Tagged: quotes
Your Traveling Home
What a weird title for a comeback blog, yet I didn’t even have to think about it. I just made the drive from Toronto, ON to Surrey, BC over the last 6 days and it gave me a lot of time to think. I realized that although I may not have had a true home for the last five years (moved every 4 to 8 months for school and work) I could always count on my body to adapt and thrive in new environments. I started moving myself in the past 2 years, lots of boxes, trips and packing lessons. All of this was possible because of my physically able body. When I have gone on trips in the past three years, I haven’t skipped workouts due to the fact that 1 or 1.5 hours in my day is the only thing that has stayed consistent in a very changing period of my life.
Be at home with your body, treat it well and it will give you back so much more than just a heartbeat, a set of bones and a brain. You can travel far from everything and everyone you know and still be at home in your own skin. Yes, I personally prefer the gym but exercise can be done anywhere. I was finishing my bike cooldown last night and felt like I was on cloud 9. I thought to myself ” I have tried it all: food, alcohol, drugs, friends and everything that is supposed to make you come alive and feel amazing. After all of this, nothing compares to a great workout. The chemical effects and mental clarity that come with a solid training session are absolutely my favourite feeling in the world. I am going to continue to build my home, make little renovations and preserve some of the fine tuned parts. I am now ok with being anywhere in the world, knowing that my house is always going to be taken care of and never, ever sold.
Sweet Potato Mug Cake
It has been too long! Getting caught up in moving houses and a flurry of random activity, I have completely neglected to update this space. Making up for it with this bomb-a#$ creation.
Ever wondered what to eat post-gym? Well what if I told you that this is the ideal time to eat your sugary fix for the day? Yes friends, this is the time to eat that timbit or fruit salad with granola. Personally, I crave carbs post workout so I time my carb load either the night before a big lifting day, or for right after a big lift. It is different for everyone, but here is my favourite interpretation of carb cycling. Easy to understand, this article clearly explains the model of specific-nutrient-nourishment-timing. Again, everyone views diet differently but you will not find any signs of advocacy for a carb-free diet on this blog. That is just a recipe for hangry (state of hungry + angry) and cranky readers and bloggers.
Every week I cook 4 sweet potatoes in the oven on Sunday or Monday night as part of my food prep and cut them in half, storing them in a container to be enjoyed at my convenience throughout a busy week. I have been avoiding late night carbs this week because my stomach has been off, so I have settled on the obvious choice of mug cakes as as a post lunch dessert.
The secret to a good mug cake? Experiment and throw in different things every time. Personally, I love the cake batter texture, so my cakes are a little on the undercooked side. If you want a firmer cake, pop it in for 2.5 or 3 minutes instead of 2. Literally the most delicious, easiest dessert you can make and it has zero gluten, no processed ingredients and no added sugars if you don’t use agave or honey.
Start out with one half of a precooked sweet potato and pop it into the microwave for 2 mins, to get maximum softness.
Mash the heck out of the potato with a fork and remove the skin. Add in the following:
1/2 tsp of baking powder
Almond milk until you get a batter-like consistency (2-3 tbsps for me)
2 tbsp egg whites
2 tbsps shredded coconut
Small palm size of 80% choc chips
Mash, baby, mash. Until you form a slightly frothy, lumpy mixture. Sounds appealing, no?
Pop the lot into your mug and pat it down using your fork. Throw it into the microwave for 2 mins and take it out…
Magic I tell you. Who needs flour?
Then the toppings, very important.
My choices of the week are 1 tsp coconut oil, cinnamon and 1 tsp of agave nectar.
Essentially the easiest and healthiest cake you have ever eaten. Take liberty with this recipe and throw in raisins, fruit, peanut butter topping. I am talking WILD ideas here. But if you don’t try this snack after leg day, you are crazy.
Much love on a Friday, just a thought to keep with you as we enter into the weekend
The Inevitable Self-Guilt Trip Dilemma
You have been there, I was there yesterday afternoon. Little trip to crazy town called guilt, self-shaming, basically negative thoughts towards yourself or actions that you have committed. These trips are rare for me, but when they do happen I try to put an end to that immediately.
Being of a “fitness or athlete” mindset, you feel that there is little or no room for error in your lifestyle. Eating clean (*read, extremely limited alcohol consumption), living simply, setting and accomplishing goals and surrounding yourself with teachers and friends that have things in common with you. Last time I checked, we were all still human beings and making a choice that goes against the grain of your lifestyle or goals doesn’t make you weak or failed. It’s natural, but it is what you do with the reaction to that decision that can make or break all of the habits you have been trying to form.
ie. Binging on a bag of chips on a Tuesday night?
Good reaction: go to sleep, wake up and eat your breakfast, drink a ton of water that day and move on with your routine.
Bad reaction: become anxious, start the self-loathing process and resolve to not touch carbs for the next week and do an extra hour on the treadmill.
Here is my workout from yesterday afternoon. Nothing fancy, but it did invoke an ass kicking sweat and shoulder burn. The worst way to approach working out is to “punish” your body, Punish~ to subject to pain, loss, confinement, death, etc., as a penalty for some offense, transgression, or fault.
So I changed the name of the workout to reward. I flipped the switch before my mind could talk me out of my confidence any more. When you exercise you are rewarding your body. You are bringing fresh nutrients into your bloodstream, releasing chemicals that can affect your mood in the most positive of ways, shedding extra skin cells, lubricating your joints and so much more. So the next time you are feeling down, go and reward your body with a positive mind.
On the side, here is a progress flex picture of my twig like arms that are beginning to take shape! Even the anterior deltoid (front shoulder) is coming around. I can see the small differences, everywhere and it feels so good.
The perfect “off” day
Saturday was my rest day! The first inactive rest day I have had in over three weeks and it was amazing. I don’t keep my rest days the same, because depending on my weekend plans I may be near a gym, maybe not. Anyways, my schedule is pretty much always 5 days lifting, 1 day body weight and balance. 1 day off, so 5:1:1 if you will (in order of importance obviously).
The view from the ferry, en route to Victoria to visit my great Aunt. Absolutely gorgeous. People talk about those moments in life that they remember as absolute perfection, or something that must be close to it. I wrote mine down because it was too special to let go and for those days when a memory just won’t do, I can re-read it.
Call me cray, but I believe that having these moments of realization is extremely important to keeping a successful thought process. We don’t realize how much we cram into our heads throughout the week and we expect our brain to do everything for us. From breath, to blood flow to telling you when to eat, pretty sure that every hemisphere in there deserves a break once in while.
Always make the most of your training days, but make the most of your physical relaxation time as well. Use it for your mind and your heart.
Love
My weekend musing
I LOVE this quote. It stands for everything that I believe makes for a fulfilled heart and satisfied life. Doing things out of love makes such a big difference.
Did you muse over anything awesome this weekend?
The one with a BIG announcement
Here goes. I decided (100%) because I have truly been thinking about it since last July, that I am going to compete in the Oktoberfest Natural Classic in Kitchener Ontario on October 13,2013.
Essentially I am going to build up my existing physique, cut my body fat down to 8-10%, dehydrate immediately before competition and pose onstage in a bikini in front of a lot of people. Kind of like this…
This is Erin Stern and she is amazing. Great speaker and motivator, I can only hope to be lucky enough to meet her someday.
I know that you might be thinking, what is this? Bodybuilding, soooo unhealthy. About 6 months ago, I would have entirely agreed with you. After having done a lot of research and talking to pros, watching their diet in offseason and seeing their daily training, I can safely say that I would be silly to not participate in this at least once in my lifetime as a fitness specialist.
I am hiring a coach for nutrition and training (because yes, every athlete needs a trainer…even trainers need trainers) and am upping my weights and taking fat loss pretty seriously. I will blog about my journey along the way and share the up’s and down’s of changing your physique to the extreme.
Here are my three goals for the next 3 weeks:
1RM-180lb deadlift (currently at 155lb, made a 20lb leap yesterday!)
Be able to snatch with “pretty” form (tomorrow’s practice)
5km time down to 25min (from 25:30) consistently
So excited to be sharing this with all of you. If you have any questions, ever please leave a comment below!
Love Meghan
Making Fitness Goals 101
We all have them. Those deep down goals that we think are way too far out of reach for little ol’ me. Just saying… that is a big fat LIE. Now is the time, break out those notebooks, phones or whatever you use to keep your goals because we are going to make a list, together.
Rule #1
Pick a certain number of goals and for fitness purposes, let’s go three at a time.
Rule #2
Lay out a timeline. The timeline will depend on
a) your availability to work on this skill
b) the stage that you are at in your fitness journey
The saying applies here…”Rome wasn’t built in day”. Don’t set yourself up with too short of a timeline and promise yourself failure before you even begin. Consult with a fitness friend or trainer at your gym to check your timeline against their experience with that particular skill.
Rule #3
Do the work. This means,
Put in the hours to practice. Start with a pvc pipe instead of the bar, use cans of soup instead of barbells. Put in the time
Do the research. A skill you have seen in passing but are unfamiliar with? Youtube baby, countless video tutorials and amazing technique coaching. Be mindful of the phony’s though, for the most part the videos are great but there is always the oddball dead wrong technique too. Double check this technique with a trainer or fitness staff at your gym.
Rule #4
Make an accountability plan.
Personally, I take progress photos and record my weight lifted. I leave it in a photo album on my phone where I am forced to look at it and meet those goals.
Find a friend to call and check in on you. Use instagram, use a photo album but whatever you do, hold yourself accountable.
Stay hungry friends, make your goals and follow these rules. I have to mull over mine a little bit more before I post them. I know it’s going to involve olympic lifts and body comp. Until then,
Redbull doesn’t give you wings, lat pulldowns do!
The long awaited back post (for me, anyways). The back is one of my favourite areas to focus on because I grew up with a weak lower back and slight scoliosis, which resulted in not so pleasant chiropractor visits. My parents even sent me to modelling classes to correct my posture, so when I entered strength training, I knew that I wanted my back to get a lot of attention.
Flex Friday’s on instagram ^^ (so ridiculous, but secretly motivating)
The problem
Most women carry some sort of lower back pain in their lifetime, for various reasons:
1. childbearing
2. genetics
3. weak core/ weak transverse muscle
4. patterns of movement (not bending from the hips)
So here is a quick diagram of the back…not to get technical, but just to point out the obvious groups that should be included in your workout
The solution (or correction)
Basics to get you started:
Circuit 1
1. Inverted Row 10
2.Back Extensions on stability ball 12
3.Renegade Row 12 (each arm)
Repeat 3x with 45 sec rest in between each round
4.Bent over dumbell rows 10(each arm) x3
5.Assisted pullups 6,4,2 (reps) 1 minute break x2
6.Lat Pulldown 12x 3
Rowing machine, aim for 35-42 strokes per min (spm) for 10 minutes
Happy training! Also remember that if you back is getting stronger, it doesn’t mean that you can ignore your core. Strong lower abs will contribute to a stronger lower back, just another reason to love how totally connected your body is.
“Obsessed is a word that lazy people use to describe the dedicated”
Commit To Confidence 