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Sunday Morning Walk + Motivational Quotes

Sunday, January 22nd, 2012

Sunday morning, 730 AM. I hop out of bed, throw on some warm layers and greet the crisp air. Luckily, Centennial Way Trail is only a few minutes walk from my house, so soon enough I am strolling down this long strip of cement. Is is the most scenic trail? No it’s not. But all I need is an empty trail. And at 730 AM on a chilly Sunday, that’s what I get. As I walk from South San Francisco to San Bruno, the trail importunes me to walk further and further. My phone died right as I started walking (I need to buy a new one ASAP) so it was just me, the sound of my sneakers crunching on the pavement, the sound of distant cars, and the occasional birds. I gazed at the “South San Francisco: The Industrial City” etched into the hillside.

Sign_Hill_sm

At one point I passed by a small body of water. I heard tons of frogs! rrrrr-r-r-r-ibbet!!! RIBBET! rrrrr-r-ibbet! I inched closer down the ravine but it was so steep so I just peered forward and tried to spy the froggies. I only spied a cat, sitting perfectly calm and still. I breathed in and listened to the echoes of the froggies for a minute longer, then made my way back home. I knew I should get some food in mah tummy. After about a 50 minute walk, I was back in the warmth of my house, and ready to eat my healthy breakfast. A bit later today I’m going to hit the iron a.k.a pick heavy shit up and put it down a.k.a get mah sweat on a.k.a get mah swoll on a.k.a. get one step closer to my dreams.

And now, some motivational quotes for today:

“If I had to select one quality, one personal characteristic that I regard as being most highly correlated with success, whatever the field, I would pick the trait of persistence. Determination. The will to endure to the end, to get knocked down seventy times and get up off the floor saying. “Here comes number seventy-one!” Richard M. Devos

“Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.” Napoleon Hill

“You don’t become enormously successful without encountering and overcoming a number of extremely challenging problems.” Mark Victor Hansen

“Fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding and your eyes are black and you are so tired that you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round-remembering that the man who fights one more round is never whipped.” James Corbett

Posted in Local Attractions, Motivation & Mindset, Training | No Comments »

Put Sum Spinnas on These Wheelsssss

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

I want mah legs to be schtrong and shapely. Ripped would be nice. Having legs like WBFF pro and fitness model Diana Chaloux (below) would be pretty coo.

dianachaloux

After 2 days off completely from training, I hit the gym today ready to go! It was great. Here’s how it turned out:

10 min walk/jog (6 min in my target zone of HR 140+)

walking dumbbell lunges:

25’s x 15 reps per leg

30’s x 15 reps per leg

35’s x 10 reps per leg

40’s x 10 reps per leg (woo!)

stiff leg deadlifts:

95 lbs x 15 reps

115 lbx x 15 reps

135 lbs x 12 reps

155 lb x 12 reps (woo!)

2 min cardio HR 140+ (note: can’t stand long cardio sessions, so it helps me to break it into bits)

Leg Press:

2 plates each side x 15 reps

3 plates each side x 15 reps

4 plates each side x 10 reps

4 plates each side x 8 reps

2 min cardio HR 140+

Prone Hamstring Curl:

65 lbs x 15 reps

80 lbs x 12 reps

80 lbs x 10 reps

Hack squat:

full range of motion; 4 sets of 15 reps with 25’s on each side

Seated hamstring curl:

85 lbs x 15 reps

100 lbs x 12 reps

Leg Extension (I usually do this first, but forgot til the very end, so here it is)

70 lbs x 15 reps

85 lbs x 15 reps

100 lbs x 12 reps

115 lbs x 12 reps (woo!)

then 20 min jog/incline walk with HR 140+

It took a little less than 2 hours to complete, and I felt great. I love the gym <3

Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, Training | No Comments »

Back & Calves & Cardio; Versa Gripps

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Today I did back and calves and cardio. Here was my workout today:

5 min cardio warm up on the stepmill with HR 140+

15 reps wide grip lat pull w/ 95, 105, 105, 105, 120 lbs; superset with 20 reps seated calf raise w/ 45, 55, 55, 55, 55 lbs w/toes slightly turned in

15 reps wide grip barbell row w/65, 85, 85, 85 lbs; superset with 20 reps calf raises on the leg press w/ 90, 90, 90, 90 lbs

15 reps single arm row w/ 40, 40, 40, 40 lbs w/big stretch and contraction

15 reps narrow grip seated cable row w/big arch; superset with 20 reps of bodyweight reverse hyperextensions w/focus on lower back

A.D.D. cardio w/HR 140+: 5 min stepmill, 10 min bike, 10 min jog

I love working out, and I love working back, but today it was hard to get out of bed. I’m glad I did though, because I had a great workout and burned 758 calories (according to my heart rate monitor). Today I wore my favorite new grips that are awesome for pulling exercises- they’re called Versa Gripps and they are SO MUCH less cumbersome than traditional straps. I notice I can pull a little more weight with straps, but was put off by how much of a hassle they are to wrap around bars. Then I was introduced to Versa Gripps, and they are so much easier to use! I am still breaking them in but so far I give a favorable review!!

versagripps

xoxo

Tags: versa gripps
Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, Training | No Comments »

Handstand Push Ups For Delt Training

Friday, November 4th, 2011

Today in my shoulder training day I sprinked in a tiny bit of handstands and handstand push ups. Why? I like to keep training fun and interesting, so I’m not bored just lifting weights around. Also, I’m interested in how it will work to improve my shoulder development. I used to have uber-ripped shoulders back in the day, and that was when I was doing more gymnastics/handstands/breakdancing/boxing. In the years since those activities are not my focus, my shoulders have gotten smaller. Sadly. So I’m thinking of throwing in some handstands for fun, and to challenge my shoulders! Although I am really trying to target hypertrophy in my exercise, the handstand push up has an added benefit of improving upper body control and balance! You hit a host of stabilizer muscles when balancing under the resistance of your own bodyweight.

bgirlfreeze copythinner copy (me doing a handstand freeze back in the day)

According to Wikipedia, the handstand push ups “increase the load on the triceps brachii muscles significantly over regular pushups, with the arms having to hold almost 100% of the body’s weight rather than an average of 60% during normal pushups. Load is also shifted from the Pectoralis major muscle to the Anterior deltoids and Lateral deltoids due to the shoulders exerting in adduction while externally rotated, rather than transverse flexion. The upper fibres of the trapezius are also involved in elevating the shoulders. In free-standing handstand pushups, the core muscles and hand muscles are both used to keep the body balanced, from falling over back, forward, or to either side, and to maintain posture. This makes it a much stronger exercise for the wrist flexors, core and legs compared to regular pushups.”

Okay, I’ll take it. Yes, I’m mixing functional training into my bodybuilding regime but I MAKE THE RULES!!!!! bwahahaha…

til next time… XOXOX

Tags: delts, handstands
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Big Back, Baby

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

DanaBackJrUSA

(Dana Linn Bailey with her awesome back!!)

Tidbits of what I did today in my morning workout: BIG BACK!

The different exercises focus on the same muscle(s) but just stimulate them in different ways, so it’s all to the good.

I started with Pull ups. UNASSISTED OF COURSE!! I alternated between wide grip and neutral grip.

Conventional deadlifts.

Wide grip lat pull-down– dropsets.

T bar row.

Smith machine row- alternating supinated and pronated grip- focusing on the lat engagement.

Assisted wide grip pull ups. Back extension.

Bla-dow.

Tags: back, deadlifts, lats, pull ups, row
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Client Transformation: Christen Manak

Monday, October 31st, 2011

I wanted to share with you the success of my excellent client Christen Manak. She achieved extraordinary results in a short time due to her exemplary dedication and commitment! She wanted to get bikini ready for Hawaii. So I provided her with a program consisting of exercise, nutrition, and supplementation. She followed my program to a T! And experienced fantastic results

In the 6 weeks we worked for that bikini body she lost:
Chest under bust – 1.0 inch
Waist – 1.0 inch
Baby belly – 2.0 inch
Hips – 2.0 inch
Thigh – 1.0 inch
…and a total of 12 lbs!

Christen says: “ALL WITH FOUR KIDS AGES 5, 3, 2, and 10 months!!!! I can’t believe I’ve done this!!!! Thanks so much for your help!!!”

Here are pics of her two weeks before she started with me:

Week8back Week8front

Here are pics of her after the 6 week program WOOO!!!

Week16behind Week16front IMG_5173_m1500

Posted in Miscellaneous, Training | 3 Comments »

Update, Experiments, Next Shows

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

Hallo hallo! It’s my official “off season” and I am BUILDING! I have been eating lotsa cals, lotsa carbs, lifting heavy, and feeling STRONG! I want every figure competitor’s dream of great quads, nice glutes, capped shoulders, wide lats, narrow waist, nice calves, all that!! I am really motivated to use true STRENGTH as the foundation of my hypertrophy. I want to LIFT heavier and BE STRONGER. Yes, the most important thing is the aesthetics, but I am very interested in ACTUALLY increasing my strength, especially in my legs. It’s a fun challenge for me.

I don’t know if I would necessarily call not being on a strict diet “joyful” but I have definitely been living it up. But every day I’m back in the gym tearing it up! So this has been spectacular for my building.

Since the last show, I have experimented with different recipes. I seriously meant to create blog entries for each and every one but :::cough cough::: I’m a delinquent.

*Sorry all the pics are sideways!*
Antelope Burgers

ant3
Fiber Pizza

FiberPizza
Faux Fried Veggies

FauxFriedVeggies
Post Workout Ice Cream Sandwich #1

IceCreamSammy1
Post Workout Ice Cream Sandwich #2

IceCreamSammy2

As many of us figure competitors do…I’ve been dreaming/preparing for the next show(s). That’s why I’m so focused on muscle building. In the last shows, I lost a lot of muscle and my ass DISAPPEARED! So I want to make sure I have big full muscles so that even if I experience atrophy, I will still have plenty of muscle to reveal *SO* for now my focus is BUILDING, and then I plan to start dieting after Christmas for my spring/summer show season:
(tentative schedule)
NPC Governor’s Cup in Sacramento on March 24, 2012
WBFF Fitness Atlantic in Connecticut on April 21, 2012
WBFF show in California- date not yet released, probably in the summer

That’s the update for now!

Here is a quote I found on Facebook today and would like to share:

Why complicate life?

Miss somebody? Call.
Wanna meet? Invite.
Wanna be understood? Explain.

… Have questions? Ask.
Don’t like it ? Say it.
Like it ? State it.
Want something? Ask for it.

Nobody will know what’s going in your mind. Its better to express rather than to expect.

If you already have the ‘No’, take the risk of getting the ‘Yes’.

We just have one life. Keep it simple. LIVE IT & Be happy &…

Tags: Figure, NPC, off season, wbff
Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, Nutrition / Recipes, Training | No Comments »

Spotlight: Emily Stirling (WBFF Figure Pro)- Adv. Core Workout

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

stirlinglead

I LOVE Emily Stirling. She is one of the few figure competitors who doesn’t stick with only old-school bodybuilding methods. Her style is often times functional, athletic, high energy, and plyometric. Interesting! Here is an example of a core workout she did that definitely does not fit into the conventional figure competitor core workout! Although it does still focus on the “abs” unlike “true” functional training for the core which may be TRX atomic push ups, beach uphill crawling, multi-planar lunges with twist, and so forth. It’s stimulating my brain cells…hmm…you can‘t say it doesn’t work, her abs are BANGIN! :::drooolll::: B_A_N_G_I_N_G. What do you guys think of the video?

Tags: core, six-pack abs
Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, Training | No Comments »

Developing Plan for Post Competition

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

I have been doing a lot of thinking about post competition and reading different things about it. It’s a really big deal. Competitors change their whole life focus for contest prep and take on this new form of dieting and training and LIVING, for this short moment onstage, then once it’s over and it’s traumatic and anti-climactic because it’s like…now what? It’s all over and life is back to “normal”…and what does “normal” mean anymore? How am I supposed to eat? train? What am I supposed to look like? Many competitors binge like crazy and end up gaining 5-20 pounds in a week or two!

I’ve known that I needed a plan, but didn’t know what I wanted it to be. One part of me wants to be the devil and say eff all this, and not even consider any cardio and blah blah EFF IT! One part of me wants to eat the world, especialllyyy the delicious and highly delectable, heart attack treats oh yes oh yes. On the OTHER hand whispers to me the angel. The sculpted athlete. That cautions against feeling and looking like crap, in such little time after getting the most smokin body ever! Took me months to get here, but um I don’t think it would be that hard to gain a lot of weight quick!

As I draw closer to Saturday and my workouts have been reduced and my energy is being restored, I feel my mood lifting and my post competition plan crystallizing. It’s not all the way set, but this is my general plan: Stay eating clean. I ABHORE CARDIO. Really. I REALLY don’t want to do it. Maybe a tiny bit. But to be able to do minimal cardio, I have to eat clean. I plan on consuming MORE carbs, and MORE calories, but sticking to clean eating sources! I will probably still buy and cook in bulk (a lot of chicken breast), and may even still bust out my food scale for protein portions. I will eat more complex carbs surrounding resistance training (perhaps carb cycling, with higher carbs around leg training), and will consider incorporating simple carbs as well in the post workout window. I am thinking about adding creatine to supplement pre workout to promote anabolism. I want to experiment with my crazy protein and veggie recipes again I am thinking of continuing with a multi daily, fish oil daily, and L-carnitine pre cardio. I think I want to get back into MMA. Maybe other cross training. I want to build up my LEGS and get some shredded-azz LEGS!!! QUADS, HAMS, GLUTES! I always love new challenges. I wanna look at these babies and see some ripped-ness! Heavy leg resistance training twice a week…hitting other body parts (minus chest, I RARELY hit chest) once a week, except abs maybe 2X a week. Cardio if I feel like it? Maybe once, maybe twice? Maybe none. <Delivish Look> Maybe I’ll count MMA/no gi/muay thai/wrestling if I take those as a cardio….Really want to use the alleged heightened anabolism of the post contest period to gain serious muscle, especially in the legs…by doing my (4 day?) split hard and really dialing into pre and post workout nutrition….Then once I get a little breather in my system then I’ll consider another show But anyway that’s what I’m thinking for now as far as post comp plan…I am sure it will become clearer day by day until it will just manifest…Just have to keep my mind right!

Here are some articles/blog entries related to post competition. A common theme overall is to BE PREPARED as well as to GRADUALLY introduce elements of the pre-contest lifestyle back in OVER TIME. Don’t just jump back into eating tons of carbs n candy and stop exercising or you’ll be VERY, VERY SORRY. Check out Berardi’s article, in particular.

Getting Unshredded- Tips for Coming Off of Extreme Diets by John Berardi, CSCS

Post Competition Blues Part 1: Understanding the Mind Game When It’s Over

Post Competition Blues Part 2: Preparedness and Expectations

Post Contest Rebound

Morning After: Post-Competition Blues

What do you think?

Lots of love,

Kristina

Tags: carb cycling, carbs, cardio, legs, nutrition, planning, post competition
Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, Motivation & Mindset, Nutrition / Recipes, Training | No Comments »

Update & Invitation to My First Figure Competition!!!

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Hello my loves! I am having a brief moment of energy and positivity so figured I’d take advantage of that to shoot out a blog post. Wow, there is SO MUCH I have neglected to keep you posted on! Bad blogger, BAD!

Thoughts run through my head of what I SHOULD have been sharing with you…my new-found love (and I mean obsessive delicious miraculous healthy mouthgasm) of macademia nut oil…any of my various weight training routines…any small regime changes I may have manipulated in these past few weeks…the arrival of my suits…so on..and so forth…

BUT I am sorry, I’ll only go with the present time and just tell you that I have, in general, hit a wall in terms of exhaustion. The first, say, 9 weeks were a breeze! I was perplexed by the stories of competitors feeling depleted, exhausted, miserable, bitchy, etc etc etc…I felt excited, happy, and full of energy! It was about a week or so ago, though, that I started to feel…mentally tortured with cardio. I’m serious. Tortured. Started to feel mentally and physically exhausted, despite trying to rest as much as possible. Feeling cranky and grumpy and irritated. Just want to lie down. Do not want to move. Do NOT want to do second cardio. Struggling. So it’s been hard recently.

I’m still absolutely consistent in my diet and have not missed ONE workout in my figure prep ever since I started, so perhaps that’s why my body is still responding. It’s not that I’m frustrated with a plateau in my body weight of anything (thank goodness), it’s just a deep mental and/or physical exhaustion. Hard to know which one it is- maybe both.

Yesterday after my clients I RESTED as in VEGGED as much as I could, lying on the COUCH, messing around on the internet, reading a book, and so forth- VEG. Despite that, I am still tired today, super tirredd in general just want to go home and VEG but alas have more clients and grad school etc etc…But I keep pushing. My show is in two weeks and 5 days, and I have made tremendous changes in my physique during my prep, as well as done things I’ve never thought possible, and am so grateful for this incredible journey, and know this is the last little push, and I have come too far to turn back… I am working on changing my mind set to embrace this challenge and remember that no one is forcing me to do this competition and if I’m not having fun then what’s the point?

I wrote an email to peeps today inviting them to my show and thought I’d share

LOVE YOU!! <3

Dear family and friends,

You may or may not have known that in the past two plus months I have undergone a personal challenge to compete in my first figure competition. In 2 weeks and 5 days- on Saturday, August 6th- I will compete in the INBA Natural Bodybuilding Championships in Windsor, CA. The link is here:
http://www.naturalbodybuilding.com/pages/pages/contest_schedule.php

There is the early show at noon and there is a night show at 6 PM. The only info I know is the info you see on the jenky website.

I know Windsor is a bit far for many of you, so I won’t hold it against you if you don’t come!! I also must share that it is pretty darn boring to see peeps just walking on stage, posing, so on and so forth…yawn yawn yawn. With that as a disclaimer, if you want to see me get my white butt-turned-orange-brown-ridiculous-with fake tanner up on stage wearing practically nothing and facing my biggest horror of having to attempt to walk in 5 inch clear heels AND not be completely weebly-woobly-falling-oopsies while simultaneously attempting complete, devastating allurement, then please come by and support and scream my name! I have been working HARD and I mean ***HARD*** in this figure competition preparation which is essentially bodybuilding. I’m gonna bring my best package and have some fun! If you come at night, then we might hang out afterwards and grab a bite to eat at (gasp) a restaurant…something I haven’t done in a looong time. I would love to see all your beautiful faces! Let me know, my loves!

Tags: & Bikini, bodybuilding, Figure, Fitness, INBA
Posted in Figure, Fitness, & Bikini, Local Attractions, Motivation & Mindset, Training | No Comments »

Archive for the ‘Training’ Category

Sunday Morning Walk + Motivational Quotes

Put Sum Spinnas on These Wheelsssss

Back & Calves & Cardio; Versa Gripps

Handstand Push Ups For Delt Training

Big Back, Baby

Client Transformation: Christen Manak

Update, Experiments, Next Shows

We just have one life. Keep it simple. LIVE IT & Be happy &…

Spotlight: Emily Stirling (WBFF Figure Pro)- Adv. Core Workout

Developing Plan for Post Competition

Update & Invitation to My First Figure Competition!!!

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