17 4 / 2012
Am I The Only Fitness Freak?
When the alarm goes off in the morning, do you actually smile because it’s your wake up call for the gym? Then you might be a fitness freak.
Do you love rolling out of bed and feeling the soreness of your muscles from yesterday’s workout? You may be a freak.
Do you know which treadmill have broken televisions, which ones have belts that stick and which ones work just right? Then you might be a fitness freak.
And let’s clarify there is nothing wrong with being a fitness freak, we should all stand up together and be proud. Its us fitness freaks in the world that help push others or at least we hope we can get others off the couch and into the gym. If one person tells me that I helped them do a circuit training workout, or whatever, then I am a happy exercise freak.
Just because you love to exercise and can call yourself a freak, doesn’t mean that you’re addicted to it, let’s just clarify that right now. We know the importance of a healthy lifestyle and realize that exercise is a balancing act of fitness and rest. We push our bodies but not to a level that can be detrimental to our health.
14 4 / 2012
Our trip to the farmer’s market was a huge success! It was probably my favorite day so far this year! Just something about waking up early, fighting the crowds and buying all fresh, local foods… it’s awesome!
For $25 I bought:
- Arugula
- Strawberries
- Beets
- Brussel sprouts
- Pea shoots
- Vidalia Onions
- Red onion
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Bell Peppers
- Eggplant
- Latte (a must when going downtown!)
11 4 / 2012
Oh breakfast, how I love you… Oats in a jar!
When there is just enough peanut butter left in the jar for you to scrap the sides and lick it clean is when this meal is a winner! Don’t be tempted to lick it today, save it for the morning. Cook your oatmeal in the glass jar and all the peanut butter melts down and makes for a yummy breakfast!
I add cinnamon and a splash of vanilla to mine!
To say I get really excited when I notice the jar is getting empty is an understatement!
10 4 / 2012
Do You Think You Can?
I can’t get over this quote yet, it’s been stuck in my head for days and when ever I sit down to type it’s fresh on my mind.
Henry Ford once said:
“Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”
This is perhaps my all time favorite quote because it resonates so loudly.
The mind is a powerful thing and it controls more than you can ever imagine. If you have been sitting around complaining and telling yourself that there is no way you’re ever going to fit back into your old clothes, or no way you’re ever going to get a flatter stomach then you know what…
You’re right.
If you sit around telling yourself that you will always struggle with money, or you will always be miserable in your job, then you know what… 
You’re right.
On the flip side… if you CONTINUOUSLY tell yourself that you can lose the weight, that you can tone up and flatten your stomach or that you can get out of your money troubles then something amazing can happen!
You will!
Studies show time and time again that the power of our subconscious is more than we will ever understand. But when you dwell on negatives, you’re more likely to experience negatives in your life. And the same goes for focusing on positive goals and outcomes.
So how exactly does this affect you and your workouts? A lot!
When it comes to announcing goals most people say “I want….” but in truth, what does that “want” really amount to? But what about “I am going…” that is a lot of definite and opens up a lot more room for action and payoff.
So that is what I want you to do right now, don’t tell yourself what you want to do with your body, tell yourself (and write it down) what you are going to do with your body.
For example, here are a few of my personal goals:
- I will drop 3% body fat
- I will have a 6-back by June
- I will have a completely healed knee (see my blog LiftingRevolution for details)
- I will run a half marathon before December
Those are just 4 goals, I promise I have more but I don’t want to bore you to death, because I am taking away time where you can be writing down your actions.
So what do you think, can you or can’t you?
07 4 / 2012
Oh How I Love Birthdays!
My birthday recap! I never understand why people (women) dread their birthdays, it’s better than not having a birthday, right?
Celebrate each year that you have because it’s a gift! And speaking of gifts, this year my birthday gifts rocked.
05 4 / 2012
Holy crap, I rock!
It’s so freaking cool when you see your training and clean nutrition paying off!
For the past 4-weeks, I have embraced a vegan lifestyle! I wasn’t sure if I could keep it up but to be honest not it’s just a part of my day to day living. I still have 8 more weeks of the challenge before I decide if I plan on sticking to this lifestyle or what I want to do.
I am thinking I will continue to be vegetarian, so that I can add in eggs and seafood (I love fish and shrimp way too much). These are foods that would help me to be able to enjoy nights out with friends which is where there is a disconnect right now being strict vegan.
It helps to see how my body has changed in these past 4-weeks because while I see my measurements are different, my weight hasn’t change much so I know I am maintaining and even adding muscle while losing fat. Peace out love handles!
- What do you think about vegan diets?
- Are you vegan or have you ever been vegan?
You can track my meals and progress at my facebook page- The Art of Weight Lifting
04 4 / 2012
"Keep steadily before you the fact that all true success depends at last upon yourself."
03 4 / 2012
Tonight’s dinner! From my Quinoa Cuisine Cookbook! Tabouli salad with a side of asparagus for me… Chicken with tzatziki with a side of tabouli and asparagus for my hubby!
See, a sign that vegans and nonvegans can live peacefully under one roof.
The perfect meal for a warm evening! The fresh herbs and lemon made me feel as if summer were already here (aside from the 90 degree temps in Charleston)!
03 4 / 2012
If you’re looking for an intense, body weight, fat burning, muscle toning, sweat dripping type of workout then here’s your workout! Plus it takes less than 20 minutes to do, get in get out and get back to looking for a new bathing suit!
This workout is going to help you rock your bikini this year!
It’s only 4-exercises and it goes like this:
Start with 1 rep of each of the 4 moves, then repeat the circuit again with 2 reps, continuing adding on one rep onto the circuit until you are doing 8 reps of each exercise! If you have time work your way back down… but you’ll feel spent after just going up.
Exercises:
- Scorpion push-ups
- Donkey Jumps
- Burpee with tuck jump
- Candlesticks
- What’s your favorite type of workout?
29 3 / 2012
My Fight With The Easter Bunny
Not excited at all about having a milk jar FILLED to the brim with my favorite jelly beans… early Easter present from my mother-n-law. Love her but not loving the temptation that these little guys are causing while they stare at me from across the room.
How I’ve decided to handle this ridiculous temptation?
- Out of site out of mind… when my husband was off doing something else, I snuck into his office and placed these on his shelf. I never go in there so I’ll let him be tempted instead. If I don’t see them I don’t think about them
at allas often. - Don’t avoid too much. It’s okay to cave a little bit… if you try to avoid temptations 100% before you know it the jar will be upside down as the jelly beans just slide into your mouth.
- Work for it… if I want 5 jelly beans I have to do 5 burpees or some other awesome total body exercise!
- Use them in as decoration… oh how I love pintrest! I recently found this Easter decorating idea and now I can follow through. I would never buy bags of jelly beans myself because if I did I would probably snag an extra bag just to eat myself. Don’t want that happening! But now I can do this:
Source: i.imgur.com via Kari on Pinterest
