Exercise or Else!

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I don’t think I need to say anything further….this says it all!  (Quite unusual for me, huh?)   

Thanks to my awesome client Janelle Komnick for such a creative and poignant picture, and allowing me to share it with all of you!

Be Defiant!

Christy

Aging Disgracefully–And Proud of It!!!

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I am reprinting this article that was featured on www.NaturalNews.com. If you are not receiving updates from this website, you are missing some of the most important information out there about your health, and one of the few honest reporting sites of the atrocities forced upon us by the FDA, Big Pharma, Big Food, etc etc. THIS is why I say you have to FIGHT FOR YOUR HEALTH, folks! If you think the FDA’s motive is to protect you, the innocent consumer, then you are sadly disillusioned.

A note here: My family owns a beef cattle farm. I am in NO WAY slighting the hardworking people who labor to bring us food for our tables. This is not an organic family farm we are talking about here–it is a huge monstrous company that operates very mysteriously. My parents know each & every cow, calf, & bull on our farm. They are named, checked twice a day, roam freely on lush grass pastures, are never injected with ANYTHING, & are treated like pets. We do sell the calves at auction, but many of them do go on to become brood cows, stud bulls, etc., so it’s not always a death sentence. I choose not to eat red meat anymore, but if I did, I would choose meat from a local, organic farm.

When I beg you to choose organic, it’s not only because of what is IN it–higher nutrition, more minerals, better taste, etc. But it’s also because of what is NOT in it!   Some have argued that with depleted soils organic isn’t much better. There is a certain validity to that, BUT (and it’s a big BUT!) if the farm is truly organic, they will begin by building the soil with compost & organic nutrients to provide a rich growing environment for the crops without synthetic fertilizers which leach the soil of its nutrients. So, TRUE organic should be vastly superior in nutrition, and there are studies that do prove that.  I.E.  Study from the JAFC & Rebuttal to the Flawed British Study.    And a GREAT one from Rutgers:  Mineral Content of Organic Food.   Just Google about research on organic food–lots of good information.

The following article will shock and disgust you.  I am not making any kind of moral judgment on eating meat or not, but the point is–if you DO eat meat, DON’T eat it at a fast food joint!  Support your local, organic farmer.  Yes, it costs more at the cash register.  But what does the cheap meat cost in sickness, disease, & death?

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Window cleaning chemical injected into fast food hamburger meat

By Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, Editor of www.naturalnews.com.

(NaturalNews) If you’re in the beef business, what do you do with all the extra cow parts and trimmings that have traditionally been sold off for use in pet food? You scrape them together into a pink mass, inject them with a chemical to kill the e.coli, and sell them to fast food restaurants to make into hamburgers.

That’s what’s been happening all across the USA with beef sold to McDonald’s, Burger King, school lunches and other fast food restaurants, according to a New York Times article. The beef is injected with ammonia, a chemical commonly used in glass cleaning and window cleaning products.

This is all fine with the USDA, which endorses the procedure as a way to make the hamburger beef “safe” enough to eat. Ammonia kills e.coli, you see, and the USDA doesn’t seem to be concerned with the fact that people are eating ammonia in their hamburgers.

This ammonia-injected beef comes from a company called Beef Products, Inc. As NYT reports, the federal school lunch program used a whopping 5.5 million pounds of ammonia-injected beef trimmings from this company in 2008. This company reportedly developed the idea of using ammonia to sterilize beef before selling it for human consumption.

Aside from the fact that there’s ammonia in the hamburger meat, there’s another problem with this company’s products: The ammonia doesn’t always kill the pathogens. Both e.coli and salmonella have been found contaminating the cow-derived products sold by this company.

This came as a shock to the USDA, which had actually exempted the company’s products from pathogen testing and product recalls. Why was it exempted? Because the ammonia injection process was deemed so effective that the meat products were thought to be safe beyond any question.

What else is in there?
As the NYT reports, “The company says its processed beef, a mashlike substance frozen into blocks or chips, is used in a majority of the hamburger sold nationwide. But it has remained little known outside industry and government circles. Federal officials agreed to the company’s request that the ammonia be classified as a ‘processing agent’ and not an ingredient that would be listed on labels.”

Fascinating. So you can inject a beef product with a chemical found in glass cleaning products and simply call it a “processing agent” — with the full permission and approval of the USDA, no less! Does anyone doubt any longer how deeply embedded the USDA is with the beef industry?

Apparently, this practice of injecting fast food beef with ammonia has been a well-kept secret for years. I never knew this was going on, and this news appears to be new information to virtually everyone. The real shocker is that “a majority” of fast food restaurants use this ammonia-injected cow-derived product in their hamburger meat. It sort of makes you wonder: What else is in there that we don’t know about?

“School lunch officials and other customers complained about the taste and smell of the beef,” says the NYT. No wonder. It’s been pumped full of chemicals.

There are already a thousand reasons not to eat fast food. Make this reason number 1,001. Ammonia. It’s not supposed to be there.

You can get the same effect by opening a can of dog food made with beef byproducts, spraying it with ammonia, and swallowing it. That is essentially what you’re eating when you order a fast food burger.

It’s almost enough to make you want to puke. If you do so, please aim it at your windows, because ammonia cuts through grease like nothing else, leaving your windows squeaky clean!

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News from Defiant Health!

Great news!   I have found several local gyms that will let me train as an independent personal trainer!  Yay!  And they are all wonderful facilities.  If you live in the Downtown/NE/SE Columbia area, I am now training at Brickhouse Gym on Huger St–an awesome, truly hardcore gym with the best array of equipment in town.  The only gym I know with sledgehammers & tractor tires!  Many elite athletes train there.  Great atmosphere.  My latest photos were taken there, so you can see how cool it is!  They also offer $10 per month discount on your new membership if you join as my client–awesome!

Closer to my home in Chapin, I am now training at Back in Shape Fitness Center in Chapin, SC, on Columbia Dr, just off Exit 91 on I26.  Also a super hardcore-style gym with a nice array of equipment.   Owned by a chiropractor/powerlifter, Dr. Ed Bull, who is a lifelong ‘gym guy’ and great at supporting overall health and wellbeing.

And I am also going to be training at Crooked Creek Park, if all goes well.  Final details are being worked out.  They don’t have a lot of weight equipment, but they have wonderful cardio, an indoor track, basketball, etc, as well as outside trails, ball fields, tennis courts, etc.  I don’t need a lot of equipment to whip you into shape, anyway.  I can give you a good workout in a 10-foot-square space with just your bodyweight!

I love all 3 of these wonderful facilities, and am so excited to be training there!  And I appreciate each of them for being so willing to work with me!

I am offering 1/2 hour & 1 hour sessions, as well as the monthly fitness plans & nutrition plans, or a combination thereof!  For example, I can work with you in person 1 day a week, & provide you with a plan for the other days to work on your own.

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Important!

I HAVE A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS!  It is DefiantHealth@gmail.com. If you wish to contact me, please use that email address.

Be Defiant!  Fight for Your Health!

Christy

“Aging Disgracefully–and Proud Of It!”

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Here is a video that Michael took while we were at the photo shoot yesterday. This was the first part of the shoot, and it was a LOT of fun!

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Check out my brand new page for Team Defiance! Click on the link at the top of the page! This is the information for the customized personal training and nutrition plans.

I have great new products available very soon–including one that will blow you away with how effective it is for reducing your waist size! Stay tuned–I am working hard on getting the website updated! (If you want info on the waist reducer, just email me! Cduffell@sc.rr.com)

Be Defiant!

Christy

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As you all know, unless you have been under a rock or don’t have cable, the real estate market is, well……not what it used to be. The reality of that situation coupled with the realization that I am now the happiest I have ever been, has made me want to pursue my true passion–fitness and nutrition.

Now, I am not by any means abandoning real estate! I just have a lot of time now that I didn’t have before, and have put it to good use in the gym. And in studying holistic nutrition. If I had the funds, I would pursue a PhD in Holistic Nutrition, and I do plan to someday. But I study nutrition passionately, and learn as much as I can every day. With what I learned in my studies, and with the consistent workout schedule, that led me back into competition. Which then led me to Team Bombshell, and the rest, as they say, is history.

My friend asked me last week if I was happy. It only took me a second to stop and realize–I am living my dream. I told her, truthfully, that I am the happiest I have ever been in my life. I am so grateful for everything I have—my incredible husband and soul mate, Michael; the ‘bestest’ kitty in the world, Jukebox; a wonderful family; fantastic friends; and I finally had the guts to step out there and really pursue my dream of competing in Figure. People come into our lives for a reason . ‘When the student is ready the teacher appears.’ I was ready, and Shannon and Rob appeared. And my life has changed.

The only thing missing right now is a consistent source of income. I am still working and have been blessed with much more business than most agents have in this market. And I do feel positive that good things are to come. But when I really sat down and thought about what it is I really want, I realized that I really want to work in the fitness industry and positively affect people’s lives through better health and nutrition. Basically, I want to get paid for working out!

I have been working on a recipe book for a while, although I have been very intermittent and not committed enough to it. That is going to change. I am going to work on that with a vengeance. With what I have learned, I really feel I can help guide people to health through Living Cuisine.

But the big thing right now is this:

I just became re-certified as a personal trainer! I had let my certifications slip after I moved here and got so busy in real estate. But I realized I wanted to train people again, especially because I get so many requests from this site and people that I meet in every day life. Plus, with training, I can have a flexible schedule that allows me to also work real estate. So it’s the best of all worlds!

A BETTER WAY:

But with the economy the way it is, the number of people paying 50 bucks an hour for someone to stand over them and count reps has dropped dramatically. I see the trainers in my town suffering the loss of many clients, and the gyms are letting many of their in-house trainers go. So, there has to be a better way. A way to provide excellent services to many people, at a very affordable cost.

I think I have found that way. Inspired by the way that I am trained by Team Bombshell, which works so incredibly well, I realized that this model of training could be applied to ‘regular’ folks–not just us gym bunnies in sparkly swimsuits! Come on–you know how to count. You can count your own reps! What most people need is a plan.

So here is what I am now offering:

Nutrition plans and workout plans emailed every four weeks, with unlimited email support throughout the month.

Everything will be detailed and spelled out for the client, on a daily basis. Each plan will be customized to the client, based on a thorough initial consultation. The initial consultation can be in person or on the phone. I will create the programs and send them to the client. The clients’ responsibility is to simply FOLLOW THE PLAN! Print out the plan, tuck it in your workout journal (you DO have one, don’t you?) and take it to the gym. Have your meal plan with you, and you won’t even have to think about what you are eating every day–it will all be spelled out for you and relieve all that stress!

I want this to be accessible for EVERYONE, so the fee structure is as follows:

–4-week workout plan: $100

So, basically, you get a comprehensive, customized nutrition or workout plan starting at $100 per month! That’s the equivalent of only two private training sessions! If you are serious about your health, you can save $100 per month just by following the nutrition plan and eliminating a lot of unhealthy things that are also costing you money. Heck, $100 is just one decent dinner out anymore.

This would also be on a month to month basis–no contract, no obligation. Your success will depend on the level of your commitment and motivation. 50 percent effort will be a disaster and you will say that the plan didn’t work. So don’t go there. But if you are really committed and self-motivated to achieve a healthy lifestyle, then this would be perfect for you. And remember, it is customized to you, so you don’t have to fear the plan. It will challenge you to achieve a new personal best, but will be very achievable.

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If you are interested in working with me, please contact me through this site, or email me directly at cduffell@sc.rr.com. I am so excited about this new venture, and already have been working with some wonderful clients. I can work with anyone, anywhere in the world. I am even talking to a wonderful lady who lives in Dubai who will hopefully become a client after recovering from surgery. What a cool place to live!

One big thing!!! If your goal is to compete in Figure, Fitness or NPC/IFBB Bikini—then I will refer you to Team Bombshell at www.bombshellfitness.com.

Team Bombshell offers so much more than just the plans–it’s like having your own PR or modeling agency, coaching you in every detail for competition. They own their own magazine, and just do so much for the Bombshells. It’s a comprehensive, incredible program and they have so many connections in the industry to help launch their athletes. For example, Bombshell Cheryl Brown just was awarded a sponsorship by GNC!!! Wow! (What I would give for something like that!!!) I cannot offer that kind of environment, and the serious competitor needs to be in a place that can maximize their exposure and career. So I will send you directly to Shannon and Rob, do not pass Go, do not collect $200!

I am looking for the person who wants to be in their best shape and health. I especially want to work with people who want to explore the Living Foods lifestyle in more depth and still be fit, toned, and not stick-thin and gaunt like so many people perceive vegetarians to be. But I can work with anyone–you don’t have to go raw vegan for me! I promise! I WILL teach you about the power of whole foods, though. It’s your choice what to do with the education.

So here is my pitch–I want clients! I am available and eager to get you on the road to beautiful health and a gorgeous body! Please contact me, and I will go right to work for you!

Be Defiant! Fight for your health–and I will be right there fighting for it with you. I got your back!!!

Christy

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I just had to share my experiences from today, as I felt I made a major breakthrough on overcoming fears and being intimidated by false obstacles.

First of all, this morning, I shocked myself. Remember back when my big goal was to do 3 full sets of 10 pullups at full bodyweight? I got that goal one time, but only once. And I was using a ‘neutral grip’ where my hands were just slightly wider than my shoulders. I found that I was far weaker on the wider grips, and couldn’t complete many reps, even though I need to work wider to expand my lats. Anyway, I have been doing these really wide-grip pulldowns that Shannon calls “Billy Jacks” 3 times a week to work on widening my back. They are named for the guy who invented them, and they said his back is freaky wide. Plus of course, I have been doing all the other back exercises, but no pullups. They just aren’t in our regimin, so I haven’t attempted any in a while.

This morning, I got a wild hair and decided to try my Billy Jacks as pullups instead of pulldowns. I just wanted to see if I could. Not only could I—but I busted out 5 full sets of 10 reps each! No spotter, nobody around, just me and the bar. And this was using the widest grip possible on the apparatus! The first set was so easy I was amazed. The fourth set was tough, and I did struggle on the last 3 reps of the fifth set, but by golly, I got them!

A similar thing happened last week, as I was able to do 10 sets of 10 Dumbbell Presses for chest at a weight that, prior to Bombshell training, would have been difficult for me to even do three sets. Michael spotted me on that one, though. I tend to fail quickly, without much warning because my muscles just don’t get much of a burn, and I didn’t want to drop a heavy dumbbell on my face.

I was so proud of that accomplishment, but not nearly as proud and happy as I was this morning! Pullups are a big deal to me, especially because so few women can do them. I encourage each of you gals to get thyself to the pullup bar and just do what you can. Work up to it! Start with one, then two, and so on. Believe me, I started out barely able to get more than two!

This just goes to show how wonderful this training is! Since we move so fast, we don’t use very heavy weight, so I had no idea that I would gain this much strength. I am continually impressed by how effective Shannon and Rob are with their training routines and diet.

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The other thing I wanted to tell you was that when you have a big obstacle in your way, face your fears and just bust through it! I had received my pre-contest workouts late last week, and when I read the first one–today’s workout–I was so intimidated. I had to start off with a giant set of four tough exercises, back to back with no rest, and three times through the sets. And then (cue scary music here) I was supposed to do a ONE-HUNDRED-REP set of Leg Presses (yes, 100!), followed by a set of 50 Smith machine wide squats, then 30 step ups on each leg, and then 50 plyometric jump squats. I was seriously dreading this workout, and I usually look forward to legs. I just was so doubtful of being able to get through 100 straight reps, and really had a fear of it. I had heard of pro athletes using 100-rep sets, and it makes grown men cry. Even Terrell Owens does them, thinks they are brutal, and he is an animal.

Well, I didn’t load much weight on the leg press, because I knew it is much more important to get the reps in, with good form, than how much weight we use. Shannon always says it’s not how much weight, it’s how you are working the muscle. I found a thumping motivational song on the iPod and unracked the weight. The first few felt great. I got through fifty without too much struggle, then started counting down by tens. I kept telling myself, just get through the next ten, and then I would stop for two deep breaths and start the next ten. And by the time I got to eighty, my legs were burning but I knew I had it in me to finish strong. So I pushed through the final 20 without stopping. Boy, it felt amazing to be counting 96…97..98…99…100!!!!

I racked the weight and realized I could probably have done more. I could have pushed myself harder and gotten more benefit out of the exercise. But I still had all those other high-rep exercises to go, so I didn’t feel it was a good idea to have nothing left after the first one. Plus I had NO idea how much weight I could push for 100 reps, so I guessed. I then made it through the 50-rep set on the Smith with excellent form, squatting deeply, and really felt each rep. But it didn’t kill me. I wasn’t puking or laid out on the floor, as I was afraid I would be. I made it through the step ups well, and then got through the plyo squats, although those just about got me. The last 10 on those, I couldn’t feel my legs! They had just gone numb, but I was still jumpin’!!

The moral of the story is: don’t let your fears stop you! You may have an intimidating task or obstacle in front of you. The fears are most likely blowing it up to be a much bigger monster than it really is. When I took that deep breath and plunged into that 100-rep set, I was so afraid of failing, of not finishing, of not being strong or good enough, of hurting myself, of losing my lunch on the gym floor, and of embarrassing myself if I dropped the weight or something. (I had no spotter, so I was on my own.) But those fears simply turned out to be mirages; misty ghosts that dissolved into wisps with each passing rep. As I realized I was actually doing it, I then felt stronger and stronger, and finishing the drill was complete elation!

Now, I wish I had pushed harder. I wish I had challenged myself more. I am not only not afraid now, but I am looking forward to doing it again and challenging myself! I don’t know when I will have that opportunity, but I know I am ready. This was such a rush, and an amazing feeling, and I couldn’t believe how fearful I had been. I had a real break through today. I shattered that paradigm of limitations that I had subconsciously placed on myself, and I broke free. What a feeling!

Talk about being defiant! Defying your own ghosts, demons, and fears is probably the hardest thing of all. Defy your fears. Look them in the eye, grab them by the throat, throw them down, and use them as a stepping stone instead of a stumbling block. After today, I will be less fearful, because I can look back at this experience, and say, “Hey, if I can do that, I can do anything!”

I just had to share this with you. First, to show you I am totally human and not some workout machine. I have fears and insecurities just like anyone else. I am not trying to brag here. In fact, I am a little embarrassed to expose my silly fears to you. I hope you understand what I mean by the elation I feel. And second, to show you that your body is capable of much more than you give it credit for! Go out there and challenge yourself. Be better than the best you thought you could be!

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And now I have to go do my second cardio session, while watching my Atlanta Falcons try to beat the undefeated, awesome Saints. I don’t think it will happen, but ‘Bird is the Word’ tonight! Go Falcons!

I want to close with a great quote I just saw:

Today is the time of your life, to have the time of your life.

Think about that one for a few minutes!

Be Defiant!

Christy

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My calf is much better. Today, I can even walk normally in flat or athletic shoes. I was OK in heels yesterday, because my calf is not in the full stretched position, but today I can push off normally on my right leg, so I am not limping around now. Thank goodness–I was having to explain my cripple-walk to everyone the last couple of days. In my workout tonight, Shannon had put in 10 sets of calf raises. It was so hard for me NOT to try to do them! If it is on my sheet, I do it, and it was hard to leave off a scheduled exercise. But I had to defy my obsessive-compulsive tendencies and realize that doing calves too soon could cause a serious long-term injury, and that would just be stupid on my part.

I want to thank everyone who has sent well wishes and wonderful positive healing energy my way. It is really helping! I certainly didn’t think on Wednesday I would be walking normally this quickly. I love and appreciate you all!!!

I received great feedback from both Shannon and Rob on my progress pics yesterday. I now have to send pics every 4 days, since Nationals is so close. They said I was now a “National Girl” and so I have a different schedule and set of standards. I loved that–a “National Girl”! Wow–I thought it would be at least next year before I reached this level. It just goes to show that anything is possible if you set a goal, focus on that goal, take massive action that leads you toward accomplishing that goal, and of course holding the positive image in your mind of having already achieved the goal so that you attract success!

I don’t know if I mentioned this. During cardio sessions, I was closing my eyes and visualizing myself on stage, posing beautifully and winning my class. (Of course I only close my eyes on the bike or elliptical. That would be dangerous on the treadmill or stepmill!) But I was visualizing winning the original November show I was training for. My dream came true much faster than expected. I truly believe that the visualization brought the reality to fruition much faster than I expected. I am doing the same thing now–except I am visualizing performing a beautiful posing routine at the NPC Nationals! And yes, I am visualizing winning, too. Hey–can’t hurt! But if I crack the Top Five, I would be ecstatic!

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Silly me! I totally forgot to post my videos from the show here on my blog! Duh! I put them on Facebook. So here they are, as I want to share them with each of you.

Overall Posedown for Masters Figure–Fort Lauderdale Cup 2009

Top Five Masters Figure Class

My Bombshell ‘Sista’ Angela was videoing these for me from the audience. Sorry the quality isn’t the best. But I am so glad she was able to capture the moment for me, especially so Michael could see them, and also so I can share with all of you!

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I just have to tell you the funny story that happened after the show. I meant to share this earlier. You know that the diet for the shows is very restrictive anyway, plus the extra workouts were very taxing. I was tired from traveling, getting ready to compete, not enough sleep, etc. to begin with, and then at the night show, there just wasn’t time to eat. Rob had me stay exactly on my normal food plan, and even added some sweet potatoes, but at the evening show a couple things happened. First, a friend of mine was feeling really low and sick, and she said she thought she needed some protein. So I gave her the fish I had with me. Then, like I mentioned before, we were really busy getting lined up for stage, and I just didn’t have time to eat with all that was going on, the extra posedowns, etc.

After the show, Shannon had lined up a killer after-party at the hotel. There was to be food, a DJ, etc. She wanted us to put on our cutest dresses, look hot, and come mingle with the judges and photographers. I was so nasty from all the tanning stuff and posing glaze that I just HAD to shower off before putting on my nice dress. So I ran up to the room, got ready, and headed down to the party.

By this time, it was about 1:15 AM. I searched until I found Rob and asked him what I could eat. He said I could eat ‘anything I wanted tonight AND tomorrow all day’. Whoa! Whoo-hoo!!! So one of the other girls–Miranda–went with me to find the waitress. Pizza was about to be consumed! Or so we thought. When we found the hostess, she said “I’m sorry–the kitchen closed at 1AM. We can’t take any more orders.” We stood there in shock, and finally I said “This is a cruel joke, right? You have starving fitness competitors here!” No joke. No kitchen, no food. And I was DYING.

So we looked at each other, and Miranda said she had an SUV. We went to the front desk and asked where the nearest IHOP was. Sure enough, just a couple streets over! So, after a little party mingling, Miranda, her husband and I all piled in the SUV and descended upon IHOP at 2AM! We stood out j-u-u-u-ust a bit from the crowd of drunk college kids, who were all agape at the fitness girls in hot dresses. They were making all kinds of comments. We didn’t care–we just wanted pancakes, NOW! Our waitress said we were wearing her out! We all ordered different kinds of pancakes, cut them up and shared them with each other. And of course, we piled them up with butter, syrup, fruits, whipped cream, etc. Boy, were those things good! Definitely my favorite were the whole-grain pancakes with walnuts and pecan syrup. Yummy! So we got back to the hotel about 3:30AM on a serious sugar buzz. We were all laughing that we couldn’t believe we were at IHOP at 3 in the morning, not drunk, and definitely not in college anymore! Haha!

That turned out to be a really awesome evening, though. I got to talk at length with Miranda, one of my fellow Bombshells that I hadn’t met before, and her awesome husband. I really enjoyed getting to know them.

Oh, and the next day, I went to PF Changs and chowed down on some awesome Chinese food, although I stuck to healthy items not far from my planned meals. I was eating by myself at the bar, and the bartender was really into fitness and had the latest Shape magazine. She was so impressed that I knew the girls in the magazine, that she gave me two of their cute little desserts in the shot glasses for free! (Delicious carrot cake–my Kryptonite! I love a good carrot cake more than life itself!) And at the airport, I went in on a big cheat and got me a Cinnabon! I used to eat those things all the time years ago. I hadn’t had one in literally 10 years. So I got a big Pecan-Bon and savored every bite. And then, I went right back to my mostly raw, Bombshell diet plan. I just didn’t want to destroy what I had worked so hard for. Interesting, though–the next morning when I did cardio, my legs got so pumped from having all the carbs that I thought my quads were going to bust through my skin! That was a neat feeling.

By the way, I make a really awesome raw vegan carrot cake. It’s actually pretty easy to make raw, and I make the icing out of creamed cashews instead of cream cheese. It really is delicious! I need to make one for my cheat meal sometime.

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Time to hit the hot tub with some Epsom salts to help the calf, and other things. Tonight’s ‘ Bombshell Booty’ workout was really intense, and my booty is definitely going to be sore! Since I couldn’t do calves, I added in a couple extra booty exercises and I am already feeling it. I think my booty needs the Epsom salts too! Haha!

OK, my booty is off to the jacuzzi!

Until next time……….Be Defiant!

Christy

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Last week was tough for me. I feel like I am always complaining about pain, but the new Bombshell workout program is very, very intense and my body is still adapting. Last Monday, I had a great early cardio session, went to write a real estate sale contract (yay!), and then went right back to the gym to do legs, because I was trying to get both workouts done in the morning so we could spend Labor Day afternoon on our boat relaxing. Seems fair enough.

How’d that go? Not too well. I did great in the workouts, but a few hours later my lower right back locked up and I was in agony. I had been laying on a float in the water, and when I got back on the boat–Bam! Couldn’t sit down, but if I did, couldn’t get back up. I couldn’t even physically bend over to tie the boat to the cleats on our dock when we got back home.

Pain is a gift, though, and through this pain and some great work by my awesome team of therapists, I discovered a couple of things. First, there is a significant amount of scar tissue from my horse accident that is in my lower back on the left side near my spine that I was unaware of, until it flared up and announced its presence emphatically. Where my pelvic bone and lower vertebrae were twisted out of place in the accident, apparently the muscles and tendons deep in there were damaged, and are very thick, rough, and contracted with the scar tissue. But after therapy on them, which ‘hurt so good’–meaning that it hurt to get in there and work on it but it was a ‘good hurt’ that felt like it was being released–I was so much better the next day and have been great since. Second, apparently caffeine triggers my back pain. Yes, I confess. I had a couple cups of coffee the week before. Getting up and doing cardio is not the easiest thing in the world for me, and Michael’s coffee smelled so good……I caved. And I paid the price. My ND said that caffeine irritates the kidneys, which often manifests as pain in the same area I was having trouble.

So apparently, I handed myself a double whammy—-caffeine coupled with back-to-back leg workouts. But now we know that a problem exists and can work on it. That I am grateful for. I will be all the better for it in the future! And now I will associate coffee with not being able to put on my shoes, so hopefully that will help curb my cravings!

I didn’t miss a single weight workout, although I had to modify some of the exercises for a day or two. I did miss a couple cardio sessions early in the week, but made all the ones later in the week and did great. The point is, if there is pain, there is a reason. Find the cause. Don’t stop digging until you get to the root of the problem. And then fix it! Get rid of the cause, and the pain goes away.

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I worked out at a great place called Bodyplex on Friday. There are no gyms remotely close to my parents’ house, except down at Banks Crossing, which is where the huge Tanger outlet mall is in NE Georgia about 15 miles away. There used to be a World’s Gym, which is now a new Bodyplex. I really enjoyed my workout there. The people were awesome–especially Dave the owner, Greg the manager, and Greg’s fiancee Summer. The equipment was excellent, the gym was very clean and bright, and the atmosphere was classy but hardcore fitness. A big shout-out to the Banks Crossing Bodyplex–you guys rock! If you are ever in NE Georgia, stop in and have a great workout! http://www.bodyplex.com/

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Gotta go to sleep now. I slept like a ROCK last night after that emotional game wore me out. Still a bit tired today, and had one heck of a great cheat meal at Mom’s house for lunch. We celebrated my nephew’s 11th birthday and my brother-in-law’s 39th birthday today. Oh, I have to show off the cake I decorated for them! Quick story–my mom ordered a cake from Dairy Queen with the Georgia Bulldogs’ “G” logo on it and the DQ totally screwed it up and it looked terrible. Mom was upset and asked if I could fix it. I have never decorated an ice cream cake before, but of course I said I would try. Here’s how it turned out:

I don’t know if I have told you all before, but my latent talent is cake decorating. I can do wedding cakes. Funny, I can’t draw at all, and have no talent for art, but give me a tube of icing and I can do anything. And believe it or not, I just don’t like ice cream or ice cream cakes very much, so I didn’t eat any of it! That was NOT the case, however, for the homemade pecan pie! Ate the heck out of that!

I do have to brag on myself though. I made it through a football weekend and all the good food at Mom’s house without a single small derailment from my diet, until my planned cheat meal today, which is perfectly acceptable in my program. I was so proud. Not easy, but worth it. Thank goodness for those cheat meals–they give me the light at the end of the tunnel that I need!

Don’t let anything derail you from your goals and your passion. Push through the pain. Find out the cause, address it, get rid of it, and keep right on trucking!

Be Defiant!

Christy

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Remember I said that I only compete in Figure, because you have to do all those gymnastics in Fitness, and if I do a flip there has been an accident?  Well, there was a flip this morning, and it was definitely an accident!  I was doing my cardio intervals at the indoor track at Crooked Creek Park near my house.  It’s a nice carpeted track, which is a relief for my knees.  Most of the folks on the track are quite elderly and are walking, with few runners.   So I guess I irritate them thoroughly, because I alternate from jogging to walking lunges to sprinting to jump squats to side lunges, etc etc, so I am always changing pace.  They tend to walk two and three wide, which leaves very little room on the outside of the track where the runners are supposed to stay.  So I am constantly having to dodge and weave around the walkers, and run defensively since they tend not to realize someone may be running up behind them and they are all over the road.   I don’t want to run over someone’s grandmother!

I was on one of my sprint laps, and was running pretty fast, and had to weave through a couple groups of people, and when I came around the last gentleman in a lateral move, the toe of my brand new shoe caught the lovely carpet on the track, and I fell hard.  Fortunately, I landed on my right knee and rolled up over my right shoulder, almost doing a full flip.   The poor little man almost tripped over my sprawling body.  But I just kind of completed the flip and came back up all in one motion, apologizing to the man who almost fell over me.  Other than some carpet burns and a bruised ego, I was just fine and kept right on going.  Very embarrassing though!  I learned then to be sure to pick my feet up for the rest of the session, even though I was quite fatigued. 

Oh, by the way, my leg and knee were amazingly better today!  I am so fortunate to have such excellent practitioners to turn to.  I really appreciate each of them deeply.

Tonight’s back workout was great, although very hard.  But not nearly as hard as one of the exercises on the shoulder workout last night.   I thought that one may actually kill me.   Michael worked out with me tonight and we were both literally dripping sweat–in a back workout.   Never thought I would see that day.  But the high intensity circuit workouts really challenge you and create simultaneous cardio conditioning as well.  And no matter what body part I am working, the Bombshell training always throws in some exercises that work legs too.  So even though we were working back, there were 4 exercises that also hit the legs and booty at the same time.   I wanted legs–they are going to make sure I get legs! 

Tomorrow is really busy, so I will sign off.   But I had to tell you about my little tumble today!  Can’t keep an embarrassing moment a secret, now can I?

Be Defiant! 

Christy

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Nah–just kidding, but this new schedule has taken some adjustment, and is great because it is forcing me to be much more organized and efficient.  I need that.  My biggest downfall is my utter lack of organization, especially in my home office and my schedule. 

I am now doing at least two workouts a day, sometimes three, although the third one is just a short wind sprint session that only takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.  Plus I am eating literally seven times a day–small meals yes, but think how hard it is for anyone who is busy to even fit in three squares a day!

You know, I thought I worked out really hard and pushed myself.  Maybe compared to most I did.  I want so badly to gain some beautiful muscle and I was really lifting hard to try to achieve that.  But I have learned in the past few weeks that I was wrong.  I was nowhere near pushing myself to the extent that I need to achieve my goals.  The training that Rob and Shannon set forth for us is truly world-class.  I have seen similar workouts extolled by the elite superstars of the NFL, like Jerry Rice, who is legendary for his work ethic, and Matt Leinart, who works out so hard that he has a bucket nearby so he can throw up and keep right on training!  (And I thought he was a wussy pretty boy–guess I misjudged!)

So far, a bucket has been unnecessary, thank goodness.  But I do have to say that my leg workout last week was the hardest one I have ever been through in my life.  Gone are the heavy weights with nice rest between sets.  Oh no, I am no longer pushing 500-lb leg presses for 8-10 reps and then recovering before doing it again.  Now it’s supersets of at least two exercises, done with no rest at all in between, so it becomes 6 to 8 exercises back to back that pushes every muscle fiber to its limit of endurance.  The leg press has become 30 reps with about 200 pounds, which I would have scoffed at before.  Hmmm….do 30 reps of that, jump to another leg exercise like deadlifts, and then back to the leg press for 4 rounds with no rest at all, and 200 pounds feels like a thousand! 

The cardio is not the powder puff sessions of endless, mindless pedaling on an elliptical machine.  No, it is intense intervals that are really high-rep leg workouts in disguise, building extreme muscular endurance while sending the heart rate through the roof and sweat dripping all over the place.  I said I wanted a bigger butt and legs.  Well, be careful what you wish for!  I am definitely heading in that direction and it hurts!

To ahcieve a goal you have never attained, you must do things you have never done.   I am definitely pushing my boundaries way out beyond my comfort zone.  It’s hard.  I am hurting.  I am sore.  I also have aggravated all those lovely old horseback riding injuries that had been lying dormant and not giving me much trouble.  My right lower back, hip, and especially knee have been screaming at me for a week.  Walking on my right leg has been literally difficult for nearly a week, but I gutted out every single rep of my workout schedule.  We get two days off on the weekends, and I have never been so glad to have a chance to heal! 

I finally was able to see my A.R.T. practitioner extraordinaire Dr. Renick, my massage therapist Shelly Daugherty and my naturopath Richard Weiler today.  Today was all about getting Christy fixed!  These people are all incredible professionals who truly support me and care deeply about my well-being, and also my success in attaining my goal.  No goal is ever achieved in a vacuum and I couldn’t make it right now without these fabulous people.  I love you all!!!

My diet–wow that’s a crazy subject.   I have been forced to make a decision to depart from some of the principles that have guided my nutrition for the past two years.  Anyone else would look at the diet they have me on, and think it was the healthiest diet they have ever seen.  But my perspective is different.  I am only eating fish, but I don’t even like doing that.  But so far, I have not found any raw vegan protein sources that truly mimic the effects of the fish, except for the Sun Warrior.  I am substituting seitan and tempeh for some of my meals, and they are great (although not raw), but they are higher in sodium and carbs, so I don’t think I will be able to eat them closer to a show. 

There are many fabulous protein sources in the raw food world, but most have a very high fat content.  For every day, that is just fine–the fats are necessary and healthy.   But doing what I am doing is not the real world.  For example, you all know I am very lean, usually hovering around 8 to 10 percent body fat on my every day diet, eating as much and whatever I want.  But for stage, Rob wants me to shed 10 pounds of bodyfat and gain a significant amount of muscle.  Stage is NOT real life!  So temporarily, I am going to trust their expertise and do what it takes to achieve my goal.  All my other foods I am eating raw.  For example, where they say oatmeal, I am eating sprouted raw oat groats.  All my sweet potatoes, veggies, etc are raw.   So as a percentage, I am still very high raw in my diet, and so far it is working pretty well.

I took measurements last week, and my waist has already come down over an inch!  Wow!  all others were about the same, so that means no muscle is being lost.  I am going to try to measure every week to see how things change.  Also, I will be taking progress pics.  I will share some of those, also.

It’s funny.  We get one ‘cheat meal’ every week, where for one meal we can have whatever we want–within reason.  This really helps jump start the metabolism and replenishes a lot of the lost glycogen depleted during the week’s workouts.   But I wasn’t craving pizza or cake like I used to.  No, I wanted more than anything—–a green smoothie!  Some fruit!  And Spirulina pie!  I ended up eating Amy’s burgers on awesome Ezekiel buns (those are fabulous–give them a try!), slathered in organic BBQ sauce, grapeseed Vegenaise and my homemade guacamole.  And I made a delectable white chocolate macadamia cheezecake for dessert, from my birthday cake recipe.  I thought I would literally eat at least half the cheezecake, but I was only able to eat about 1/4 of it.  I savored every bite, though!

Another cool thing I did this week was straighten my hair!  Shannon wants me to straighten it for stage, and I have never been able to do it and get it to look half decent before.  With some advice from some friends, I tried it last week for a costume party Michael and I were attending, where we were pirates and I wanted to wear a skull rag and that wouldn’t work with my big hair.  I loved it!  It turned out beautiful and was so easy to maintain, once the initial time-consuming work was done.  It takes me a good two hours to get it straight.  Hopefully, that will lessen with experience.  I also discovered I can just put a nice curl on the ends and end up with a great style.  The front isn’t cut right, though.  It’s probably just too short.  I am going to see my stylist Sept 8th, and we are going to work on it.

Here’s a pic of the new ‘do!

Arrrrgh, mateys! Swashbuckling pirates are we!

 Time to head to bed.  I have AM cardio so I am definitely improving on my bedtime habits.  Left to my own devices I will stay up half the night.  But this workout schedule will change that in a hurry!

Be Defiant!  Find out how far you can go if you defy pain and fatigue!

Christy

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Anyway, we had tried a new type of fish, and he turned up his little pink nose at it, and started screaming incessantly.  And his favorite trick is to climb up on my pillow and walk around in my hair.  That is a BIG pet peeve of mine–I cannot STAND for my hair to be caught or pulled.  I can’t even lay my head on it–it has to be out from under me or I go nuts.   HOW does he know this?????  I think for the first time in my life, I really got angry with him.  I dumped him off the bed several times.  But then I felt horrible for hurting his feelings, and I couldn’t go back to sleep even without his relentless crying and walking in my hair.  Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled.

So yesterday, I was worthless.  I slept half the afternoon.  My eyes were burning and my head felt dizzy and detached.  I did manage to get some important real estate stuff done, but thank God I didn’t have to go see anyone.  I wouldn’t have made it.  The only thing I did outside the house, was head to the Kroger to get some tuna for Juke, to stop the howling.  Once he got that, all was quiet in the Seguin household again.  Furry little fiend.

More about the fabulous Bombshell Camp.  I stayed in the Casa Del Bombshell, which is a beach house just north of Daytona Beach, FL, that the Deys own and make available at a wonderful price to the girls staying at the camp.  It was like a big slumber party!  So funny to have all these women in one house who are all on these extreme diets and workouts.  I was so impressed by the caliber of the women.  I wondered before I went if most of the campers would be little young bimbos, but that was not the case at ALL!  The ladies were mostly in their 30’s, and there was only one a little older than me.  One girl was 21, but she was so fun and mature that she fit right in with all of us.  And the ladies were all professional career women—nurses, pharmaceutical reps, technological software reps, retail merchandising pros, etc—and most have at least one child.  They are really wonderful examples of living a healthy lifestyle and juggling the crazy competition preparation with career, family, etc.

Friday night we had an orientation that lasted for a couple of hours, followed by a Cardio Boot Camp session.  They took us outside and made us do all this on the sidewalk of a busy street.  Of course, all the guys going by in cars were hooting and hollering at all the sweaty hot ladies.  At first I felt silly, but once the workout got going, it was so intense it wouldn’t have mattered where I was.  I could only focus on getting through the exercises.  I was proud of one thing–at one point, they had us do short sprints.  Now that is my specialty!  I kicked butt on that.  But I have always been fortunate to be blessed with great speed.  Very few times in my life have I lost a race.   I felt great after those.

Saturday—WOW!  We started at 8am.  Imagine working one body part as hard as you can for about 45 minutes, nonstop in a circuit-style.  Now multiply that by SIX!   Yes, we did six really intense workouts in one day.   We did get some rest in between, and had a couple longer breaks where they lectured us on contest preparation, how to present ourselves, etc.  We also did a LOT of work on posing for stage.  That is so much more involved than most would imagine.  And standing for l-o-o-o-o-n-g periods of time with all your muscles flexed, in an unnatural pose with your back cranked around hurts really bad after a while.  Especially the lower back, and of course the feet.  We have to wear five-inch clear ‘hooker heels’.   I am used to heels and mine are pretty comfortable, but after a while, there’s no such thing as comfortable five-inch heels!

We finished up mid-afternoon and had some time to go shopping or do what we wanted.  Nobody shopped at all!  We were all back at Casa Del Bombshell crashed out on our beds!  We stayed there until time to go to dinner.  Shannon hosted us at her beautiful home with a ‘cheat’ meal.  Yes, I ate pizza–regular pizza, not raw, although I did stick to veggie pizza with no meat.   I know, Bad Christy.  But here’s why.  First of all, it was part of the camp and I felt like refusing the food they provided us would have been really rude.  Plus one cheat meal a week when on such a strict diet is very important.  The body plateaus, and the cheat meal kick-starts your metabolism.   My body responds really well to cheat meals.  On my former diet, I used to eat a pizza and a small grocery-store birthday cake for my cheat meal.  Notice I did not say ‘part of’ the pizza and cake–I ate the whole thing!  No kidding–it always grossed Michael out.    And then I would drop a couple of pounds of bodyfat two days later.  Never failed.  And it happened this time too!  I could totally tell yesterday that I had lost at least an inch on my waist and was much leaner.  Especially after those workouts!

For my cheat meals going forward, I will probably make a raw pie or cake or something.   Definitely Spirulina Pie!  Or maybe my decadent Goji Chocolate Bliss.   I know I won’t be able to have much fruit on my diet either, so I will probably go in for some fruit.  Yum.

Sunday we did a really brutal cardio session.  Their idea of cardio is not spending an hour on the treadmill or elliptical going at a moderate pace like you see everyone in the gyms doing.  It is intense intervals that build muscular endurance and send the heart rate through the roof.  Fortunately, that is how I have always felt too, so I was well-prepared for the sessions and many of the exercises were things I had already been doing.  Didn’t make it any easier!  But at least I knew what to do.

The Cardio Bombshells! L-R--Me, Debra Plennert and Angela Firkins.

Then we had another posing session, and a mock figure show.  We acted like we were really on stage, and we did the callouts, lineups, individual poses, everything.   I feel that my posing is really, really horrible, and I made great progress in just two days.  Their methods are different than what I had been taught before, and really are simpler.  I will have to practice, practice, practice.  This is definitely a weak spot in my repertoire.  And that is not good!  What a shame to work so hard to develop an excellent physique, and then not be able to showcase it properly on stage.  That would indeed be tragic.  They pay such attention to minute details as well.  I love it.  Every little advantage counts when you are standing amongst 30 other incredibly fit and beautiful women!

Then we wrapped up camp and said goodbyes.  Michael wanted me to get a chart of the waterways in that area, so I had to go all the way into Daytona to find a marina.  It was really nice!   I will probably be going back for more sessions, possibly private training, so we thought it would be a lot of fun to take Soul Mate and stay on her in the marina.  

Then I packed up my two HUGE coolers full of food, and headed for home.  Easy drive–it’s interstate all the way.  But it was long, and when I had to stop for gas, getting my stiff body out of the car was a challenge.   Funny how driving totally stiffens you up, especially when you are already sore.

So that was my amazing, wonderful experience.  I have never had a trainer before, so this is just a thrill for me.   I was making so many mistakes, and would never have thought of the things I was taught this weekend on my own.  Shannon is a judge, so her inside knowledge is invaluable.  I am looking forward to competing, possibly this fall.  We will see how my progress goes.

I received my first month of workouts today.  Definitely intense, but certainly doable.  I plan to give 110% and really dig deep to make every one of them count.  I will start tomorrow.  Shannon insisted I take two days off from working out at all, and boy has that been hard.  I am absolutely itching to get back in the gym and put my newfound knowledge to work!  NOT working out is hard for me.  I need my workouts. 

Blessings, love and light to you all.  I will keep you abreast of how this is going.  I am really excited and eager for this journey.   We will see to what destinations it leads me.

Be Defiant!

Christy

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