From The Bay To The Rockies

Colorado Travel Tips: Ice Skating on Evergreen Lake

2016-01-06T14:42:00.002-08:00

Evergreen Lake on New Year's Day 2016

Happy New Year!

If you stop by Evergreen in the Winter, put ice skating on the Lake on your must-do list. Once Evergreen Lake is frozen over to 12" of ice, it is open for ice skating, hockey, and broomball! This Winter, Evergreen Lake made it on CNN 10 of the world's most beautiful ice rinks.

As an overly cautious person, the thought of walking out onto a frozen lake freaked me out at first. What if the ice cracks and I fall through? What's the protocol for when I do fall into the lake? With reassurance from my other half, who is just as cautious as me, I waited for him to get on the ice first. (Read: Ok, he didn't fall through.) I was pleasantly surprised by the sturdy feeling of the ice. I had imagined the ice to be wobbly and completely translucent.

I'm standing on a frozen lake in ice skates. What?!

If you plan on skating the Lake, here are a few pro tips:

Parking is terrible at the Lake. There's a clear sign that says no parking for sledding. Next door the Lake is the golf course covered in snow. There were lots of sledders walking from the parking lot to next door. I recommend parking in downtown (street and paid lot) and walking to the Lake.
When you get to the lake house, you have to buy a ticket to use the ice and a ticket to rent. To buy tickets to get on the ice and to rent skates, is one line. This line is separate from the line to get the rental skates. We split up in the lines. One of us staying in the line to pay for tickets. The other stayed in the rental line.

Private rink areas available for rent.

Advertising hidden in an ice sculpture.

Watch out for the cracks in the ice. The ice wasn't groomed very well. I saw so many skaters eat it when their skates got caught in cracks. Pay attention to cracks and notches as you skate.
The middle of the rink is smoother than the outer edges.

This year's Christmas Card picture.

Wear warm socks with your ice skates. It's significantly colder on the ice. I had fleece leggings on under my jeans, a base layer shirt and a thermal under my hoodie and jacket, but I had on a pair of regular gym socks. My toes got cold really fast. Gloves are also important.

Happy Skating!

High Altitude Baking: Thomas Keller Chocolate Chip Cookies

2015-10-19T20:06:00.001-07:00

Yes! I finally did it. I made Thomas Keller's ad hoc chocolate cookies... at high altitude. Baking cookies from scratch has been a battle for me. Granted, I haven't spent too much time trying to perfect a recipe because the last thing I need is to have piles of cookies laying around.

My well-loved copy of Ad Hoc At Home. It's still one of my favorite Christmas gifts to date.

If you haven't heard of Thomas Keller, he's a popular chef with fancy and delicious restaurants and bakeries in California. None of which I made it out to, while I lived there. One of the restaurants, you had to make reservations six months ahead of time! In any case, years ago, one of my brothers gifted me ad hoc at home. The chocolate chip cookie recipe from ad hoc make the most delicious cookies. Since we have been living at high altitude, I've made these cookies completely flat, crispy and burnt or big and cakey with no flavor. But this time, at a smidge over 8,000 ft, I made them right!

Boom! Thomas Keller chocolate chip cookies just right!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
adapted from ad hoc at home for baking at 8,000 ft

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups of flour + 2 tbsp of flour
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp of baking soda (that's how I measured it out)
1 tsp of salt
1/2 lb (2 sticks) of unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 cup of packed dark brown sugar, reduce by 2 tbsp
3/4 cup of granulated sugar, reduce by 1 tbsp
2 large eggs and 1 egg white
bag of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips - TK recommends using a mix of 55% and 72% chocolate bars broken into chips. That's hard to find in the mountains :)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 365 degrees.
In a medium bowl, sift flour and mix in baking soda. Add in salt.
In mixer, beat half the butter until its smooth. Add in the sugars and the rest of the butter. Mix them in until mixture is light and creamy.
Add in the eggs one at a time to the mixture. Make sure the first egg is completely mixed in before adding in the second egg.
Add in the dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Then stir in the chocolates.
Shape into balls and place onto cookie sheet and put into oven. The cookies will spread quite a bit. My dough balls were about 1.5". On the sheet, there was about 2 inches of space between them.
Bake at 365 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, place onto cooling rack.

1.5" dough balls yielded about 30 3" cookies, According to the book, well-wrapped dough can be refrigerated for up to 5 days and frozen for up to 2 weeks.

As for macros per serving, I didn't have time to calculate that before I ate them. Oh well, life goes on.

Happy baking,
Nat

Finally, A Challenging Total Body Workout

2015-10-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I need a break from creating my own workouts. I want to go into the gym with a plan, hit play on my podcast, and just lift (like a beast of course).

On the internets you can find a plethora of total body workout ideas, but they usually have the same lifts that I do regularly or they have an insane number of bodyweight movements, which I was not looking for at this point in my plan. After hours of searching (ironic, right? Too lazy to create a workout, but spend days searching for a workout, lol), I found inspiration from Ashley Conrad's 21-day Clutch Cut program on bodybuilding.com. The workout is a fun mix of bodyweight and dumbbell exercises.

I gave it a try, and 4 rounds kicked my butt!

Here is how I modified the workout for myself:

12 reps per exercise, 4 sets with 1 minute break in between sets

Exercises:

dumbbell clean and press with 25# db
walking lunges
push-ups
bench dips
OH squats to work on my core strength and balance
assisted pull-ups
medicine ball jumping jacks with 15# medicine ball
incline push-ups with hands closer to chest to work on chest strength
dumbbell bicep curls with 15# db
side lateral raises with 15# db
single-arm dumbbell rows 25# -30# db

Review of the workout:

Definitely recommend it to anyone - you can modify the difficulty of the workout by increasing the weights, types of squats, types of pull-up and push-ups or number of reps and sets.
Easy to do at the gym or at home - you just need to acquire the dumbbells, a ledge / bench, pull-up bar or machine availability, and small space to do the exercises, you don't need to wait around for machines to be available.
Efficient - you work every major muscle group AND get cardio conditioning at the same time!

Anyone else have a good TBW to share? If you gave this one a try, let me know if it kicked your butt too.

Happy Training,
N.

Plan B Workouts

2014-09-04T17:05:00.001-07:00

I can say that I've been working out 4 to 5 days a week over the last month. Go me! I can't say that I have been making it to an actual gym for each workout. I avoid driving in major thunderstorms when possible and I've been car-less a couple days a week. My lazy self would have normally written these days off, but this last month, I have discovered the power of at-home workouts on good ol' YouTube to supplement my lifting workouts. Having a plan B for workouts has helped me stay on track.

Here are a few finds on YouTube:

Superhero Fitness TV with Keaira LaShae - Many, many moons ago, I attempted to live my dream of being a hip hop dancer. After the first session at a hip hop dance studio, I realized it would only be a dream. I am not ashamed to admit that I have no rhythm and coordination when it comes to moving my limbs while doing 8 or even 4 counts. Keaira LaShae is a high energy choreographer, singer, and trainer who has fun and intense dance/hip-hip workouts. She demonstrates beginner, intermediate and advanced modifications for her workouts and is feeling the burn with you. My two favorite Keaira workouts are hip hop tabata and 90's throwback dance workouts which I usually do back to back.

For the yogis, YouTube is a haven for yoga workouts. Every time I feel like I need a good stretch, I think, "yoga is a good idea". Every time I start a yoga class or a video, I am thinking, "this is so boring. I can't do this entire class." Of all the types of yoga out there, I prefer Vinyasa yoga over the others because it's a constant flow of movements. If you are interested in yoga, I recommend yoga with Adriene or with Tim. I did 20 minutes of yoga from their Vinyasa videos to stretch out, and they are excellent with explaining the movements as they go.

Befit channel has tons of videos, including all of Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shreds and yoga videos. It's a great resource for beginner workouts or for a change of pace. I tried one of the extreme workouts on the channel and it reminded me of a P90x or Insanity workout. There's a lot of fast movements that aren't fully being explained, so unless you have some workout experience, don't injure yourself trying to keep up with the fast talking host.

FitnessBlender is an awesome channel. It has great at-home workouts for almost anything you want. I recommend this for at-home HIIT or boot-camp type workouts and for exploring new workouts. I stumbled upon the channel when looking for a barre workout. Barre was all the rage in the Bay Area, and I wanted to check it out. After doing the workout, barre isn't for me. I don't like doing a ton of sumo air squats with no weights, it wasn't enough of a challenge for me and most of the moves were tough on my knees. It was fun to try it though.

Next time, you want to make an excuse to not workout or go to the gym, check out these channels for inspiration and motivation. Try a new workout without leaving your home. How awesome is that! Granted most of these workouts won't replace a good hypertrophy lifting session, but it will help you stay active and burn calories... better than watching HGTV during your gym time :)

Happy training,
Nat

#IIFYM #flexibledieting... What Are You Talking About?

2014-08-27T21:10:00.000-07:00

About a year ago...

Scrolling, scrolling through Instagram, stop..."#IIFYM, #flexibledieting, ... #sciencebitch ... WTH are these hashtags?" Further hashtag searches led me to pictures of ice cream, cheese-topped proteins, and carbs (and I mean hundreds of grams of carbs) being eaten by incredibly lean and muscular people. My mind was blown. Who were these people and why I hadn't I heard of this sooner? The thoughts that followed consisted of skepticism.. this has to be some sort of marketing ploy, this is a fad diet....After a search on the internets, I learned that the crux of the diet is to eat to meet your daily macronutrients (carbs, protein, and fats) and fiber. You decide what to eat to fulfill your macros. Simple enough. My interest was piqued.

I soon started reading about how IFBB athlete Ava Cowan was doing a macro-based prep and so was my friend Kristy (NPC Physique athlete). These two ladies have physiques that I have been admiring for years. I needed to learn more. What about the non-competitor, would flexible dieting be sustainable? Short answer, yes.

I calculated my own macro plan based on an article I read by Sohee Lee. I maintained my a great off-season weight by gaining 10-15 pounds the first 8-weeks post show. I was eating at restaurants again and enjoying desserts. Macros was working.

Fast forward to maybe 6 months

My diet was improving. What hadn't changed was my habit of binge eating. I needed to teach myself that it was okay to eat what I wanted because it fit into my macros and to not eat as much as possible before I got caught, lol. I enlisted the help of Metabolic Evolution to help me with calculating my macros. The plan helped me get back on track. My nutrition coach helped me better understand how to build an efficient metabolism. Learning sustainable eating habits is not a race. It's a learning journey and a slow and sustainable process.

Present day

After quitting my job to move, I was a bit loose on my macros. Adjusting to this life change and the month of manual labor doing house projects was enough for me to handle. No biggie. Life happens. It's not the end of the world. It happened and now that I am adjusted here, I can work on my goals of increasing strength and decreasing body fat, along with optimizing my macros for lifting and non-lifting days.

Here are my recommended reads and resources if you are interested in IIFYM nutrition plans:

"How to Count Your Macros" ebook by Sohee Lee - The article I read a year ago turned into a great ebook with more details and examples on how to calculate a macros plan for yourself. The book is straightforward and practical. Bonus - Sohee responded to my tweet about reading her book! She told me to tweet her if I had any questions... how awesome is that?
"3 Keys to Dialing in Your Macronutrients" - Informative article on bodybuilding.com about how to calculate macros for your body type.
"IIFYM v. Clean Eating" - Video by Dr. Layne Norton on his opinion of IIFYM and clean eating. Dr. Norton, in my opinion, is one of the pioneers of flexible dieting and breaks down flexible dieting, metabolic damage, etc. with science.
"Diet Doesn't Need to Mean Denial" Article on bodybuilding.com by Sohee Lee that breaks flexible dieting myths.

I am an advocate of flexible dieting because with macro guidelines I have the most flexibility to go out and eat a restaurants or social events without feeling guilty. I haven't been dropping pounds like I did with a strict clean eating plan, but that's ok. My long-term goal is to have a sustainable fat loss. Long-term health is what is more important to me than fitting into a smaller dress size next month.

Flexible dieting is not a "quick fix" to fat loss or gaining lean muscle. It may take a couple weeks to adjust your macros to meet your goals. You are the one who has to stick to the plan, so do your research and figure out what will work for your journey.

Any thoughts on IIFYM v. Clean Eating or recommended reads about nutrition?

Happy training,
N.

When Is Your Next Show?

2014-08-25T11:04:00.003-07:00

I got asked this question practically weekly after my last show in June 2013. Sometimes it was followed with an "oh, you really lost your muscles" or "are you even training". Eh, I am not one to let these remarks or questions bother me because having competed for over three years, I know my body and the prep/non-prep cycle. I wanted to answer the question with basically what is in this post, but I knew it would take a long time to explain my total thought process about competing again and really people just wanted to hear about how crazy prep is.

After my June show, I was happy that I competed because 1.) I got to wear that expensive a$$ figure suit that I bought the year before and 2.) I met my long-time goal of doing a figure show! Who cares about a second to last place finish? I didn't. I was just happy to be doing quarter turns instead of model turns.

June 2013 NPC LA Figure Show with my awesome teammates

After the June show, I did a post-mortem of the experience to figure out how I could have done this prep better. The post-mortem lead me to a few conclusions:

There definitely has to be a more flexible way to prep.
I want to be stronger. I want to get back to 1- max rep glory days.
I cannot function on a strict meal plan because off season, I have a difficult time maintaining weight and social and work functions are difficult to manage. More knowledge on nutrition is needed.
I do not want to spend half of my nights lifting, doing second round of cardio and doing food prep because now I have a significant other to think about.
I cannot put my significant other through the hangry prep experience again. Seriously. Although I warned my significant other of the strict guidelines for prep, I don't think he was prepared for how it actually played out in real life, nor did he know what he was in for travelling to LA with three hangry competitors.

Knowledge is power so over the past year, I've been reading, learning, and testing out new methods to expand my tool set. Hence the break from competing or even thinking about competing until I do what I need to do.

To answer the question, "when is your next show?," I don't know. It will be when I am ready. Remember competing is a big time and mental commitment, compete when you are ready and to meet your own goals. Arm yourself with knowledge and a great support network.

Happy training,
N.

Colorado Travel Tips: Hiking Maxwell Falls

2014-08-04T22:14:00.002-07:00

Beautiful Sunday afternoon! Maxwell Falls Trail is in the Forest ahead.

Each weekend there's a line of parked cars along the side of a main two-way road in our neighborhood. If you follow the line of cars, it leads you to the overflowing Lower Maxwell Falls parking lot. According to my neighbors, this trail has only recently gained popularity. Scott and I have been meaning to make our way over the Falls. The house projects have been taking up our free time on the weekends.

This weekend was an unexpected two days of pure blue skies and sunshine. Plus we completed our house projects on Saturday! Sunday = perfect day for a hike :) Our neighbor offered to be our guide on the hike.

If you plan on hiking Maxwell Falls, here's a few tips:

Middle trailhead is unmarked and is about two miles further up the road from the Lower Maxwell Falls entrance. This is the best place to find parking.

Saw this mushroom on the way to the car.

The trails are a worn out and washed out in some areas because of the heavy foot traffic and recent storms. Pay attention to the trail to make sure you stay on it.

If you start from the middle trailhead, you can go left to an awesome lookout point on a huge boulder. If you go right on the trail, it is an easy 15 minutes to the waterfall.

Lookout Point

If you are doing the entire loop from the Middle Trailhead, start by going left. There's less uphill and you can finish off the loop with the Falls. The entire loop is about 1 hour and 30 minutes. According to my HR monitor, I burned approximately 650 calories on the hike.

Scott in front of the Falls. The best view of the Falls is by this wooden marker.

Check the weather forecast the morning before you go. A sunny morning is not predictive of a clear afternoon. You don't want to be stuck in the forest during a lightening storm.
There's rattlesnakes in the Forest. We heard a couple of them as we were walking through. Stay on the trail!

Happy hiking!
N.

Your Glutes Are Going to Love This Workout

2014-07-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

I am forever building my glutes. Glutes are a tough muscle group me to isolate. When I do cable kickbacks, I tend to engage my lower back. I am working on my deep squat form to engage my glutes more, but until I perfect it, my quads and hams seem to be doing the majority of the work.

My last glutes day has been my best glutes workout to date. The next day my muscle soreness was 90% isolated to my glutes! Victory!

{The Workout}

Deep leg press 5x5 {bring your knees as close as possible to your chest before you press up}
Stiff-legged deadlift 5x5 {very slight bend in the knees to minimize engaging my lower back}
Single leg press 4x8-10
Good mornings 4x8-10 {very important to keep your core tight to prevent your back from rounding}
Abductors 4x12
Glute/hamstring extension 3x10 {keep your back flat and squeeze your glutes and hams to slowly lower and raise yourself, contract glutes for one count at the top}

Give it a try and let me know what you think. Any glute-centric workouts that you recommend?

Happy training,
N.

Dear Colorado, This weather...

2014-07-28T23:51:00.002-07:00

Dear Colorado,

What the heck is up with this weather? I was told by multiple sources that this beautiful state has the most days of sunshine and to expect toasty summers. I've been here since mid-June and ... the sunshine is technically true. 90...er...95% of the mornings I am greeted by blue skies and sun shining through all the windows.

Good morning!

My dreams of paddle boarding on the lake, daily afternoon hikes, riding my bicycle into town, and sipping coffee on the downtown boardwalk are crushed on a daily basis with the unpredictable weather. I never know when or what kind of weather the skies will be transitioning into ... thunder, lightening, or even hail. The retaining wall took an extra week because working hours were cut short due to thunderstorms. Colorado, I am disappointed that I can't enjoy the full extend of the great outdoors this summer.

Them dark clouds though.

Hail could suddenly come down. Better hope your car is under covered parking.

I know, I know, I am just being selfish because the rain really brings down the fire danger and "hail sales" at the nearby car dealerships (unheard of in California, lol). This is my first summer as a "Coloradan", so I am just hoping that this "monsoon" summer (as the news reporters are calling the torrential downpours) is not "normal". This reminds me of that phrase, you know, when you get caught doing something, it's always the first time you did it. Although I am skeptical that this weather is not normal, I am hopeful for a "normal"snowy winter. So Colorado, next time I bring up weather, I hope it's to sing your praises on how beautiful the snowcapped range looks :)

Cheers,
N.

My First High Altitude Baked Cake

2014-06-25T13:29:00.001-07:00

Having lived at sea level for my entire life, I never gave a second thought to those "high altitude" instructions on cake mixes. Now as an informed adult, I have learned that altitude makes a difference and not adjusting your recipe correctly can lead to flat, dry, or over-proofed cakes and breads.

Thanks to the internets, I found an easy-to-follow scientific explanation here. There's a lot of good stuff in the explanation. The coolest factoid from the article is at higher elevation, flavors tend to be less pronounced because there are fewer moisture molecules to carry aroma to the nose. What?! Isn't that interesting?

Here's the applied science summary:

Make your batter strong so that it doesn't collapse by using less sugar, adding an extra egg, or by adding more flour.

Fats and sugar weaken gluten structure in flour at high altitude.

Acidity helps the cake firm up faster in the oven and helps hold in moisture when it is being used with baking soda, so replace regular milk with buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt (high acidity).
To make your cake not dry, if you cake recipe calls for a liquid, add in extra liquid.

How I adjusted the banana cake recipe:

Decreased sugar by 1/2 cup - I usually do this anyways because the bananas are usually sweet enough.
Added one extra whole egg
Decreased shortening by 1/4 cup
Used 5 bananas - I usually do this anyways. I prefer a stronger banana flavor.
Didn't sift my flour as much as I usually do to add in extra flour.

Next time, I may add an extra yolk in the cake to see if that will help bind it together better and use a little less sugar to see if that helps the cake be a little denser. Otherwise, I'd say it was a success!

Nat

Colorado Life - The First Week

2014-06-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

I have been in Colorado for a week now. It hasn't fully sunk in yet that I am becoming a Coloradan resident because, to be honest, I have only left the house for grocery, Home Depot, and Super Walmart trips for living and building essentials. Right now, it kind of feels like I am on vacation, lol. Until I find my next career opportunity, I am going to make the most of this transition time.

Having been to the major attractions (listed above) in town and having met a few of the neighbors, Colorado versus California living has interesting differences.

One fashion trend here that I am taking a liking to is camo errthang. Seriously, you can get tasteful camo bikinis, camisoles, hats or any clothing for that matter. In the Bay, I usually saw camo gear.... well, unless it was a seasonal cropped top at Forever 21, I never saw camo fashions so readily available.

Excellent assortment of camo bikinis at the local Big R.

Camo Coors hat - great deal at the local Super Walmart, only $7!

Instead of telling you whether the good local eats are, the neighbors tell you to carry bear spray when you walk your dogs. After S. told me that he spotted a bear running downhill from a neighbors house, I went ahead and ordered a canister of bear spray. It was waiting for me when I arrived here :)

Frontiersman Bear Spray was the highest rated one on Amazon.com. It even came with a handy holster!

One thing that I was looking forward to was letting the dogs roam free on the deck and in an enclosed yard. According to the wildlife education brochures that came with the keys to this place, it is not advisable to leave your pets unsupervised, even in the day time. Coyotes and mountain lion in the area can snatch them or lure them out of the fenced areas. Who knew that house dogs wouldn't have survival instincts against mountain predators?

Excellent reads for living with animals in the mountains.

Rex loves eating the pine needles and laying in the sun on the deck. Too bad I can't leave him out there all day when I go work.

Mountain living tips are welcomed in the comments section.

- Nat

Easy No-Fail Fluffy Egg Whites

2013-01-27T22:48:00.005-08:00

One clean food that I love are egg whites. Until recently, my usual cooking technique is to scramble them or hard boil them. Two weeks ago, I came across a how-to video on how to make McDonald's Egg McMuffin eggs. Since learning this egg cooking technique, it's been my technique of choice for no-fail fluffy egg whites AND I finally get to use the egg fry rings that I got last year.

Here's a quick how-to on these egg whites:

1. Gather your eggs, non-stick spray, and the egg fry rings. Usually I have three egg whites as part of my breakfast meal.

2. Spray the pan and rings with non-stick spray and heat up the pan to medium-high or high heat.

3. Fill up the rings about halfway with egg whites. Best part is you don't need to beat the egg whites before you pour them into the rings.

4. Pour in 1/4-1/2 cup of water around the egg fry rings and cover with a lid. The steam will fluff up the egg whites. This will take about 3-4 minutes.

Eggs will look somewhat like this when they are done cooking.

They look even better plated and taste awesome with salsa, black pepper, or Tapatio.

Egg whites are about 13 calories each with approximately 3 grams of protein and no fat or cholesterol. They are easy to cook for any meal.

If you give this a try, let me know how it turned out.

Happy training,

Nathalie

Superset That Upper Bod

2012-08-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

My biceps and triceps are probably my most neglected muscles. Not that I don't train them, I just don't frequently isolate them. Usually they get good enough training with back and chest days. This week, due to some lower back pain (unrelated to training), I was limited with my workouts.

Instead of doing kettlebells with the rest of the group, I was given my own workout. My trainer handed me this sheet of paper:

After having a hearty chuckle over the title of the workout, I realized it was upper body day for me. I had a series of bi/tri supersets. Although the workouts required me to keep my core tight, it didn't put strain on my lower back as kettlebells would have. Supersets are great for keeping workouts at a high intensity (rather than resting after an exercise, you jump right into the second one). Throwing supersets into your workout every few weeks can also help break plateaus.

If you are up for a superset upper body workout, here it is:

Do 3 sets of each

EZ Bar curls (10 reps close grip, 10 reps wide grip) superset 15 reps of body weight dips
Barbell curls (10-12 reps) superset tricep rope push downs (15 reps)
Dumbbell hammer curls (12 reps) superset tricep kickbacks (15 reps)
21's on seated curls

Any other superset routines that you want to share?

Happy training,
Nathalie

Pre-Fatigue For a Better Workout

2012-08-06T22:48:00.002-07:00

Pre-fatigue muscles for a better workout? Why would I do that? My arms so tired by the second exercise... Ok, that's just whining that sometimes comes out when I'm pre-fatiguing because I hate that initial weak feeling. Post-workout, the feeling of a thorough workout kicks butt.

The basis behind pre-fatiguing muscles is to work the largest muscle in the group (delts in this case) in a single joint movement that isolates the major muscle before moving to multi-joint movements that include assisting muscle groups (triceps).

Benefits of pre-fatiguing muscles include

Working your muscle during the pre-fatigue or single joint workout and forcing the muscle to work twice as during the multi-joint workout
Strengthening joint stability
Breaking training plateaus

Dean and me doing our handstand push-ups.

For our delts workout, we did the following:

Dumbbell lat raises (isolation movement)
Barbell shoulder presses/push-presses (compound movement)
Single-arm kettlebell one arm rows (compound movement)
Handstand push-ups (isolation movement)

Muscle Mag recommends these pairings for optimal pre-exhaustion:

Bodypart: Isolation Movement/Compound Movement
Legs: Leg extension/Squat
Legs: Lying Leg Curl/Leg Press
Back: Decline Pullover/Close-Grip Pulldown
Shoulders: Cable Lateral Raise/Overhead Press
Triceps: Pressdown/Bench Dip
Chest: Cable Crossover/Decline Bench Press
Biceps: Dumbbell Curl/ Chin-up (underhand grip)

Try it out and see if you feel any differences.

Happy training,

Nathalie

Upright Row with Kettlebells

2012-08-01T17:43:00.002-07:00

Kettlebells have been all the rage lately, especially with CrossFit gaining its well-deserved notoriety. Generally when we think of kettlbells, we think of swings - overhead, one-arm, halfway up, American or Russian.

Kettlebells can also be used to replace dumb bells during workouts. I find that kettlebells help with making compound movements more fluid. This week during our shoulder workout, we did single-arm kettlebell upright rows to work our delts. I don't know if this is what the movement is actually call; in essence, that's what it was.

Here's a breakdown of the movement:

1. Place the kettlebell in front of you. Stand in deadlift position (legs hip width apart, hips are bent, shoulders back and chest is up). Kettlebell should be close enough in front of you so that you just need to extend your arm down and not lean forward out of position to grasp it.

Start position.

2. As you open your hips and stand, bring the kettlebell up. Guide the kettlebell up with your elbow. Your elbow should at no point be at the same level or lower than the kettlebell. I tend to move the kettlebell along the inside of my hip/along the middle of my body.

3. Bring your elbow up until the kettlebell is about chest high. Once that is complete, of course, in a controlled manner, bring the kettlebell back down. Repeat the movement. For this set, we did 15 reps for 3 sets/each arm and rotated arms each set.

Change up your workouts with kettlebells! If you have any tips or experiences to share with kb's, leave a comment!

Happy training,
Nathalie

Tire Flipping Kind of Day

2012-07-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

What would you do with your old tractor-sized tires? Use them in a workout of course! This week my trainer designed a workout around tires that incorporated cardio, upper body and some lower body.

Before you rush out to do some flipping, I recommend

Learn good form. There's lots of common mistakes when it comes to flipping tires: coming straight up instead of at 45 degree angle as you lift or switching grip position too early. The video below has excellent coaching on how to get your technique right.

Trying out a few tires before committing to one for an entire workout. Tires weights can range less than 200lbs to 700lbs+. Tread also varies from tire to tire and may affect your grip. You may have to lift with a buddy as you build up your strength. For our workout, I paired up with Alex for my flips; while Dean the CrossFit Machine, flipped them solo.

Bad form - see the distance between my body and the tire?

The Workout

For 3 rounds:

10 tire flips
40 push-ups (as pictured below or inverted with your feet on the tire and hands on the ground)
40 box jumps on the tire

Keeping our backs straight as we get through the first 40.

Dean jumping over 36" for his box jumps

Happy training,

Nathalie

Breaktime Is Over!

2012-07-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a year since I took my "break" from training to settle into a new routine with a new job and new relationship, I am absolutely ready to get myself back in shape. It was all too easy to fall into the trap of being lazy after work and eating the free lunch everyday at work.

I've been missing that feeling I get after a good lifting session: the mix of euphoria, intensity, and self-competitiveness to lift harder than the last time. Nostalgia is nice, but taking action is better.

To start this week off right, I planned and packed my clean meals for work. I definitely feel the boost in energy from the lean protein and veggies instead of the high fat and carb lunches that I usually indulged in. In addition, there's a satisfaction from being able to say no to free lunch.

Instagram makes everything look better - even tilapia.

It's mid-week. I have one group training session left for the week and one date with Sobrina to run the Stairway to Hell on Saturday morning. In between, I'm making it my goal to get my cardio in and another two lifting session.

My mantras this week:

Stop making excuses and just do it.
Every decision counts.
You know what you are capable of. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

Happy training,
Nathalie

Mountain Biking = Fun Workout & Date Activity

2011-11-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

With my new work and commute schedule, Scott, my SO, and I have been exploring different activities to keep us both active on our dates.

This past month, I've been trying my hand with outdoor activities. Scott is quite the outdoors lover, so he suggested I give mountain biking a try. He didn't have to twist my arm for me to say "yes". Given that I have massive quads, I figured that mountain biking would be a piece of cake for me.

I wasn't willing to invest thousands of dollars for a top of the line bike, so we headed to a Super Center to get a basic functional bike for $90.

Our mountain bikes ready to be ridden!

Scott took me out to Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos. Nisene Marks has a trails for beginners and the more advanced rider. After a warm-up on the Fire Road (a low incline road that goes through the entire park), I got brave and rode trails alongside the Road. After pedaling for a good hour my quads, glutes, and hams were on fire! Not to mention, my bottom was sore from the bumpy ride. That hour was just a warm-up. Another two hours whizzed by quickly! Exploring the trails and breathing in the fresh air was such a refreshing change of pace that I forgot how hard my body was working pedaling and adjusting to the terrain.


Trail off the Fire Road

Slow and steady does down this bumpy trail.

My tips for first time mountain bikers:

Learn how to properly use gears (and ratios if your bike has it) to maximize your pedaling efforts. This will prevent you from fatiguing your legs early. Rule of thumb is higher gears for lower incline, lower gears for higher inclines.

Hydrate along the way. You can burn up to 500 calories an hour (depends on body weight and fitness levels). This means whether you feel it or not your body is working hard and sweating to keep cool.

Be brave. Try all types of trails, terrains, and hills when you go out. The ride down is always worth it. I took a good fall myself trying to pedal up a small hill :)

Riding on the different terrains and up and down hills worked worked all the major leg muscles: quards, hams, and glutes. My core and lower back got worked too. Keeping a tight core through the ride helped alleviate pressure off my lower back from being in a sitting position for three hours.

Although I wanted to duck under this fallen tree while riding on my bike, Scott advised against it for safety reasons :)

Since our first ride, we've gone out several more times to Nisene Marks. This last time, we hiked up a steep hill for a good 30 minutes. As much as I complained about my burning legs and fatiguing upper body from lugging my bike along, the feel of the wind on the 10-minute ride down was so awesome!

Me and Scott - Safety first! Remember to wear at least a helmet.

Any other "active" date ideas? I'm thinking about batting cages for a great ab workout or a steep hike somewhere... What do you think?

Happy Training,
Nathalie

CrossFit Total: Power Your Dead

2011-10-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

CrossFit Total is my all-time favorite WOD. It's the ultimate test of functional strength and involves no cardio :) I'm always excited to see what kind of progress I've made in 5 months. Our last CFT was in May. I also love CFT because I get to do one of my favorite lifts: the deadlift. Having strong form creates the power in the lift. Below are my tips on how to get power out of your dead.

{warm-up to the max rep lift}

As always follow proper deadlift protocol: keeping a slight bend in your knees, keep your back flat, core in tight, and chest up with shoulders rolled slightly back.

To make sure that you pull the bar up parallel to your body, walk up to the bar, rather than roll the bar to your leg. Walking up to the bar will position the bar as close as possible to your body. When you roll the bar close to your legs, you risk the bar not being perpendicular to your body plane.

Mixed grips are solid. I prefer these to regular or reverse grips on the bar. My arms are less fatigued after multiple reps with mixed grips. Regular or reverse grip are repeated lifts fatigue my forearms quickly and of course the weight starts to uncurl my fingers mid-lift... super uncomfortable and unsafe :/

{Analisa getting a deadlift PR under her belt}

Before you lift, focus on keeping your form tight. Once you are ready to lift, don't hesitate. Engage everything you have to pull that weight off the ground. Also remember to quickly "open your hips" to get that real power. Once off the ground, exhale as you straighten up. As you bring the weight back down, continue to keep your form. I've seen people drop the weight after they stand up straight. This can cause your lower back to round out and pull as your fall with the weight rather than controlling its descent.

{our scores}

CFT (1 max rep lifts)

Squat 180# (failed 185# attempt)

Shoulder Press 95# (PR!)

Deadlift 205# (failed 210# attempt)

What are you PR (personal record) lifts? Any tips for a max rep workouts?

Happy training!

Nathalie

"The Dreaded 'enter Company name here' 15"

2011-09-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

I thought the "Freshman 15" was a once in a lifetime battle. After freshman year of college, I was supposed to be out of the clear -- all-you-can-eat meals were suppose to lose their appeal. It hasn't. Our company has lunch catered in every day and packaged snacks galore. Apparently as an adult, the "Freshman 15" has evolved to "'enter Company name here' 10" or even "15".

{that's right - no parking, it's bootcamp time!}

In an effort to help us manage the "dreaded 15," our company has sponsored an on-site bootcamp - three days of bootcamp and one walking class a week. Pretty cool deal. All we have to do is show-up dressed to workout at 5:30p in the parking lot. Last week, I was able to attend a class. I was impressed that so many people (at least 12) showed up after a long day of work. So awesome that people were up for it and everyone was a good sport. The trainer put together a set of exercises to accommodate the range of fitness levels. It was a mix of exercises that challenged your body weight strength.

Below are the exercises that we did. You can create your own backyard bootcamp by rotating through the back and leg exercises until you complete three sets of each. Add in a cardio option in between each exercise and voila, you've created your own bootcamp. Ideally, you want to run through the exercises, including the cardio, without breaks. Until your endurance is built up, break as needed and hydrate throughout the workout.

The Workout

Back

10 5-count push-ups (slow and focused push-up)
1 minute to 90 seconds of supermans (Lay flat on stomach. Raise arms straight out front and squeeze glutes to bring legs up. Hold position.)

Shoulders

12 Modified handstand push-ups

Legs

1 minute to 90 seconds in Sumo squat position (add in air punches or arm circles)
50 "butt kickers" (staying in a modified handstand push-up position, jump to kick your butt... I can't find a video of this, so I am not sure if this is what the exercise is really called)

Abs

1 minute of scissor kicks
1 minute of plank
1 minute of oblique raises (side planks)
15 V-sit-ups and 30 second hold at the end

Cardio options

20 jump squats in place
1-3 minutes high knees in place
1-3 minutes jog in place
1-3 minutes of mountain climbers

Happy training,
Nathalie

Just Add Rings and Water Tube...

2011-08-28T20:39:00.001-07:00

Last week and this week in training, we had fun with functional body weight exercises that also focused on core strength.

Rings and Swiss balls are two mediums that require your core to engage in order to remain stable during the movement. To get the full effect of engagement of our cores, my trainer incorporated hanging rings and a water filled tube for some of the exercises. Using the rings and the tube forced us to focus on our technique and brought us an awareness of our core.

1. Modified Muscle-Up

{getting ready to row - keep your shoulders rolled back and core

tight before you begin}

Muscle ups are one of the toughest CrossFit exercises to master. It requires precise technique and strength. For beginners, this is an excellent exercise to work your lats, triceps, and core.

I break out the exercise into two parts... partly because the middle part (the transition) is difficult :) The first part is the row (pictured above). Position yourself under the rings so that your chest is underneath the rings. Row your body up to the rings. Think of being in an upside down push-up position.

Then the transition into the dip position... Use your core to bring yourself upright as you swing your legs back. You can also use a small hop to get yourself into the upright position until you get the transition part down.

{last position of the movement - trying to keep from swinging}

In the dip position, remember to keep your shoulders from shrugging and keep your elbows straight as your lower yourself down. It's normal to feel your triceps shaking - they're trying to stabilize. As you gain more strength, this will lessen. Then extend your elbows back out to complete the movement. This exercise was tough to get with an iPhone camera because of the shakiness :)

2. Weighted Scissors with Water Tube

I am not sure when this water tube appeared at the gym, but it's been incorporated into a lot of our ab routines. The tube is filled about 3/4's of the way with water. The swishing water inside requires your core to constantly work.

{Analisa and I getting in our scissor kicks.}

You can modify your scissor kicks by doing them in the crunch position. This will work your upper and mid-abs too. In lieu of the water tube, you can use a medicine ball or dumbbell.

3. Sit-ups with OH Water Tube

{Beauty of working with a partner is when you get tired, slightly tipping
the water to the other side to lessen your load :P}

For this exercise, you do a regular sit and press the tube up as you come up. You can do this exercise with a medicine ball or with a dumbbell to add resistance.

What techniques do you use to engage your core just a little more in your exercises?

Happy training,
Nathalie

Getting Back To It

2011-08-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

I'm a few weeks into my new job and am back in the gym as of this week. My goal for 2011 is to compete in my first figure show. I now have 4 months to make this happen.

Monday was my official day back with training with the girls. My trainer had us focus on strength training our back and core.

{yeah! I completed the entire first set unassisted :) }

The workout included usual back exercises with twists to maximize efficiency and stay focused on utilizing strength and good form to get through the workout.

{My first time doing hex-bar DL's -- felt a little silly . This is before getting into position btw.}

{being diligent about not overextending my back}

The Workout
Turkish get-ups
Caged deadlifts
Close-grip pull-ups
Windmills
Alternating single-arm kettlebell swings
Kettlebell shoulder presses

I'm excited to be competition focused again.

"Every day counts" is one of my trainer's mottos. In the short-term, I have two simple goals to incorporate my fitness lifestyle into my new workplace:

to not snack on junk food at work (I have my shaker and tub here now)
find a convenient gym nearby work for lunchtime workout

Happy training!
Nathalie

Powerlifter Turned CrossFitter

2011-07-27T20:50:00.000-07:00

Before my competition days, there was CrossFit - one of my first loves. I've heard CrossFit described as "not focused on technique", "makes people pass out", or "too hard to try"... at least by those who haven't tried it.

My former mentor and friend Brandon was a definite skeptic. Coming from a competitive power lifting background, Brandon was not sure that CrossFit was for him. As part of his training for Tough Mudder, Brandon decided that CF would help his endurance for the race but he would to lose some strength. But he was wrong. A few WOD's in he has a bruised ego and is addicted :)

{yeah, only a CF'er would demonstrate handstand push -ups anywhere anytime}

This past week was his first full week of CrossFit. Brandon's first ego bruising happened when a guy 80lbs lighter than him outlifted him by 50# in the front squat. After he got over his defeat, he realized he had to check his ego and focus on fixing his weaknesses. As with any successful fitness program, goals or milestones need to be set. Brandon's goal is to be able to do King Kong by Christmas... talk about hardcore.

{weighted push-ups make for good party tricks.}

I admit, if I was a first time gym goer, CrossFit would be slightly intimidating, especially from the press its been receiving. In my experience, the exercises are modified to an individual's strength and ability. Although you are encouraged to keep pushing and not to immediately give up at the first sign of potential failure, you are encouraged to listen to your body. The natural camaraderie of the community creates a fun and supportive environment that keep you doing your best.

The recent CrossFit banter with Brandon has been a friendly reminder for me to get myself back on track with training. I am itchin' to work on my kip now :)

Anyone CF or thinking of trying it?

Happy training,

Nathalie

Happiness = Work/Life/Training Balance

2011-07-19T20:42:00.001-07:00

Three weeks ago, I hit my tipping point and tipped. I took a much needed, although unplanned, break from training to get my affairs in order and clear my head.

Like most you, I juggle work and training. Generally I find training to be my outlet for stress, especially for work –related stress. When work-stress becomes overwhelming I find it difficult to stay focused on training and prep.

{in La Jolla, California a week after I was suppose to compete}

My tipping point came when I tried on my suit two weeks before the San Jose Show. After months of getting myself mentally ready and going through prep, I still wasn’t able to lean out enough. I felt so disappointed in myself seeing how I looked in the suit. Competing is a big mental game. I wasn’t happy with my results in the gym or at work. Both were becoming demotivating. My trainer said if I compete that I need to do it right and that the shows will still be there. I took her advice.

When stress becomes too much, I tend to shut out everything and focus on fixing whatever the problem seems to be. In the end, this all leads up to a big decision, after five years with my employer, I resigned. Tough decision to make, but I joined a thriving organization and am now surrounded by others who love what they do and feel valued.

During my time off from training, I decided to enjoy my free time. I am definitely going to prep and compete for a show in 2011, so I know this freedom wouldn’t last long. I enjoyed warm weather outdoors and sunsets – something that I don’t get to see often when I’m in the gym.

{warm weather and beautiful beaches in La Jolla}

{sunset at Natural Bridges Park in Santa Cruz, Ca}

{sunset over the natural bridges}

This is my first week at my new job. Next week, I am back in the gym and will be ready to prep. Happiness really is priceless as cheesy as it sounds :)

{enjoying 106 degree heat walking through Joshua Tree National Park}

It's only my second season in the NPC and it's okay that I'm still finding my groove in balancing my goals and my life in and outside the gym. I think it's okay because I want to do everything well and because its fun. Feeling rejuvenated and ready to go already!

Happy training,

Nathalie

The Stairway to Hell

2011-06-29T01:32:00.000-07:00

300 steps tucked away in the Communication Hill neighborhood of San Jose is where my trainer held her Friday afternoon session for her Summer Fit Camp. I took a late lunch to enjoy the sun and the training.

{bottom of the Stairway to Hell}

I am a fan of running stairs. It's not as boring as just regular running and hurts my knees less than running on pavement. Also, I'll do anything to get my glutes in shape. What could be better than drills on 300 steps in 88 degree weather?

{it's really not that bad, just pace yourself}

Before I left the house this morning, I remembered my hat, sunglasses and sunscreen and completely forgot to grab my water bottle of my desk at work. DON'T FORGET WATER! Luckily Dean brought extra bottles (thanks Dean! :). Definitely important to hydrate during workouts, especially when training in the heat.

{Sob giving her quads a good stretch before we got started. Good form

tip - keep both thighs parallel to each other, keep the bent

knee pointed downward.}

{On your marks, get set, go!}

The Workout

Run laterally up the stairs and jog down. One set with right and one with the left leg leading.

3 sprints up and down the stairs

Walk around a loop around the neighborhood for the cool down.

Of course the sprints couldn't be that easy. We were to beat our first sprint time in either the second or third sprint. If we couldn't, we had to do a "buddy run". Basically, running with our trainer on our backs :) None of us ended up doing that.

{my strategy was to pace myself going up and then make-up my time coming down.}

We made it and back to work pretty close to an hour later.

{my trainer and the guys}

Happy training,

Nathalie :)