HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!

This weekend was full of partying and friends! We went out dancing! I love to get extra cardio in this way. I will stay out on the dance floor as long as I can! It was packed but I could still move. I ran into some people that I have not seen in awhile. Budweiser has come out with a new beer called B2, I think. It comes in a red and black can. It has ginseng and caffeine in it. I tried it but it still has that malt liquor taste to it. I don't drink beer! I think it tastes nasty and it makes you fat! Something about that yeast in it, I think. My diet is still going pretty good. Lots of egg whites! I had a great weekend and hope you did to!

You can't hire someone to practice for you!

30 Minutes!

Today, it seemed I was pressed for time everywhere! Tonight's Aerobics class went well. I taught Buns class and then Kickboxing. My legs are sore from all the activity this week. I managed to get through ok. I did 30 minutes of weights for chest, shoulders and triceps. I did not rest between sets. All sets were slow and controlled.

Incline Dumbbell Press 20# 1x15, 25# 1x15, 30# 1x15
Incline Chest Press Machine 70# 2x12
Pushups 1x15 to failure
Barbell Shoulder Press 35# 2x12 (I find this exercise to really hit my front delts well)
Shoulder Press Machine 50# 1x8, 40# 1x10
Dumbbell Side Lat Raises 12# 2x12
2-arm Dumbbell Overhead Ext. 20# 1x15, 1x12
Reverse 1-arm Cable Tricep Ext. Kick back 15# 3x15

TO BE THE BEST, YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST.

"THE BEST LITTLE WHORE HOUSE IN TEXAS" I am in the blue at the end on the right!

"CHICAGO" 

This was me in "CHICAGO: THE MUSICAL"  

"SWEET CHARITY" Tryouts!

Hey! Thanks to everyone for your emails and IM's. I have been extremly busy lately. It's nice to know I've been missed! My workout and diet haven't changed much in the past couple of weeks. I worked legs today and increased the workout somewhat. You can compare this to the last couple of weeks workout to see how slowly progressive it was. No problems with working legs! I have not seen the chiropractor in weeks. I feel like my body is ready to train hard again! I am getting so excited about this year's plans. I have alot in store ahead of me!

I used to do alot of acting in musicals in High school and college. I have decided to be in another show at our local community theater here in town. I love the choreographer Bob Fosse. His style of dancing is very cool! I have had a couple of practices so far and am enjoying the dancing so much. Another way for me to get extra cardio in....haha! Being in the show also helps motivate me to stay on track and meet my goals. I will post some pics of some of the past shows I've been in.

Leg Workout:
Walking dumbbell Lunges 15# 2 Laps
Smith Machine Squats 115# 2x15
1-Legged Lying Leg Curl 15# 1x15
Leg Ext. 85# 1x15, 80# 1x15
Romanian Deadlifts 35# 1x20
1-Legged Leg Press 135# 2x20
ABD Machine 70# 1x30
ADD Machine 70# 1x30
Standing Calf Raises 125# 1x20, 1x15
Stretching 4 minutes

PEOPLE NEVER IMPROVE UNLESS THEY LOOK TO SOME STANDARD OR EXAMPLE HIGHER OR BETTER THAN THEMSELVES. ~ Tyrone Edwards

Satisfaction Leads To Failure!

I went to bed a little hungry last night so I will increase my calories a little bit today. Progessive overload is the key!! I plan on consuming two high carb days and one high protein day and rotating that for a week or so. I worked light legs this morning at the gym. I have not been to the Chiropractor in about two weeks. I felt no pain and everything seemed to be fine. I listened to some new music while I trained today! There is nothing like new music to motivate you while you workout! My three favs right now are "Let Me Love You" by Mario, "Only You" by Ashanti and "I Don't Care" by Silver feat. Milk Inc. These are kinda slow but hey....it was a light day.

Leg Workout:
Walking Lunges with 15# dumbbells 2 laps around floor
Smith Machine Squats 95# 2x20, 105# 1x15
1-Legged Lying Leg Curls 15# 1x12
Leg Extentions 80# 2x15
Romanian Deadlifts 35# 1x20
1-Legged Leg Press 135# 1x20, 1x15
ABD Machine (outer Thigh) 70# 1x30
ADD Machine (Inner Thigh) 60# 1x25
Standing Calf Raises 100# 1x20, 125# 1x15

Stretching 4 minutes. I stretched in between sets and rested no longer than 1 minute between exercises. My hamstrings stay so sore! My bands are so short that I have to really stretch a lot to keep them from locking up and losing flexibility. I hurt my left hamstring when I was doing Fitness competitions. I remember chewing up an antinflamatory backstage before going on to do my routine at Nationals. That HURT! I felt pretty good after this workout. Depending on how I feel and how well I recover, I will increase my weight next week.

I accumulated 4.8 miles of walking today. I would like to increase that to 5 miles a day if I don't do any cardio. I didn't do cardio on purpose today because I did not want to overload my legs too much . Eventually, I will be doing cardio on leg days to. Exercise is a stress on the body. It's a good stress, Eustress, but needs to be accumulated progressively to make permanent changes and prevent injury or burnout.

Diet:
4 egg whites, 1 bowl of grits, 1 1/2 cups of skim milk
Myoplex
Protein Drink with 1/3 cup of strawberries from gym
Myoplex
5 egg whites, 1/2 yolk, 1 bowl of grits, 1 cup of sugar-free Lemonade
Myoplex

Today, I named the title of my blog after Travis's one liner. Thanks for the quote! It really hit home! "SATISFACTION LEADS TO FAILURE!" That is so true. It seems that when people get satisfied with things....whether it's working out, a job, relationship.....they stop trying so hard and become settled with themselves never achieving their full potential. I don't want to fit into this category! I will NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Burn Baby!

Today, immediately upon awakening I got on my Elliptical Rider and did 30 minutes of light to moderate intensity cardio. It was really hard cause I was really hungry! I got a little nauseated towards the end and didn't think I was going to make it but I did.....I slowed way down and kept going and did some deep breathing exercises. I enjoy going to Launchcast.com and watching music videos while I am doing my cardio. I used to watch the Young & The Restless when I did it but my VCR is broke and wont record any more. I haven't watched that soap opera in a long time. I am lost, don't really know what's going on anymore. Studies show that you tend to burn fat faster when doing cardio this way. Think about it, if you have had at least 8 or more hours of sleep, that means you haven't consumed any food lately either so your body has no choice but to pull or burn energy from your fat stores. Usually, the body burns Carbs, Protein and then fat in that order. This is the best way to lose body fat. I wore my pedometer again today. I will wear it every day this week and see how many miles I have accumulated! I am keeping track of EVERYTHING! Last night, I read some workouts I had done in 1998! My strength has been pretty steady. I don't think I drank enough water today. I couldn't find my water bottle there for a little while. (I left it in my car!)

Workout: 2-3x15
Hypers for Lower back
Lat. Pulldowns to Front 70#, 80#, 90#
1-arm Bent-Over Rows 25#, 30#, 35#
Barbell Curls 35#
Inc. Dumbbell Curls 15# ( my biceps were so pumped by this time I only did 1 set)

Diet:
4 egg whites and 1 bowl of grits, 1 cup skim milk
Myoplex Protein Drink
1 cup Chicken and Rice
Roasted Chicken Wrap from Arby's (GREAT!!!)

I can't wait for tomorrow's workout: LEGS!!

THOSE WHO STRIVE TO BE ABOVE AVERAGE SOON ARE!

My Pedometer!

Well, I have taken pictures of myself and measurements. The assessment begins! I do not like to make drastic changes in my diet so I will begin slowly eatting the way I need to eat to compete again. The first show I plan on doing is in June, 5 months away. I will take pictures and measurements again in about 6 weeks to assess my progress. Today I wore a pedometer while I was teaching PE to see how active I am while at work. In 3 hours I had accumulated over 5 miles! Over the entire day, I had accumulated almost 8 miles! Now this is without doing any cardio! Pretty good, I thought! 2000 steps is estimated to be 1 mile.

Diet: 4 egg whites, bowl of grits, 1 cup suagar-free lemonade
2 cups of chicken and rice
1 roasted chicken wrap with lettuce and tomato only from Arby's
2 liters of water

Workout: Light chest, shoulders and tri's
Pushups 2x20
Lying Dumbbell Press 15# 2x15
Military Press 1x15 15# (shoulders kinda bothering me today)
Side Lateral Raises 1x15 15#
Lying Tricep Extention 2x15 15#

TALENT WITHOUT DISCIPLINE IS LIKE AN OCTOPUS ON ROLLER SKATES. THERE'S PLENTY OF MOVEMENT, BUT YOU NEVER KNOW IF IT'S GOING TO BE FORWARD, BACKWARDS, OR SIDEWAYS.

What's up with this weather?

Hey! Sorry, I haven't written in awhile. It has been hectic getting back into routine since the holidays. I have been staying very active with my PE classes. I went to a workshop this past week on a new curriculum based on fitness. It felt like I was at an aerobic workshop. It was really neat. I did a basketball aerobic warm up with the kids everyday this week! They seemed to really enoy it. I am fighting a cold I think. I have been coughing everyday and not feeling very well. I watched the movie "Super Size Me". OMG!! I think everyone should see it! It's amazing what eating McDonald's can do to your body everyday for 30 days straight! I need to go to the grocery store. If I don't keep good food at home and run out, that's when I will want to just grab some fast food cause it's more convenient. But we can't get in the habit of doing that or we become overweight and tired all the time. This week, I am working each body part a little heavier. I am increasing my weight and will decrease my reps some just to shock my muscles. I don't know what's going on with the weather. Yes, I live in Louisiana and yes it's crazy but right now it is just unreal!! One day it will be 74 degrees and high humidity and the next it will be 30 degrees and freezing!!! What's up with that?? I can't make myself workout in really cold or hot weather. I feel very uncomfortable and don't like what it's doing to my cardiovascular system. Right now, I am playing it by ear. The New Year rush is here at the gym so you have to wait on equipment. That is the worst! I would rather just workout at home then have to deal with all that! I just bought some 15 # dumbbells recently so that will help out some. Now, I need some 20's.

IT'S HARD TO BEAT A PERSON WHO NEVER GIVES UP. ~ Babe Ruth