Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Weigh In Day


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Weigh in Day

07.23 = 210.0
07.30 = ?????

-?? pounds

Total Loss to Date: 67.6 pounds
Ummm, yeah I skipped weigh in. :P


Yesterday's first-thing-wake-up-naked weight:

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Yikes... this is what I get for cheating one too many times this last week. So, I hopped on again today... see, waste and water weight!

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It's amazing how the body fluctuates. Moving on... I don't have a fabulous Transformation Tuesday pic for this week but I did a face comparison... Oh My Word!!!

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And... drum roll please!!!!! I went shopping for another pair of shorts to get me through summer... I'm officially down to a 14. I don't think I've worn a 14 since grade school!!!

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To make things more interesting, the hubs asked me last night what size I started at compared to where I'm at now. I cannot believe I wrote that out!!!! I really can't believe I admitted to squeezing my rump into a smaller size for the sake of vanity and not wanting to actually purchase a larger size that actually fit. I'm also glad I'll never EVER see that size on my clothing again.

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As for my cheating ways these last couple of weeks... I've let myself indulge way too much. So I've decided to start photo-tracking my meals again. I may or may not post them here on the blog, but you can for sure find them on my IG acct. I started yesterday... so far, so good. It's definitely helping keep me in check. ;)

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What methods do you use to keep on track?

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Weigh In Day


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Weigh in Day

07.16 = 211.6
07.23 = 210.0

-1.6 pounds

Total Loss to Date: 67.6 pounds

Phew... feeling a little bit better this week!


Today's first-thing-wake-up-naked weight:

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I'm am stoked!!! NO cardio at all this week and I was sweating bullets. I could have sworn it was going to be another positive...but it's a loss!

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The doctor has set me up with an MRI in the morning. After that we will have a better game plan for treatment which may include physical therapy. Until we get the MRI results I'm stuck in the boot... sort of. Yes, I take the boot off to lift now as I really despise wearing a nasty sweaty boot the remainder of the day. Rest assured, I'm very cautious while not in the boot. And I am thankful all of my weights are no more than an arms length away. That being said, yesterday was chest and triceps!!! One of my favorite days. And the pics on the left are courtesy of my 4yo. Today I upped my bent over row PR. I did 3 sets: 40# x 15, 45# x 15, and 50# x 20.

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This is from my IG this morning: "Tomorrow I will be having my MRI, and I'm nervous and anxious. Not for the procedure itself, but for the outcome. We'll finally have a solid treatment plan and I'll finally have an answer rather than an educated guess. None the less, I still work each day towards my goals regardless of my injury. This injury has only proven to me how much I've actually changed my lifestyle. It has really been a blessing in disguise. It has proven to me that once the fire of determination is lit, it is very difficult to extinguish. We all get to a point where we get down on ourselves or overwhelmed because we aren't seeing the changes we think we should. Some times you need to take a step back and look at the big picture. Chances are you're a lot further along in your journey than you realize."

And lastly... Name this veggie! We bought it from our raw milk farmer tonight. I cant wait to try it!

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Sunday, July 21, 2013

My Favorite Fitness Sources

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What are your favorite fitness forums and blogs?


This one is a tough question of sorts. I follow several sources for a variety of reasons. Personally, with doing a lot of weight training myself, I tend to look more towards a variety of female bikini/figure competitors via Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. It truly inspires me to look at others and a lot of them have wonderful advice or post a lot of inspirational posts. I look at these women and see what they are able to accomplish and it makes say "why not me?" I also follow a few fellow "every day mom's" via blogger. I'm almost tempted to change the title of this post, because these ladies are more inspirational sources, rather than fitness sources. (I'm too lazy to redo my main picture for the title, LOL.)



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Candice Keene - 2013 Figure International Champion


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Erin Stern - Ms. Figure Olympia


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Nathalia Melo - 2012 Bikini Olympia Champion


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Savannah Neveux aka Muffin Top-less - Fit Blogger, Published Nutrition Author
 Employed by Iron Man Magazine


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Nicole Wilkins - 2x IFBB Figure Olympia Champion, 3x IFBB Figure International Champion


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Bella Falconi - NPC Figure Athlete and Fitness Model




Bloggers:

The Fitnessista
Fat Girl Gone Fit
Sexy Mother Runner
Best Body Fitness

Exercise Resources:

Body Building
JEFit
You Tube - Search for specific workouts/exercises or "exercise" in general
Pinterest

My biggest source of inspiration I find, is Instagram. There is really a great fitness community there and a lot of support from others going through their own journey's. I love posting there and getting feedback as well as applauding others as they work it out. ;)

There are a lot of inspirational sources out there. All you need to do is start looking, find the ones that move you and follow along! What moves one person, may not work for another but keep your eyes open, sometimes your source of inspiration is closer to you than you think.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

How Do You Do It - My Home Gym

Home Gym

For some time, only my close friends have been privy to the ins and outs of my every day life. And they know that I strictly lift weights at home, meaning I don't have a gym membership (at least I don't pay for one). One of those friends kindly messaged me and wants to know:

If you would consider doing a post on your home gym, I would love to see what equipment you have and why you chose it.

You're darn skippy I'll do it! Before I get into it, here's my reasoning for NOT having a gym membership. 

  1. I have small children and I'm not fond of leaving them in a strangers care, and even if I were comfortable with that, that may or may not cost extra money in addition to the gym membership.
  2. My husband works a graveyard shift and his days off vary, making it very difficult to tie down an exact routine. And I am very much and OCD/Scheduler.
  3. I'm too damn cheap to buy a gym membership , er I mean we're living on a single income and a gym membership is not exactly a luxury we can afford any more. We did have a membership before we were married and quite frankly that's A LOT of money and we didn't even use the gym for the last 3? 6? months we had memberships.
  4. I can visit my "gym" any time I want. I can workout in the wee hours of the morning, yeah right like that happens, or I can work out after the kids pass out.
  5. I don't have to feel intimidated or scared or afraid of being judge by someone else who may appear like they know what they are doing. I don't have to wait on a piece of equipment or wait for Joe Meathead to quit bs-ing with Bigger Arms Than Brains guy. I don't have to be embarrassed or ashamed to do certain moves if my shirt accidentally flies upward exposing my not to tight midsection. I LOVE the seclusion I get in my "gym."

Okay, enough with my reasons because I'm sure I could go on and on. So I will instead break it down for you, piece by piece; how and why. Obviously We didn't go out and purchase all of this equipment at once. It's a slow process, some were planned out in advance, some were spur of the moment/they had a sale going on, and some were "I had it before I knew you" purchases.

Home Gym

Decline Bench

This piece was not of my choice. This was a piece that my husband purchased back in his single days. It works great for exercises that require a decline; legs lifts, Russian twists. Before we were able to purchase a newer bench I used it for everything that required a bench. It was cumbersome at times because of it's short length, but I worked with what I had. It hasn't seen much use as of late but it will be hanging around. It does fold up so that we can store it more easily.

Home Gym

Home Gym Home Gym

Incline Bench

This is our new bench, purchased not that long ago. We found it at Dick's a while back but passed "until we had the money." I forget why we went in to Dick's the day we purchased it (probably a month after we had talked about buying it), but we made a decision that the old but usable decline bench was holding us back. We needed that incline more than we realized. I believe we purchased it for $150.00 and I have to say it was money well spent. Some of my favorites with this bench are Reverse Leg Hypers, Incline Hammer Curls, Shoulder Presses, Bent over Rows, and Tricep Dips. Downside: It does not fold up, but it has wheels so we can easily move it back and forth to its storage location.

Home Gym

Weight Rack/Weight Plates/Dumbells

I saved up some money from my bow business to purchase this awesome hybrid weight rack. It was another purchase from Dick's. When we first purchased it we did not have near the amount of dumbbells you see now. I had purchased my "starter" set of dumbbells which included 5lb, 8lb, 10lb, 15lb, and 20lb weights while Dick's had a 15% off sale going. When not purchased on sale they cost close to $1.00 per pound. That can add up really quickly. Lucky for me I only had to purchase one 15lb dumbbell because for some bizarre reason the hubs already had one. Can you pick it out? LOL.

After storing the weights on cardboard I'd laid out on the garage floor, I tired of having to bend over constantly to pick the weights up and put them down, ironic I know. :P Same goes for the weight plates, I smashed my fingers more than once moving them around to get what I needed when I needed it as they were stacked on one another on the floor as well. The weight plates - 2 1/2 lb, 5lb, and 10lb - belonged to the hubby before we married. The 25lb plate I purchased because I needed it for weighted triceps dips and we plan to add it's mate in the not so distant future. I found it at Wal-Mart for $21 and it is nicer than what I found at Dick's because it has handles for an easier grip (and it's cheaper per pound). Back to the rack... So we bought and assembled this rack which now supports my starter dumbbells and my newer dumbbells in 25lb, 30lb, 35lb and 40lb weights respectively (Adam's Krav Maga buddy now works for Dick's and let us know when they were on sale again). And I'm already contemplating adding a 45lb and 50lb weight to the set. Before we had the hex dumbbells we used Adam's previously purchased hand weight bars (below the rack on the floor) with the weight plates. While it worked in the beginning I can honestly say purchasing the hex dumbbells was one of the best decisions we've made. It's so nice to not have to change the weight plates for every set. And Adam still uses the hand weight bars when he needs to lift heavier than 40lbs.

Home Gym

Barbell

We bought this pretty fella on Amazon. It's a 5ft, 14lb straight barbell. It's very versatile and easily stored, upright, in a corner. We did recently purchase spring clamps for it as the star collars were a bit cumbersome with two of us working out at the same time. The clamps were worth the $5 purchase.

Some of my favorites with the barbell are deadlifts, seated calf raises, bicep curls, shoulder presses, behind the neck tricep extensions.

Home Gym

Sound System

Okay okay so it's not so much a sound system as my old iPod speakers from back in the day sitting on a hand-me-down stool. It's also where I stash my go-go juice while I'm lifting. I'm too cheap to upgrade to an iHome or whatever they're called when these speakers do the trick. It also allows me to hear my rest timers when they alarm from my JEFit app.

Home Gym

Fitness Ball

I have come to love my fitness ball. This was another Wal-Mart purchase ages ago. It has lots of uses, besides entertaining the littles. We use it for tricep dips, leg bridges with hamstring pull in, and my new favorite ab pikes. There are a lot of great stability exercises out there to use this ball with. Con: It's large and hard to store out of reach of little hands.

Home Gym

Yoga Mat

This yoga mat has come in handy. I never understood why my husband bought it as it was never put to use... until my trainer came along and made me do exercises that needed a mat on a concrete floor. Of course it's useful with the obvious ab exercises, but I use it for pushups and other moves that require me to lie on the floor. If you're working out on a cushioned floor it may not be needed but my knees are so bony I cannot fathom working out without it.

Home Gym

Home Gym

Erg (Rower)

This purchase was not one we took lightly. It cost a pretty penny, so it was clearly something we planned in advance. It was purchased a few years back and I think until last year I had only been on it a handful of times. Adam really pushed to get this piece. I was all "what's the big deal, it looks stupid" and he's all "it's such a great workout." I will say it was a wise decision. It breaks down into two pieces for easy storage and provides one of the best cardio workouts you'll find. It uses your entire body from the legs to your back, shoulders, abs, arms, you name it... it get's worked. I love it for days when I'm unable to get out for a run or a ride due to weather or children. I've really come to love rowing on hot humid days with the garage door open and letting the sweat pour off of me. While I think a treadmill would be nice, this is much more portable and sensible with our lack of storage space.

Home Gym Home Gym
Home Gym Home Gym
Home Gym
Odds & Ends

Medicine Balls - These we purchased when Dick's had a Buy One Get One Half Off sale. I needed them for Russian Twists, but there are a lot of other great exercises out there for them as well. 

Ab Roller - This was one of those "my husband bought it before we were married, what the hell is it" purchases. Basically my trainer assigned me ab roll outs using the barbell. Unfortunately with the barbell we have, it has gaskets that keep the weights from rattling, therefore it didn't want to roll for me. That's when the hubs said "wait a minute" and he ran to the master bedroom and returned with this goofy device. I'm forever grateful he had it hiding in the closet. LOL.

Kettlebell - I purchased this to test drive a Kettle Bell Class at the local dojo. While I cannot afford to take the kettlebell class I did learn a lot and this tiny little critter can give you one heck of a workout. It's also great for the beginner when learning to do one legged kettle bell deadlifts.

Forearm Roller - This was a purchase the hubby made to work his forearms and while I don't use it near enough, it will kick your forearms butt!

Home Gym

So that's a little tour of how I do what I do. I also suggest, for you ladies, a great pair of lifting/fitness gloves. You should still grow callouses but the gloves will help during that process, as well as give you a better grip on those heavier weights. If you have any questions, let me have them!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Weigh In


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Weigh in Day

07.09 = ???
07.16 = 211.6

-??? pounds

Total Loss to Date: 66.0 pounds

Frustrated, I still went to weigh in.


Today's first-thing-wake-up-naked weight:

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I'm utterly pissed off. So not only did I gain last week but I still gained a smidge this week. There are two ways to look at this. One, I'm "injured" and cannot perform my normal duties and am sitting on my butt more than I normally do, so this is "okay." Two, WHAT THE F&*$? I'm still lifting, still watching my food intake, especially now that I don't have any real cardio to offset those calories. I'm just flippin' pissed off!

I do know that today I find myself rather overly emotional. I'm upset because I cannot find a good cardio solution, that I have access to or can do for free, that doesn't involve putting pressure on my foot. While my foot is slowly healing, it still pains me to put pressure on it for too long (standing to cook). I'm seriously having workout withdraws. Add  that into the fact that Mother Nature was running about a week behind schedule and stressed me out, and now there's those hormones to deal with... I'm just overly tired and drained.

I feel like I have all this pent up energy and no where I can put it to use, which freaks me out. I'm afraid of falling back into a depression and not wanting to work out. Bad situation all around. But here I sit, wanting to work out and not being able to. Most of the solutions I've seen when Googling are the bone heads who say "lift more weights." Duh dip wad, I already do that every other day. I, personally, cannot lift 7 days a week and be successful... I need a little rest in between which is where my cardio comes into play. :P

So if anyone can afford to have a pool put in at my home, so that I can swim for cardio, that would be great. Until then, I apologize for the lack of happiness in this post... I'm just not feeling it today.

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I still only got 3 days of lifting in this week. Upper middle, that was weigh in day and I rested. Lower left two, doctor visit and grocery day respectively. I feel absolutely fabulous the days I lift... I just cannot wait for this foot to heal!

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I posted this quote this morning on my IG account. Although I meant it to be used as inspiration for others to get moving towards their goals, as I look at it now it only reminds me of the frustration I'm feeling for not being able to move and having to stand still. Ironic huh?


Monday, July 15, 2013

Clean Eating Balsamic Salmon

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Clean Eating Balsamic Salmon ❤ Soooo tasty!!! And it's quick & easy. Gotta love that combo. I served it with a side of quinoa and stovetop grilled asparagus. 

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium to high heat. Season both sides of salmon with salt and pepper. Add salmon to skillet and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. 

While the salmon is cooking, whisk together honey, vinegar and red pepper flakes* in a small bowl. 

Add vinegar mixture to skillet and simmer until fish is fork-tender and liquid reduces and thickens, about 5 minutes. For a thicker, reduced sauce, simmer for 5 to 10 additional minutes. 

*I like to mix it up and I use 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle pepper. It all depends on your spicy factor.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Clean Eating Peach Crumble

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Tonight Baby Girl insisted we make a pie. In all honesty what she really wanted was more fruit... So I took three of our peaches and made a Clean Eating Peach Crumble. Before I get to the recipe I have to tell you just how excited I was to find the secret ingredient during our grocery trip!

I love making my own butter, but I also love drinking the cream in my Raw Milk. The next best thing to making my own butter is Kerrygold! I've been looking high and low and FINALLY Sam's had some. Kerrygold is a natural butter made from the milk of grass-fed cows. TWO... let me say that again... TWO INGREDIENTS!!! Sweet cream from pasteurized milk and sea salt. You would have thought I won the lottery when I found it.

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So, now you know the secret ingredient is REAL BUTTER. ;) I also have a set of nesting ramekins so Baby Girl claims the little one as hers. Clearly this is not something I make all of the time, but it's a great treat! And if you're screaming at your computer wondering why butter?!?! BECAUSE IT'S GOOD FOR YOU, at least the real stuff**.


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Before the oven
Clean Eating Peach Crumble
bobbinsharpfitness.blogspot.com

Ingredients:  


Directions: 

Pre-heat your oven to 375°. Slice and peel peaches, cutting into uniform pieces. Place peaches into each ramekin until 3/4 full. In a bowl combine the oats and cane sugar, mix well. Pour melted butter over the mixture and stir until well mixed. Spoon oat mixture onto the top of each peach filled ramekin until evenly distributed. Place ramekins in the oven, preferably on a cookie or pizza sheet  in case of a boil over. Cook until the peaches are bubbly.

Because of the size difference of my ramekins, the times varied: Small = 15 minutes, Medium = 20 minutes, Large = 25 minutes.

Make sure to watch closely as the sugar can burn if left unattended. Enjoy!


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After the oven

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Let me know if you give this a try and how you love it!


**If you're new to my blog please remember that I do what's right for me and my family and not everyone may agree, but many hours of research have led me to butter and it's healthy fat properties. Of course the chemical filled fake and zero calorie "butters" will never be found in my home again, but I digress... do the research for yourself.

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