Trainers Train With Trainers (and you should too!)

Trainers have trainers, professional athletes have trainers, people that haven't stepped foot into a gym in 10 years (or ever) have trainers... Everyone can benefit from a personal trainer. There is always something you can learn from someone else.

I feel lucky to be in the unique position of being a Certified Personal Trainer (NESTA) and work at a gym, but not be a trainer in the gym I work at. Certain roles are appropriate certain places & not in others. I get to help more people than I could otherwise, and I get to train with a great variety of trainers - sometimes I feel like Pokemon: Gotta catch 'em all!

Having a trainer isn't just about "showing you how to exercise" or "lose weight", they can do pretty much anything. My personal favorite things about working with other trainers is that you can see different perspectives (working out, nutrition, etc.) and they most likely will push you much more than you would push yourself on your own. And I definitely push myself on my own. I also love learning different things (do you think if you work with a dozen trainers, they're all going to show you the same thing?) and the added plus that my workouts are never boring because of this.

I started working with a new female trainer the past couple of weeks and today reminded me of why I chose her & why I love working with other trainers. When I do dead-lifts on my own, I usually pick up a 40lb bar, or if that's not around I'll get the 30. What did she bring over? A 65lb bar for 12+ reps. Instead of laughing (like I did another time a different trainer gave me something much heavier than I thought I could do) I said "Sure, I'll try it." Completed through the end, I did go.

Wondering what to look for in a trainer, or where to find one? Contact me with your questions and locations and I will be glad to help you out! You do want to look for someone who's certified through a reputable national licensing program (NESTA, ACE, NASM, NCSF) and above all - someone who LISTENS to you and makes you feel COMFORTABLE.

Cheers to lifting for all! Or just eating better works too. :)

~ Samantha Marie

Music Monday!

Let me introduce you to an artist & a genre that you may or may not know, but you should know.

http://omnieraentertainment.com/cloudskipper

Even if you're not into electronic music, this is a great genre to work out to. I hear similar beats coming from a Body Combat or Turbo Kickboxing class!

His bio, taken from the OmniEra site, written by me:

From his start as a DJ over a decade ago, Cloudskipper has been the leader in the American hardcore music scene. His rise to become one of the most popular and anticipated hardcore DJs and producers is especially prevalent in his live sets, taking you on a journey through the various sub-genres he manipulates.

Having toured all over the world in every major city in the US, Canada, and England, with several releases on labels such as Raw Elements, KFA, Supernova, and Bedlam, it's no wonder Cloudskipper continues to take hardcore, its sub-genres, and its audience by storm! His sets and production are NOT to be missed!

 Quite possibly my favorite Happy Hardcore mix, regardless if I'm biased or not, is called "Get Vocal" which contain some of the best & my most favorite anthems: http://omnieraentertainment.com/files/Cloudskipper_-_Get_Vocal.mp3

Check out his Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/cloudskipper

Finals Week in Summer School

My blog postings have been uber sparse this past week. Besides the usual recipe & workout posts, I have a great little feature profile on an amazing lady & her personal journey through losing over 70lbs. I was hopping to get it done by today, but it will have to wait until next Friday.

In getting back to life I obviously decided to get back to school, and just finished my first computer course at City College of San Francisco. I was really happy to be returning after a 6 year absence! I had always really loved going to college. The last class I took, which I unfortunately ended up having to drop in Summer 2008 was Ownership & Operation of Small Business. I had gotten my AA and a couple of certifications from CCSF in December of 2004 for Business and Dance (I was teaching dance at the time) and continued to take classes there because I absolutely love learning things. I took some psychology which I did great at, and attempted to take some music courses which I didn't do so great at. I guess we can only be talented at so many things (haha) but I wouldn't mind attempting some more music theory & composition in the future. Currently, my priorities are focused in other areas.

Since this was the first class I was going to take after so long, I decided it might be a good idea to brush up on some things I would probably need to know no matter what I do: Computer applications. True that I am connected to the Internet at all times, but that really doesn't mean I know anything about computers. Computer Applications for Business was the course I ended up taking, which covered Word, Excel, PowerPoint and a bit of Access in just 6 weeks. Before a few weeks ago, I only knew how to change the colors of the boxes in Excel, and I thought PowerPoint was like magic. Continuing to work full time, I bought my first ground coffee to make at home before going to school in the morning in I don't know how many years, but quite a few years at least. Coffee doesn't taste as fabulous as I remember it.

I don't have my final grade yet so I don't get to share that with you now, but I think I did well. This might have also been the first semester in my entire life where I didn't miss a single day of school. That in itself makes me very happy. It's just another thing I get to notice that is so much different in my current life now than in the life I had before I got sick. Believe it or not I have had many recurring nightmares about missing school for one reason or another haha. Maybe now those nightmares will go away.

So now I have 2 weeks of semi-freedom, since I'm still working full time, and also plan to catch up on some hardcore working out. Then I have 1 week of REAL ACTUAL VACATION! The last actual vacation I took was my birthday in January. The extent of me having more than 1 weekend day off since has pretty much only been extended to 3 days off over Easter weekend to visit my mom & grandpa. I'm taking this me-time now because fall semester is just around the corner on August 18th! I'm already signed up for a psychology and a nutrition class, and am on the waiting list for a women's health class. Very excited!

Dinner in Under 350 Calories!

I have a mini-vacation coming up in a few weeks which includes me wearing a bikini in public for a good majority of the time. Cue me keeping an even closer eye on what I eat & how much of it!

Dinner tonight in under 350 calories: 

Baked Teriyaki tofu, penne pasta with lemon garlic shrimp, tomatoes & Parmesan and sautéed spinach. 

 

Here's all that's in it (special thanks to MyFitnessPal as always for the detailed food database):

• 1/4 block organic firm tofu
• 1 TBS teriyaki Sauce
• 8 medium shrimp
• 1/3rd cup organic brown rice penne pasta
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2tsp olive oil
• 2tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1tbs crushed garlic
• 2tbs Parmesan cheese
• basil & ground pepper

Total: 335 Calories, 26g protein, 22g carbs, 12g fat, 2g of fiber & just 390mg of sodium.

*Please note: I eat about 5 times a day, with dinner usually being my largest as the rest are about 250-300 calories.  I do not support eating under a healthy amount.

What's On My Grocey List

I hate to cook, but I love to eat healthy & delicious food and don't have the moola to eat out every day. I buy pretty much the same things every week, meal prep & don't get bored. Here's what's usually on my grocery list if you were wondering where you'd begin to start a habit like this too:

My Top 3 every day essentials:
- Baby Spinach leaves
- Cherry/ grape or sugar plum tomatoes (easier & quicker to deal with than large)
- Shredded Mozzarella

Top 5 Proteins:
- Chicken breast
- Greek Yogurt
- Firm Tofu
- Eggs/ Egg Whites
- Tuna

Secondary Proteins & Fiber:
- Pinto Beans
- Edamame
- Avocadoes
- Quest Bars

Other Veggies:
- Broccoli
- Organic Corn
- Zucchini / Squash
- Carrots
- Garlic

The 5 things I think everyone should have in their cabinet:
- Olive Oil
- Fresh Ground Pepper
- Basil
- Cayenne
- Balsamic Vinegar

Other things I can't live without:
- Lemon Juice
- Sparkling Water
- Peanut Butter
- Dried Fruit
- Whey protein powder (vanilla & chocolate)
- Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk (& sometimes rice or organic soy)

I can eat for a couple weeks on all this stuff! :)

Chocolate Sponge Protein Bar

Today's Blog Bonus:
Easy Ways to Boost Fiber - from SparkPeople
You're probably not getting the 30-35 grams of fiber per day that you probably need. And if you have an irrational fear of "carbs", I can almost guarantee you're not if you're not taking fiber supplements.

I couldn't find an easy protein bar recipe to make at home with the ingredients I had, so I decided to wing it tonight & see what happens.

Why not? I was using things I had an abundance of anyway: Chocolate protein powder, flaxseed, stevia, maple syrup... Sometimes we just gotta learn things on our own.

Anyway, like the title says, it came out like a sponge. A hard yet chocolate edible sponge. I'm not saying you should go try & make this, but I am sharing in my experience of trials & errors. It's not bad, but I'm going to alter it the next time I attempt this again. Maybe I didn't need to cook it so long...

I used:
8 scoops of chocolate protein powder (had a boatload of Gold Standard I got on sale at work)
4 or 5 tablespoons of whole flax seed I put in my blender before adding to the powder.
1/4 cup organic maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon stevia
4 tablespoons vanilla syrup
2 packets of Swiss Miss Diet (used as insurance for a chocolate-y flavor)
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil

Preheated oven to 350 degrees.
Coated with Earth Balance organic buttery spread
Baked for 15 minutes.

Thanks to MyFitnessPal's huge food database, I can tell you each of these 8 servings contains:
184 cals. 25g protein, 12g carbs, 4g fat, 1g fiber, 171mg of sodium

10 Minutes or Under Workouts

Hello Workout Wednesday!

Pick any 5 of these & do for 30 seconds each, repeating twice:

Jumping Jacks
Crunches
Lunges
Wall Hold
Squats
High Knees
Burpees (omg!)
Run in Place

Some other ideas:

Beautiful Photos of Places in Europe

Whenever I feel like calming down from the internet, or before bed, or just like to see awesome new ideas, I take to Pinterest. It's one of my favorite sites, and that along with MyFitnessPal are probably the two you'll hear me talk about most on this blog right now.

Without further adieu, here are some beautiful photos of places I'd like to visit in Europe:

See also: http://www.topdreamer.com/visit-the-most-beautiful-villages-in-europe/

Austria

 

Venice, Italy

Florence

 

 

Venice, Italy

France

Greece

Tuscany

Shoulders, Biceps & Triceps

I like to do strength training on my lunch, since you don't work up as much of a sweat as cardio.
I'm lucky to work at a gym where I can use my (usually) short lunch to do this.

The strength training routines I do take about 20-25mins, doing 2 sets of each exercise. For a decent 45 minute workout, double the sets. Remember to rest approximately 45 seconds between sets, and ideally each set should be done to failure.

Currently I am working on endurance, so each set of mine has 15 sets and I'm using lighter weight. Here was my workout for Shoulder, Bicep & Tricep day:

Circuit 1:
Arnold Press (bicep curl with shoulder press) x15
Overhead Tricep Extension x15
Hammer Curl x15 each side
- Repeat twice -

Circuit 2:
Lateral Raise Front & Side x15 each
Tricep Kickbacks x15 each side
Bicep Curl on TRX x15
- repeat twice -

Circuit 3:
Bent Over Row x15 each side
Tricep Dips x15
- repeat twice -

In case you females need a reminder:

Downtime

Apologies for not keeping up with new material this week, I had some major issues with my computer. It seems to be fixed now & I'll be writing up some things this weekend to post for next week.

Have a beautiful weekend!

~ Samantha

Influenster #VowVoxBox Review

My second VoxBox from Influenster is the VowVoxBox: Basically, getting ready to say "I do" aka - vows. I received these items complementary for testing purposes.

 In the box was:

• Tide To-Go
•  Pure Silk Raspberry Shaviing Cream
• Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Barracuda
• Olay Regenerist Luminous Tone Perfecting Cream
• Eco Tools Facial Sponge
• Riley & Grey Online Coupon

Let's start with what turned out to be my favorite tester: The EcoTools Pure Complexion Facial Sponge:

Gets soft in the shower & foams up nicely. It's a great reusable sponge & great for the environment too!

Olay, however, was the biggest positive surprise. I didn't think much (or expect much) of an Olay cream. I get my face & skincare products mostly from Sephora and would have not tried this on my own. Pleasantly surprised. Points from this cream:

• Did not irritate my sensitive skin
• Blended in well; didn't leave a greasy or film feeling
• It mositurized just as well as the other brands I use that cost 3-5xs as much
• Although I only used it for a week, it might actually possibly does what it says: I was starting to get an age spot at my oh-so-very young age & decided that's what I was going to test it against. Maybe it was the placebo effect, but I do feel my skin has a more even tone. Would definitely suggest to those looking for something to even skin tone that's economical

 

Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure however, was a huge dissapointment. I normally love Sally Hansen products, but as you can see: This polish goes on watery and chalk-y. I used two coats, so you can compare one coats on the left, and two coats on the right. I'm hoping I just got a bad bottle, but there you go.

Tide To-Go was also another dissapointment, although I didn't expect much from it in the first place. I decided to test it out on some white satin PJs (closest thing to a bride's dress I have, right?) to see if it would do anything. I got some sad brown stains from the washer one time & I couldn't figure out what it was, but they wouldn't come off & I didn't want to use hardcore bleach on something so delicate. I tried, but to no avail. At least I don't have to wear them out in public.

~Samantha

Back on the Wagon

It's Monday, and if you are like most people in the United States this past weekend, you likely consumed an excessive amount of food (yum, BBQ!), more alcohol than you usually do (myself: went wine tasting with an old friend), and didn't stick to your usual workout routine (got out of bed at 3pm today.)

Even if you're not in the United States or even celebrated anything at all, you still had a weekend and most weekends you tell yourself you'll start working out Monday, or feel bad from everything you did or did not do the past 2 or 3 days. I'm telling you to NOT feel bad, to savor all that food & those memories (the ones you can remember), and no matter what happened yesterday or what may happen on Monday, tomorrow is ALWAYS a new day.

Personally, I believe in balance. If you are one of those alien creatures who have no problem working out & eating fabulous 365 days out of the year, good for you! But I don't believe those people exist so don't feel bad about not being one. The important thing for you is to take ownership. ALLOW yourself those occasional times to do and eat whatever you want, just as long as those "occasional times" aren't four days out of every week or every day after 3pm or something.

What I learned from my recent 10 Week Plan is that going hardcore for 10 weeks isn't for me, but 5 weeks is totally doable. I also learned things like I seriously need to stretch more because lifting weights & working out as much as I did needs its balance as well: It needs rest & sleep. Some people have a cheat meal once a week, some people take weekends off (just don't go so crazy all weekend that you ruin all your hard work from during the week), some people like to have long-term plans or goals and THEN reward themselves after.

Point being, it's more than okay to have pigged out last weekend, or even next weekend. Heck, it's even healthy and you should plan for it! Today is a new day, tomorrow is a new day - what are you doing to do with it?

End of My 10 Week Plan

Well, I'm just a couple days short of the end of my 10 Week Plan. July 4th was my own personal deadline a few months ago that if I didn't fit into half of the clothes I have left (the rest of the ones I currently have with me) that I had to throw the rest of them away. I have some pretty awesome amazing clothes from my 10+ years in retail (lots of Nordstroms) that are in like-new condition, and this was the last thing I wanted to happen. I chose July 4th because it was my half birthday, and I figured at the time (February) I could buckle down & lose another size and a half (I think?) When April came around & my progress wasn't going as I would have liked, I decided to install a 10 Week Plan of my own. Lose 10lbs &/or fit into the clothes I needed to.

About a week & 1/2 ago I ended up having some stomach issue & was advised to stay off my feet for a week, so that killed my exercise. However, I am very happy with the choices I made & the progress I have accomplished. Some things I decided to do:

- Switched my Macros up a bit: Was eating about 40% Carbs (I really don't like going under 40), 35% Protein & 25% Fat. I was doing 40/30/30. My body feels weird if I go over 40% Protein so I don't like to, I'm fine doing 30-40 though. I like my Carbs above 40 (I eat fabulous carbs BTW) and I like my Fats 25-20% - usually coming from things like avocados, peanut butter, cheese & edamame. For being 5'2", I ate around 1,600 calories a day.

- I strength trained usually 4 days a week for about 25 minutes each (mostly on my lunch - perks of working at a gym.) I usually had 2 legs days, a chest & back day, and a shoulder/ bicep/ tricep day.

- I worked out with one of my fellow trainers from work usually twice a week for about half hour. I scheduled these on days I worked later and needed to get a workout in before I started work. I did this mostly for accountability - I am NOT a morning person by any means, and I'm also very busy. If I didn't plan someone to work out with at those certain times, there would have been a high likelihood of me skipping my workout that day = no bueno.

- I upped my cardio a bit, since I knew I've been lacking on it the past few months moving into the city. I was doing 1 or 2 Insanity! workouts a week (about 40 minutes), and 2-3 sessions on the elliptical a week, usually around 15-30 minutes. Get it in where you can.

- I got really good at scheduling out my days, whether it was a week in advance for workouts, or the night before for meal planning. Honestly, if you take 30 minutes once a week to plan out your week, and about an hour &1/2 once a week to meal prep, you save yourself a BOAT LOAD of time, money, stress, and excuses.

This may sound like a lot, but it really isn't. 30-60 minutes of exercise 5 days a week isn't that hard if you stop making excuses and do it. Meal planning & prepping isn't hard if you say "Hey, Sunday afternoon I'm going to get groceries so I can meal prep 7-8:30 that night & have my food set for the week." Just do it. Once you get in to the habit for a couple weeks, the pattern almost ends up being on autopilot.

Altogether these past 10 weeks I have lost 8 pounds, but it looks like I have lost a lot more because I do strength training (DO STRENGTH TRAINING!) which also helped me this past week & 1/2 of not being able to work out - I'm pretty sure I've given my metabolism a boost, which is always fantabulous. Though I was 2lbs shy, I FIT INTO ALL THE CLOTHES I NEEDED TO! Granted, there is a pair of jeans I will not wear out in public yet, but I'm freaking happy as all hell that I accomplished my goal and won't have to throw out the rest of my nice clothes.

Starting next week, I will have a 5 week plan, and change some things that I want to based off my experiences with this 10 week plan. One of the biggest things I know I need to change is MORE REST! 10 weeks may be too long to go hardcore, so I'm going to experiment with 4 weeks being strict on things like weights/ lifting/ HIIT, with 1 week of non-weights & non HIIT - where I'll only be allowed to do things like Yoga, Pilates, and moderate cardio activity (brisk walking is an example.) After this 5 week plan, I'll be going to my first pool party in Las Vegas, so my reward will be not being embarrassed in a bikini. :)

Happy hump day everyone!

~Samantha Marie

A Corporation's Religion Can Dictate Women's Health

I could go into a long rant, but it's been a long day for me. I'll leave you with a few memes and some quotes from Ruth Bader Ginsburg's 35 page dissent. And a note at the end of my ironic experience at the lady doctor today.

"In a decision of startling breadth, the Court holds that commercial enterprises, including corporations, along with partnerships and sole proprietorships, can opt out of any law (saving only tax laws) they judge incompatible with their sincerely held religious beliefs," Ginsburg wrote. She said she feared that with its decision, the court had "ventured into a minefield."

"It bears note in this regard that the cost of an IUD is nearly equivalent to a month's full-time pay for workers earning the minimum wage," she wrote. 

"The requirement carries no command that Hobby Lobby or Conestoga purchase or provide the contraceptives they find objectionable," she wrote. "Instead, it calls on the companies covered by the requirement to direct money into undifferentiated funds that finance a wide variety of benefits under comprehensive health plans."

Further, Ginsburg wrote, a woman's decision to claim birth control benefits in consultation with her doctor is in no way compelled by her employer and is not equivalent to a moral action on the part of her employer.
"Should an employee of Hobby Lobby or Conestoga share the religious beliefs of the Greens and Hahns, she is of course under no compulsion to use the contraceptives in question," Ginsburg wrote.

At my OBGYN today, I found out the ring that I've been on since 2009 (which I have to be on hormonal birth control due to issues with my period) is not covered under Medi-Cal that I am currently on. This means I have to go back to using the pill, which I had many more side effects on. It took many brands & many years and many days of being non-functional to find something with side effects I could deal with: not having to vomit 4 days in a row, not having sharp headaches for days on end, & didn't make me suicidal.

So much for the best interest of the patient here in America: Where corporations are people but women are not.