday, and was pleased when it turned out so well. It was really creamy and delicious, and several even commented they couldn’t believe it didn’t have any meat in it. They were really surprised to find out it didn’t have any eggs or dairy in it, either!
I have managed to get in some good workouts in the last few days. Friday, Michael and I had an excellent shoulder workout, very heavy. Michael was caught up at work yesterday, so I had to do legs on my own. Since I didn’t have a spotter, I decided to do a plyometric workout with high intensity intervals, to burn some bodyfat as well as work legs. My show I am planning to compete in is April 11th, so I am starting now to work on losing the bodyfat and get ripped! In a couple of weeks, I will get really serious about diet and probably go on a green smoothie cleanse for about a week. Then I will start to cut down on fruit ( 
) and eat more vegetables, especially things like asparagus, which are great cleansers and diuretics to help shed any excess water.
I have to have a costume for one segment of the contest, which is kind of like a modeling segment and we are supposed to wear a costume that represents a sport or hobby. I had to think on this a while, but with my background, it wasn’t too hard of a decision. I used to be BIG-TIME into basketball. I mean, I lived and breathed basketball in high school. I practiced hours a day, and was really good at shooting and ball-handling. I just wish I was six feet tall instead of 5′4″. Believe it or not, I was not the point guard. I was the ‘power forward’ even at my height. First of all, our team was small–I was third tallest. And secondly, I have always been blessed with great jumping ability. I have an impressive vertical leap, and always won the long jump in the track meets. So I could get up and get rebounds pretty well.
So I have decided my costume will be a very sexy Harlem Globetrotter outfit. The judges are still wanting to see our physiques, so it won’t be the big baggy shorts and tank tops like the real Harlem Globetrotters wear. It will be more like hot pants and an athletic bra-type top. But I plan to decorate a basketball as a prop and actually do a routine with it. Let’s see if I can still do all those cool tricks and dribbling exercises like I used to! I can spin the ball on my finger, and I was always good at the behind-the-back dribbling and all that. So I thought that would be a lot of fun, and something different to stand out in the crowd.
Speaking of vertical leaps, in my workout yesterday, I really challenged myself on a couple of plyometric exercises. We have several platforms that can be used for jumps, step-ups, etc. They are metal with a rubber top, and I have seen a couple people miss on them and scrape their legs pretty badly. I don’t want a big scar on my leg, so I had never really tried to jump on the higher ones until yesterday. I sucked it up, faced my fear of busting my butt and hurting myself, and jumped. The first one I didn’t get it. But then the second one, I did. Then I made it through the first set of ten. And then my mind was finally on board with me, instead of holding me back, (telling me it was too high, I was too old, I would get hurt, I couldn’t do what I used to do in high school, etc.). I gained the confidence, and realized ‘I can do this.’ So the next two sets, I did really well and got twelve good reps each. I really had to ‘Be Defiant’ and defy my fears and the negative self-talk from my mind. And then once I did it, after that it was fine. Still challenging, but achievable. Face your fears, push yourself, and break through to new levels of achievement.
I was still kind of beating myself up for not being quite as ‘good’ as I wanted to be when a very tall gentleman walked up to me and commented “That’s impressive. I know a lot of guys who can’t jump that height.” I thanked him and said I was still feeling a bit wimpy, and then he told me he played college basketball, so after that I felt pretty proud. It just showed me that sometimes we may not think we are doing much, but to other people what you are doing may be really impressive and inspirational. That’s why it’s so important to be yourself, do what you can, stretch yourself to go farther and farther, and don’t worry about how you stack up. You never know who you are inspiring.
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Shoulder Workout (Friday):
- Hammer Overhead Presses
- Free weight Barbell Military Presses
- Standing Upright Rows
- Lateral Raises with Dumbbells
- Reverse Flyes with Dumbbells
Leg Workout (Saturday):
- Warmup with intervals on recumbent bike for 10 minutes
- Vertical jumps on platform, giant-setted with kettlebell squats on the balance board & stiff-legged kettlebell deadlifts, still on the balance board, 3 circuits
- High Step-ups holding kettlebell, supersetted with Kettlebell Squat Swings
- Giant Set of Squat Jumps, one-legged squats, and one-legged wall sits (30 seconds), all at bodyweight, 3 circuits
- Crunches on exercise ball between circuits
- Finished off with isolateral hamstring curls on the Hammer machine
Post-workout smoothie: Apple, banana, kiwi, celery, kale, honey & Sun Warrior Vanilla Protein.
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This leg routine took a while to do, and I am very sore today. My heart rate was really high during the intervals, so I feel like I ignited some fat-burning. I am going to have to do more cardio now. I have not been doing very much, because I am concentrating on gaining muscle. I still won’t do long sessions. High-intensity intervals are the best way to go! These burn much more fat, over a longer time, while preserving muscle, and only take 15-20 minutes to do.
I don’t want to make this too long, so I will sign off for now. Have a fabulous Sunday, and remember “To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world!”
Be Defiant!
Christy
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