Archive for September 2010

Ciara's WorkOut

Ciara was interviewed by WomensHealth so I’m plugging her tips and words of advice to achieve an amazing A+ body like hers..well you know what I mean…

Train–and eat–like you mean it. “When I was younger, I would play around. I would work out and then eat a burrito afterward. Now I take it seriously–no salt, low salt. It’s strict, but when I follow those rules, I see results.” Working with her trainer, Sean Moon, for an hour a day five to six times a week and being more mindful of what she eats has worked. “A lot of people don’t realize that when you’re trying to lose weight, or just trying to stay fit, 85 percent of it is what you eat, and 15 percent of it is how you work out,” she says. “And listening to that voice in your head that says, ‘I’m gonna get me a burger–I just went to the gym, so it will be OK,’ is a bad idea. You can ruin your whole day with a big cinnamon bun. I’m taking that into account now.”

Target your tummy. Like most of us, Ciara has her trouble spot. “I don’t mind [weight] going to my rear end, but sometimes it goes down to my stomach. I’m like, can you just go to my butt, please?” She stays sleek by doing lots of cardio and by “keeping my stomach squeezed in throughout the day.” Crunches are also key. “We do advanced ab work–probably 500 ab exercises total per session, though sometimes we’ll stop at 200.”

Make Madonna your workout buddy. Normally, Ciara works out to music. “I like up-tempo songs,” she says. “Madonna has a lot of those–her newer stuff, especially, has a cool vibe.” Ciara also gets a great workout rehearsing dance moves for her tour. “I want to get into different things like tap and ballet.” But, she says, you don’t have to be a pro to reap the fat-burning rewards of shaking your booty. “Dancing–however you do it, even if it’s in your living room–is a great workout.”

Get ESPN-zoned. When she’s not listening to Madonna at the gym, Ciara revs herself up by checking out the action on ESPN. “I have so much respect for athletes like LeBron James. I get motivation from them because I know how many hours they put into it. It takes a lot of hard work and drive.” Sometimes, though, you have to be your own role model. “There’s nothing better than seeing results,” she says. “That’s more motivating than anything.”

Max out on mini meals. Rather than sitting down to three squares a day, Ciara prefers five to eight smaller meals when she’s following a rigorous training schedule. A sample menu: One whole-grain pancake with egg whites and some fruit on the side for breakfast, followed by a midmorning fruit snack. Lunch might be steak with broccoli and a baked potato, followed by another snack. For an afternoon boost, she’ll nibble on half a sandwich of turkey with lettuce. Her favorite energy- boosting dinner: whole-wheat pasta with “a cool sauce.” And she never skimps on water. “Drinking tons of water is extremely important. When I’m training, I drink a gallon a day.”

But don’t you dare deprive yourself. An occasional visit to the Cheesecake Factory (Ciara’s favorite splurge spot) isn’t going to kill you. “Food is fun. And for those moments when you want to enjoy yourself, don’t beat yourself up. I have moments when I want to eat pizza or a hamburger–I’m not going to drive myself crazy.”

Remember that saying “Your body is a temple”? Well, it’s true, so show some respect. Recently Ciara pulled a hamstring while rehearsing for a video and paid a visit to her chiropractor. “We’re doing cool things to heal it, like stretching. I think stuff like that is important. When you treat your body well, it will treat you well. Treat it badly, and you’ll feel what happens.”

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Snack Time!!!

Inspiration! 17% Feels Good & I want more!

This dude is easily pushing 6%

BREAKFAST!!!

BREAKFAST

Breakfast is the first meal of the day, usually consumed in the morning. The word is a compound of “break” and “fast“, referring to the conclusion of fasting since the previous day’s last meal. Breakfast meals vary widely in different cultures around the world, but often include a carbohydrate such as cereal or rice, fruit and/or vegetable, protein, sometimes dairy, and beverage.

Nutritional experts have referred to breakfast as the most important meal of the day, citing studies that find that people who skip breakfast are disproportionately likely to have problems with concentration, metabolism, and weight

MY BREAKFAST

Oatmeal (1 serving) cup oats with water, sprinkled with cinnamon powder and a little protein and a banana. Some people dont believe in mixing carbs and protein together. Right now I want balanced meals and to shut it down after 1800 cals. I’ll be sipping on green tea and eating the banana in about 1 hour. No jucing this week (daddy daycare was in full effect didnt juice Sunday night)

 

Wilma Rudolph: Biography

Sometimes when I’m down and out I look for moments in history that define blackfitness, black perseverance and black power. Why? To remind me how great thy are… Feeling sorry for yourself? Remember Wilma!

Wilma Rudolph was a sight to behold. At 5-foot-11 and 130 pounds, she was lightning fast. Wilma watchers in the late 1950s and early ’60s were admonished: don’t blink. You might miss her. And that would be a shame.

At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Rudolph became “the fastest woman in the world” and the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. She won the 100- and 200-meter races and anchored the U.S. team to victory in the 4 x 100-meter relay, breaking records along the way.

In the 100, she tied the world record of 11.3 seconds in the semifinals, then won the final by three yards in 11.0. However, because of a 2.75-meter per second wind — above the acceptable limit of two meters per second — she didn’t receive credit for a world record. In the 200, she broke the Olympic record in the opening heat in 23.2 seconds and won the final in 24.0 seconds. In the relay, Rudolph, despite a poor baton pass, overtook Germany’s anchor leg, and the Americans, all women from Tennessee State, took the gold in 44.5 seconds after setting a world record of 44.4 seconds in the semifinals.

Rudolph’s Olympic performances (she also won a bronze medal at age 16 in the relay at Melbourne in 1956) were spectacular. But it is the story of how she got there that makes her accomplishments legendary. Read more

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SERENITY

One Week at A Time....

Last week I was clicking on all cylinders. Diet consistent, cardio consistent, weights consistent and rest.

Diet:

We all know the importance of this…Purchasing cans of tuna and stacking it in my office came in handy. Prepping quinoa and salads Sunday night for the week helped a termendous amount. Jucing in the AM helped me digest and clear my inards (if thats a word). Some of the changes I’ll incorporate is keeping the carbs under 50gms a day and reloading on Friday. More importantly is get back on track Saturday AM, I did this and it worked.  Each workout is followed by fruit and protein.

Cardio:

Cardio was done everyday, although I know this isnt realistic for me but I did it. I had an extra session of cycling during lunch which took it over the top. I also ditched the cardio before weights idea, long steady cardio with short sprint sessions after weights is my new plan. I also did two pm sessions this week, it was psudeo cross fit which included pull ups followed by 1 min of skipping rope (10 pu’s+1 min rope, 9 pu’s +1 min rope and so forth).. I follwed this with a short 1/2 mile jog + 3 x 100 yd sprint + 1/2 mile walk.  This week I will stay with the same plan but addiing a pushup after every pullup and skipping rope in a similar ashion.

Weights:

This will sound weird but I went into the gym and did what I felt like I needed for the day. Instead of the “today is Monday I’ll do legs plan”…I literally decided my workout while I did a 10minute warm up and stretch. Also interesting enough some of these workout were spontaneous…No pre workout feul…just hard weights.

Rest

This is probably the hardest part but I crashed early after those sprints and didnt munch on anything except maybe a protein shake. I took a gallon of water and left it on the night stand (no sleep walking to the kitchen). I got at least 8 hours of sleep 3 times this week and thats not normal for me.

The video below is my inspiration for the week….I can always do more.

Damn Cardio

I am having a very un-healthy relationship with my cardio training. I love it, and I hate it. I hate to start it and I love it when it’s finished. I hate the feeling I get when I miss a day and I love it when I go beyond my limits. It’s a messy, up and down and ugly relationship, and we all know those are the ones we never forget.

These days my knees hurt so badly after a run/walk, I cant stand to bear it. I’ve been walking hills and incorporating 2 x 100yds sprints and plan to bump this up next week (25mins total) with some ropes. I want a hybrid approach which will benefit me in the long run. Im always at a quandary cause I’ve looked my best doing long steady fasted cardio but I’ve performed my best running and doing sprints (a loooooong time ago). In the A.M. I’m also debating cardio before or after weights. I’ve always been taught cardio after weightlifting causes catabolism but I’m giving it a try for the next 3 weeks. Either way steady cardio in the AM and twice a week at night Im sprinting and skipping rope with a short one mile run.

I’m really feeling the HIIT right now. I plan on running a mile and combining it with short sprints cause running is just not for me. I want to master my mile and call it a day. Below are some interesting fact about cardio

The Simple Facts About Cardio

Before we talk about how much cardio you should do, you should at least know why it’s so important. Cardiovascular exercise simply means that you’re involved in an activity that raises your heart rate to a level where you’re working, but can still talk (aka, in your Target Heart Rate Zone). Here’s why cardio is so important:

• It’s one way to burn calories and help you lose weight
• It makes your heart strong so that it doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood
• It increases your lung capacity
• It helps reduce risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes
• It makes you feel good
• It helps you sleep better
• It helps reduce stress
• I could go on all day, but you get the point

Bottom line: you need cardio if you want to increase your fitness level and get your stress to a tolerable level.

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