Thursday, March 31, 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Monday, March 28, 2016
Sunday, March 27, 2016
BLOG 52 BANNED SUBSTANCES
BLOG 52 BANNED SUBSTANCES
We are all personally responsible for what we put into our
bodies. And when it comes to professional and even collegiate level athletes,
using substances for performance enhancement has become a lingering hot topic.
We become impressed and entranced by such talented players, only to find out
their athletic feats have been tainted and yes I’ll say it, they “cheated”. We
put these athletes on a pedestal, later to be disappointed by their morality
and lies.
Athletes who have been busted over the years have been
shamed and punished by the according leagues they belong to and their image is
never fully recovered. Remember Alex Rodriguez who was the youngest player to
hit 500 home runs?? Well he was suspended for 211 games for using performance
enhancing drugs. Probably most notably how can we forget Lance Armstrong: “The golden
boy of cycling, who inspired countless people with his consistent victories and
overcame testicular cancer, saw his famed reputation crumble after he admitted
in January 2013 to using enhancement substances throughout his career.
Consequently, the International Cycling Union stripped Armstrong of his seven
Tour de France victories and banned him from the sport for life in October of
2012 (http://www.biography.com/news/a-rod-suspension-banned-athletes). Marion Jones is also on this list: “She
sprinted her way to five gold medals during the Olympics, becoming the first
female track and field athlete to accomplish such a feat. All was well as the
years went by and her legacy remained intact—until she tested positive for a
banned substance in 2006” (http://www.biography.com/news/a-rod-suspension-banned-athletes).
The banned substance list is
quite lengthy. Categories include anabolic agents, peptide hormones, growth
factors, related substances and mimics, hormone and metabolic modulators,
beta-2 agonists, diuretics and masking agents, manipulation of blood and blood
components, chemical and physical manipulation, gene doping, stimulants,
narcotics, cannabinoids, glucocorticoids, alcohol, and beta blockers. (http://www.usada.org/wp-content/uploads/wada-2016-prohibited-list-en.pdf).
It’s unfortunate that
today’s youth and even avid sports fans become disappointed by these findings.
Many other athletes are impacted as well. What a shame to lose a competition
only to find that your competitor was cheating. We never know who truly was the
winner. And those who do win receive endorsements, fame, higher pay, and
publicity that other athletes aren’t “worthy” of. Recently, with the findings
of Maria Sharapova I was even more disappointed.
I want to give athletes the
benefit of the doubt when allegations arise, however, we have yet to be
disproved. Integrity is such a vital quality, and each person has to live with
the choices they make. All natural is far more respectable. Hard work, talent,
and skill should be the baseline components. Let’s hope the future is brighter
when it comes to professional sports. We know our fitness journeys require
honesty and there simply is no magic pill or substance.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Friday, March 25, 2016
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Monday, March 21, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
BLOG 51 TRUST THE PROCESS
BLOG
51 TRUST THE PROCESS
Our
fitness journeys are a process. We know that change takes time, old habits die
hard, and the road isn’t always smooth along the way. Recently, on my own
fitness journey and recent endeavors, the saying, “Trust the process”, has
really hit close to home. We make so many choices every single day, some more
important than others, but one choice often leads to another and unfolds the
outcome or sets the tone for what is to come. I hope this BLOG brings you
clarity, strength, and reveals some helpful tools to help YOU trust the process
of your fitness journey.
Many
of our poor choices are made from fear. We don’t want to fail. It’s as if
having lower standards or expectations (taking the easy route), avoids failure.
The uncertainty of what lies ahead steers us towards our comfort zones. For
example, I’d rather not try jogging because then what if my knees start to hurt
or what if I pull something…. But what if you don’t and if you just ran for
thirty seconds, walked a little, and repeated the process maybe the body will
respond better than anticipated?? The fear to TRY can be hindering.
Some
of my own personal fears I have to learn to adjust to include being able to “go
with the flow” and being flexible. There are aspects of life I am not able to
control and being resilient and adjusting when needed can throw me for quite
the loop. The process for a perfectionist becomes more challenging by default
when I refuse to take a different direction when my original plan is altered.
Simply put, for a planner, sometimes the plan has to change and I need to be
okay with the new route and move forward. I need to, “Be open to ‘not knowing’.
Life changes in an instant. Change with it” (http://theboldlife.com/2013/04/10-ways-to-let-go-of-fear-and-trust-the-process/).
YOU have
to believe that being healthy long term is a process not a destination. We can
make milestone goals along the way. Let’s say you want to lose twenty pounds,
then the process requires getting there and keeping the twenty pounds off for
good. In the meantime that means staying on course is up to YOU. Some of my
recent videos have been about honesty and happiness. If the process requires 4
workouts a week and staying on the meal plan course, then having wine three
times that particular week and an extra dessert may very well negate one or two
workouts. So now the process has been tampered, but you have to TRUST to get
back on track. I find that many almost reset each week, and the more start
overs you have (which is okay), understand that the process is changing. Know
that if you made this just a clear cut destination with a time line, then you
are setting yourself up for failure. And maybe those choices are out of fear
because you suddenly lost two pounds this week and you self-destruct and have a
huge dessert in order to retaliate out of fear that now you actually can lose
those other 18 pounds. Out of fear, you revert back to old habits. Sound
familiar??
By no means do I want to get all philosophical
haha. I found three really great tips to live by: (http://tinybuddha.com/blog/being-patient-through-transformation-trust-change-believe/)
Trust life. There’s
a higher purpose behind every seemingly impossible and difficult phase. You’ve
just got to hang in there and know that it’s for the best.
Change. If you
find yourself feeling bad a lot more often than not, take time out to reflect
on whether or not you’re happy deep down with what you’re doing.
Believe. Believe
in yourself, even if the world around you doesn’t. If you don’t, who will?
When opening
my business, any test I have ever taken, and my own fitness journey, are all examples
of some of life’s processes I have had to just trust and let the uncertainly of
the possible outcome come as it may. Please trust your own fitness journey, and
most importantly, be strong and confident in your choices. Make your choices
with no regret. One choice at a time, one rep at a time, the process will carry
us through. And hey, don’t forget to ENJOY the process as well.
Friday, March 18, 2016
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Monday, March 14, 2016
Sunday, March 13, 2016
BLOG 50 WINE
BLOG 50 WINE
This BLOG is for all my wine-os who I love dearly even
though you put up a good fight with this drink. I understand that nightly glass
takes the edge off, it’s that nice addition to a meal, and wine is your choice
of beverage socially. You all tell me what wine might means to you haha. And it seems like each week a new study comes
out saying whether wine is in fact good or bad for you. I’m going to play
neutral here and discuss the pros and cons of wine consumption.
Let’s look at red and white wine and I know there are a million
subcategories but let’s just place them in these two categories to develop an
understanding.
Beginning with red…. On the plus side, red wine does contain
antioxidants (resveratrol and flavonoids) which are heart healthy
and can help prevent “blood vessel damage as well as reducing LDL cholesterol”
(http://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Pros-Cons-Drinking-Red-Wine-White-Wine-Champagne-14656661).
Red wine may prevent cancer and, “According to a study in the British Medical Journal,
individuals who have one alcoholic drink a day are up to 25 percent less likely
to develop heart disease than those who drink no alcohol at all” (http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/ways-alcohol-helps-and-hurts-your-health.aspx#04). Red wine
might make you ageless: “According to a study published in the journal Public Library of Science Medicine, women in
their fifties who indulge in one drink a day or less on a regular basis may age
better and be healthier for longer. And research from the University of Texas,
Austin, found that drinkers outlived their sober peers — more than half of
moderate imbibers were still alive within 20 years of the start of the study,
compared with only 30 percent of nondrinkers” (http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/ways-alcohol-helps-and-hurts-your-health.aspx#08).
Before I start with white wine, I must interject with this
public service announcement haha that I have preached before but I’m still
being neutral (maybe): “Alcohol itself doesn’t necessarily add inches to your
waistline, but it does change the
way your metabolism works, which, combined with the extra calories you’re
consuming in every cocktail, could lead to a bigger waistline. When you drink,
your body stops metabolizing everything else in order to first excrete the
booze, so carbs, fat, and protein aren’t processed as efficiently” (http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/ways-alcohol-helps-and-hurts-your-health.aspx#05).
White wine didn’t seem as popular a choice, so not as much
information was prevalent. Many foods pair well with its sweet flavor. It
contains much more sugar. Most information pertained to if this choice should
be served room temperature or chilled, not whether it helped your heart or not
etc. Some of the studies merely stated white wine has many of the same
antioxidants as red wine and that white wine is comparable to champagne.
Well I was surprised to find that most of the studies done
on red wine that I found were performed on mice. So the small doses given to
mice were comparable to about 2 glasses of wine for a human, but you must agree
this is an odd comparison (mice to human). For example, here is one study: “A chemical
compound found in red wine and the skins of grapes, prevented the growth of
cancerous tumors in mice with a high risk of developing cancer, according to
scientists from the University of Leicester. A daily dose of resveratrol
equivalent to what humans would get from drinking two glasses of red wine reduced the
rate of bowel tumor development in mice by 50 percent, according to a press
release. The researchers will present the findings at the Resveratrol 2012
conference (http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/ways-alcohol-helps-and-hurts-your-health.aspx#02).
Some clients claim that wine helps them relax and settle down
for the evening. However, “Many people mistakenly believe that because alcohol
is a depressant, a glass of wine before bed can help you sleep. In fact, the
opposite is true. Drinking may help you fall asleep initially, but research
shows that it disrupts REM cycles, making it hard to both stay asleep and fall
back asleep once you’ve woken up. This is especially true for women, according
to a study published online in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical &
Experimental Research (http://www.everydayhealth.com/healthy-living-pictures/ways-alcohol-helps-and-hurts-your-health.aspx#07). Another
piece of information I found was that white wine is very acidic so it is really
bad for your teeth and my findings didn’t link it to the possible cancer
preventing qualities or red wine.
Well in my conclusion, I say that my findings were just like
what I hear on the daily news and talk shows…. the opinion of whether wine is
good or bad for us changes constantly. The research isn’t as solid as I hoped.
So this takes us back to the rule that everything in moderation (if we can keep
it in moderation) won’t be all ending and destroy our fitness journeys. To my
wine -os…. Grrrr I wish I had way more ammunition to just out rule wine haha.
But for now, let’s keep it to just a couple nights a week, set ourselves up to
plan ahead for special occasions when we know we will consume more, and sip
sloooooowy to make it last haha. The less frequently we can consume empty
calories, the better off we are on our fitness journeys and I’ll be here one
food journal check at a time, just like one rep at a time, to keep you
accountable.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Friday, March 11, 2016
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Monday, March 7, 2016
Sunday, March 6, 2016
BLOG 49 RONDA ROUSEY
BLOG 49 RONDA ROUSEY
What an athlete. What a fighter both physically and
mentally. After reading her book, Rousey,
and seeing her recently on the Ellen DeGeneres show, I felt impelled to talk
about this wonder woman. Her unrelenting passion, sheer competitive mind set,
and incredible strength, have combined to produce one heck of a champion.
Her book, Rousey,
wasn’t the read I was expecting. I figured this is a girl with a talent and she
was blessed to win a bunch of fights. But let me tell you, her background story
is pretty shocking. At one point of her life, she was living in her car. Her
mother had no empathy and was brutally opinionated, her father committed
suicide, and her string of terrible relationships, were not the most ideal
environment to be brought up with. And what surprises me the most is that she
was born in 1987, so she is young. She is a California native, close to home
actually in Riverside. She began her life having speech troubles “which impeded her
ability to speak an intelligible word until she was 6” (http://www.biography.com/people/ronda-rousey-21319725#childhood). Her father then committed
suicide after a terrible back accident that left him in pain from countless
surgeries. It was then that her mother introduced her to judo to find an
outlet.
Rousey’s judo career shined. For starters, “Rousey
was named to the United States Olympic team at age 15, and at 16 she became the
youngest American to earn the national No. 1 ranking in the women's
half-middleweight division” (http://www.biography.com/people/ronda-rousey-21319725#childhood). From here, “After defending her Pan
American Judo Championship title in 2006, Rousey became the first American
woman in 12 years to earn a World Championship medal by finishing second in the
2007 tournament. She then won gold at the 2007 Pan American Games, despite a
torn knee meniscus. After earning the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, she
retired from judo at age 21” (http://www.biography.com/people/ronda-rousey-21319725#childhood).
At this point
of her life she wasn’t sure what to do. Her judo career hadn’t brought her the
happiness she intended upon gaining from victories, she battled with bulimia to
make weight classes, and her mom made her enter the real world and get a job
and start paying her way. She lived in her car, bounced around various fight
club gyms practicing, and worked a number odd jobs to make ends meet like
bar tending, being a vet tech, and grave yard shifts at the gym.
But with
a background like she had, there was no way she was going to give up. In her
book, Rousey, I was drawn to the
passage in which she states, “Success is the result of hard work, busting your
ass every day for years on end without cutting corners or taking shortcuts. It
was Michael Angelo who said, ‘If people knew how hard I worked to get my
mastery, it wouldn’t seem so wonderful at all’ (Rousey, 2015).
And then
it happened for her. Known for beating her opponents in under a minute, “Rousey
was the first woman to sign with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the
world's largest mixed martial arts league” (http://www.biography.com/people/ronda-rousey-21319725#mixed-martial-arts-fame). She had a great winning streak, until
the unforgettable loss to Holly Holm. It was quite the media spark, but she has
since brought even more attention to the loss by revealing her suicidal
thoughts after the defeat just this last week on the Ellen Degenes show.
Winning truly meant everything to her. After that fight she said, “I just feel
so embarrassed. How I fought after that is such an embarrassing representation
of myself” (http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/ronda-rousey-november-loss-feel-embarrassed/story?id=35645050). She is currently taking some time off
and in a healthy relationship. She is a beautiful athlete who might struggle on
the inside, but is ready for the re-match when the time is right. In the
meantime she has enjoyed being on the cover of Maxim, being featured in movies like Entourage and the Fast and the
Furious, training hard at the Glendale Fight Club, and she is a healthy
relationship.
Having a
hard exterior doesn’t always mean the interior is the same. Loving ourselves is
a tough fight, because we are the hardest opponent to face. I would definitely
recommend her book and look forward to her comeback and watching her take names
again.
Friday, March 4, 2016
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
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