Skip the Gym – Fitness Blender

I blame and thank my dearest Wonder Woman for her lead. I had been following her posts on her morning workout with kettlebells. They looked dangerous and intriguing, which means I had to try it. She suggested I search Youtube to get an idea of how they’re used and to find a workout.

Turns out that there were tons of videos out there. I ended up choosing a beginner’s kettlebell routine from Fitness Blender. I got through my first KB session unscathed, my floor not so much but I really enjoyed the routine and have completed many others since. I return to Fitness Blender time and again for the following reasons:

The workout routines are filmed against a white background so that the viewer can see all the moves in plain view. Also there are no distracting boob shots or butt shots, just the instructor(s) puttin in work.
The start of each routine provides a text outline of what it entails, so you can get your mind right from the beginning on what you’re about to do.
The routines are free of music, you get only the instructor(s) doing the workout with narration. I don’t even miss the music.
There is a plethora of workouts to choose from. HIIT, cardio, kettlebell, weights etc all at different lengths and for different fitness levels. The 1-5 intensity scale, caloric burn estimate and other descriptors clearly identify the level of difficulty.
No rah rah. I’m not really here for all the “come on give me 5 more you can do ittttt” cheerleading. A simple count down of reps or a timer suit me just fine, which is what Fitness Blender does.
It costs nothing, just the cost of whatever you’re paying for the internet.

and… last but not least… the instructors.

Fitness Blender consists of the husband and wife team of Daniel and Kelli. Daniel performs the narration on the videos, Kelli, Daniel or both do the workouts. They’re both trained professionals who are experienced in the health and fitness industry. You can learn more about them and additional programs that are offered on their website.

Fitness Blender for me is THE best bang for the buck (or no bucks). The variety of workouts available ensures that you won’t ever get bored, and the simplicity of their production allows you to focus on form instead of being distracted by everything else. Next time you skip the gym give Fitness Blender a whirl. You’ll be glad you did.

Until next time, see you at the virtual gym.

Powered by Soul Spotlight: Lamont Doss

Those with lesser stamina will be left in his dust gasping for air. He doesn’t just take leisurely jaunts accross town, he can ride to another state with only his legs! Introducing the Iron Man, Lamont Doss in his own words.

Vitals

My name is Lamont and I’m transitioning my residence from San Antonio, TX to Charlotte, NC. I’m 38 years old and employed as a Network Engineer.

Tell us about your fitness routine including type, days per week, location, preferences etc.

Because of my work schedule, I only work out on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays. I have an alternating three day routine of Back/Chest, Legs, Shoulders/Arms. In the Spring and Summer months, I participate in a number of cycling events, so I’m trying to focus more on my legs during the off season.

Do you follow a particular nutrition plan?

This is an area where I really struggle. While I would love to verbosely describe my healthy eating habits, this is not my current reality. My nutrition plans are still a work in progress.

How long have you been active/following your nutrition plan/playing sports etc.?

I really got serious about having an active lifestyle about three years ago. I used to frequent the gym after work, and later, a colleague offered to teach me to play golf. From there, a couple of colleagues invited me to join them on a couple of 18 mile cycling rides, which grew into 25, 45, 60, then 100 mile events.

Do you have a success story/testimony relating to fitness, nutrition or your overall health?

Though my cholesterol levels are great, I still have issues with high blood pressure. That’s my next challenge, and necessary before I can claim success. In the interim, I can proudly say I’m physically stronger than I’ve ever been in life.

What motivates you to do what you do in terms of fitness and nutrition?

Stress, but mostly the release of it. Going through a divorce while taking on a new job was a bit of a load, so I used weightlifting as a way to purge frustration, stress, and anger. The redirection of bad energy helped me maintain my focus. Though I don’t have to deal with many of the aforementioned challenges anymore, I continue to find peace in my workout.

Do you have a personal motto/philosophy you’d wish to share?

Plan, achieve, and then excel.

Powered by Soul thanks Lamont for sharing the challenges and the triumphs of his fitness life. Hopefully this writer will be left in his dust in a road race this spring 🙂

If you or someone you know would like to be featured in the Powered by Soul Spotlight, please let me know in the comments, contact me on Twitter or Google+. Until next time see you at the gym.

Injury Report – Ridiculous

The latest injury news for the old broad is lumbar radiculopathy. When I received the diagnosis I couldn’t help but think how close the word was to “ridiculous” and told the doctor as much. This is a back problem, inflammation aggravating a nerve which manifested itself as a pain in the arse, hamstring and foot. This is not new and is something I’ve dealt with off and on for about 30 years. In the past the condition has been treated by:

steroid injections which failed at relieving the back pain but ended up improving my asthma symptoms
chiropractic manipulation – which helped tremendously but required weekly visits that were not covered by insurance
major weight loss – which eliminated the chronic pain

The doctor didn’t ask me what I’d been doing but I told him about my exercise regimen which is what I assumed caused this latest flare-up. To relieve the symptoms the doctor prescribed:

oral steroids (which are making me bats#$% crazy)
rest and, wait for it …
losing 10 pounds as my current level of exertion may be too much at my current weight

Thus far I’ve taken the pills and stayed out of the gym, practiced yoga (the only exercise permissible) and have been contemplating how to address my diet in order to lose some more weight. I’m not pleased but will do it, and will seek a nutritionist since I’m diabetic and exercise five days a week. In other words, I am actually complying with doctor’s orders 🙂

I hope that none of you are dealing with any injuries during this festive season. If you are, I hope you’re on the mend, complying with the prescribed treatment(s) and enjoying your family and friends. On the bright side, if you’re sidelined from the gym/road/court etc, that gives you more time to spend with the folks you love.

If you have a history of back problems, I’d loved to hear about your experiences and how you’ve overcome them. Feel free to share in the comments or hit me up on Twitter or Google+.

Until next time see you somewhere, anywhere other than the doctor’s office 😉

Powered by Soul Spotlight: Kym McNair

She leaps tall buildings in a single bound, slays all foes and has the
ability to make you think you can do the same. I continue to be inspired by her determination and work ethic and have been privileged to enjoy her sense of humor as well. Known in certain circles as Wonder Woman, introducing Ms. Kym McNair in her own words.

Vitals
Kym McNair, 46 years young, Trainer/Educator for a Domestic Violence Agency.Tell us about your fitness routine including type, days per week, location, preferences etc.For the past 3 years I’ve been weight training. I mix in some cardio, which I really can’t stand, but I know I have to do it.

Do you follow a particular nutrition plan?
I don’t have a particular nutrition plan, but I try my best to avoid grains, refined sugar, and dairy. You could call it Ancestral/Paleo light. I pretty much eat what I want. It just so happens that I don’t want to eat anything that’s not going to help me maintain some level of fitness. I have moments when I want something that’s probably not going to be good for my body. I’ll eat it and my body will remind me why I stopped eating it. Short-term satisfaction is sometimes just not worth it.

Do you have a success story/testimony relating to fitness, nutrition or your overall health?

Testimony: Gym time is Kym time, and for the time that I’m there, every and anything that’s been troubling or worrying me disappears. Or sometimes I find a solution to something that’s been challenging. I don’t have to worry about one upping anybody because it’s just me and the weights.I’ve learned that I’m braver than I ever thought I could be.I’ve also learned that age does not matter. I’m in better shape today than I was in my 20s, and I just need to continue to listen to my body.

Kym 2010 Kym NcNair Jpegs-Kym NcNair Jpegs-0025 What motivates you to do what you do in terms of fitness and nutrition?
My nieces are motivation. I want to be here for them as long as possible, but I also want to pass on a legacy of good health and fitness. I love to take them to the farmer’s market and hear their excitement over foods that most adults I know can’t identify. I love it when they want to play with my exercise bands or show me how they can squat or lift one of their dumbbells. They came home from school one day full of excitement over learning mountain climbers!

I’m also motivated by myself and I know that may sound self-absorbed. But when I think about where I was just 3 years ago and the condition of my body compared to what I can do today,I’m motivated. I’m motivated by the weight I can lift or how my joints feel or how good I feel about how I now take care of my body. I’m motivated by the fact that moving my body makes the pain go away.

Do you have a personal motto/philosophy you’d wish to share?
This is the fitness mission statement I wrote back in 2011 when I first started weight training. This is a slightly modified version.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I have the privilege and responsibility for caring, loving and cherishing my mind, body, soul and spirit. I’m willing to forgive myself for an unhealthy past and just be mindful of the present. Everyday I intend to take advantage of the opportunity to make space for love and healing and to celebrate the blessing that my body is.Powered by Soul thanks Kym for being in the spotlight this month and for continuing to be an inspiration and a blessing to those who know and love her.If you or someone you know would liked to be featured in the Powered by Soul Spotlight, let me know in the comments, on Twitter or on Google+.

Until next time, see you at the gym.

Photos: Kym McNair’s collection

Additional resources: Precision Nutrition

Powered By Soul Spotlight: Ant Pruitt

Common interests (fitness and photography) is how the first Spotlight individual entered my orbit. A good guy, a smart guy, a fit guy and an unabashed supporter of a certain college football team, introducing Ant Pruitt in his own words.

Vitals

Ant(hony) Pruitt from Charlotte, North Carolina. 30 something, I think 36, I quit counting. I’m an IT Support Manager.

Talk about your fitness routine including type, days per week, location, preferences etc.

I workout a minimum of two days per week, but shoot for four either at the office fitness facility or Gold’s Gym. Heavy weeks and light weeks are mixed throughout the month with all muscle groups worked each week. A typical month may go something like: week 1 light, week 2 heavier, week 3 super heavy, week 4 light. I also have some “musts” in the routine. “Upper body musts” = bench press, pull ups, bicep curls, lat pulls or rows. “Lower body musts” = Squats, dead lifts, calf raises. I also incorporate yoga once a week if possible.

Do you follow a particular nutrition plan?

It depends on how I feel and goals. Currently I’m on a higher protein diet with minimal carbs. If I’m dragging, I increase carbs. I also do periodic 48 hour fasts and fasts from particular foods, for example no beef all week or only fish all week. I fast to clear my mind and cleanse the GI tract.

How long have you been active/following your nutrition plan/playing sports etc.?

I’ve been exercising in some form 20+ years. My father used to FORCE ME to do push-ups every night as a kid. I’m also a former 3 -sport athlete. Only got conscious about higher protein since October 2012, but I used to just eat whatever and burn it. No less than 4000 calories a day.

Do you have a success story/testimony relating to fitness, nutrition or your overall health?

At my current age, I’m pushing more weight in the gym now than when I was in my “prime” in college almost 15 years ago. I can’t run as fast due to a replaced hip, but I’m just a hair above my “playing weight” by 10 lbs.

What motivates you to do what you do in terms of fitness and nutrition?

Endorphins. I don’t have a real reason to be stronger or more flexible, but I feel better mentally and emotionally by doing so. Plus I don’t want to look like my classmates. I’m always told I don’t look any different or I look better. I’m proud of that.

Do you have a personal motto/philosophy you’d wish to share?

Burn more than what you eat. Stop looking for people to always be your motivation. Help yourself. THEN others may help you.

Powered by Soul thanks Ant Pruitt for sharing his story with the readers. To find out more about Ant be sure to check him out here.

Photos: Ant Pruitt

Skip The Gym – Ekhart Yoga

Even if you’ve been going to the gym for years (25 in my case) there are days when you want to get a workout in but don’t want to leave the house. Back in the day you had to rely on your own ingenuity by making up a workout routine, or later on you could workout with VHS tapes, and later DVDs. The 21st century has made it even easier for us not to leave the house but still maintain fitness thanks to the internet and this glorious invention called YouTube where you can find any type of workout you desire for the cost of your internet connection. I started using YouTube for home workouts earlier this year and have found some great and some not so great channels and videos. One great channel that I go to again and again is Ekhart Yoga.

Esther Ekhart’s appeal for me is demeanor. She instructs in the way that my mind says a Yoga instructor should, with clarity, calm and instruction for modifications. Her style is not to make the student push as far as possible but to move as far as comfortable with proper form and continued emphasis on breathing (which one can forget when trying to get a pose right). Her channel features long and short classes, with the shorter ones being specialized for such things as the time of day, injuries, sports related needs and so on. I’ve done several different classes and have yet to repeat any which is good to keep things fresh.

Esther Ekhart/Ekhart Yoga is the best yoga instruction on YouTube I’ve tried thus far. I will continue to check out more yoga videos and channels to see what else is offered, however if you want variety and excellent instruction Ekhart Yoga is great for all levels of practice.

Until next time, Namaste.

An Old Best Friend

I moved to Atlanta from New Orleans. For my two years as a resident I had the joy of running through Audubon Park, a fast, beautiful shaded 1.8 mile trail near campus and my apartment. Coming to Atlanta was a rude for me as a runner, having started running through the flatness of Indiana, then in NOLA, I was dismayed with the hills of this new locale. Just the same I was determined to resume running somewhere and enlisted my BFF to find me a suitable park . That first park was Best Friend Park. Located off Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross, Georgia, Best Friend at that time (21 years ago) was more about hoops than it was about running and walking. Just the same, I gave the park a whirl found it less than desirable. I don’t believe that the trail was even finished at that time.

Having run most of the parks in my area over the last few years, I recently headed back to Best Friend. Entering from Jimmy Carter and heading back toward the giant powerlines leads straight to the beginning of the trail. What I saw was a pleasant surprise, nothing at all like I remembered.

IMG_7377 (2) (960x1280)

The trail starts on top of a slight hill, winds down and back up near the tennis center. There’s a pedestrian crossing at that point as there is an entrance on that side. The trail continues past a field up another slight hill, curves around and ends back at the trail start. The trail is listed at .75 miles and it goes fairly quickly since it’s not hilly. The shade is adequate on the back side, but I imagine it may be pretty hot during the summer as you’re making the loop around back to the start as there are no trees on that portion of the trail.

The Best Friend Park paved trail is a great, short trail that would be good for days when you don’t want to do anything long or difficult or if you want to do some speedwork amongst the trees in lieu of a track. If you’re in the area, check it out hopefully you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I.

Until next time, see you on the trail, where you will not EVER find ME doing speedwork. 🙂

photos: MsThorns

You Have Permission

ATTENTION: All fitness fanatics, nutritionistas and swolemen, take a day off on me!

There’s plenty of experts out there that will tell you, drink plenty of water, fill up on veggies before you head to the Thanksgiving table and enjoy the fixins’ in moderation. Since I’m not an expert, you won’t hear that from me. Ye old broad says:

Chill, enjoy your family and friends, eat what you want, drink what you want and watch allllllll the games. When that turkeyphan (tryptophan) kicks in go ahead and take yourself a nap. Lord willing AND if you aren’t trampled by the Black Friday stampedes, you can back to your program Friday.

Enjoy your holiday, Gobble Gobble and see you on the trail, gym or somewhere workin’ that turkey and dressing off.

photo: msthorns; artwork Jorge, Planet Fitness in Lawrenceville GA

Compliance Fail

Let me tell you something, this year has been a beast on ye olde broad’s body.

It all started with the knee, which had been an ongoing problem for the last year and finally came to a head in August. If it wasn’t the knee hurting then it was hip. The sports medicine doctor called it bursitis. I call it old folks hip. The latest body fail? The back. I felt it coming on at the end of last week. Made a wrong move and bam there it went. I am almost completely upright now but a few days ago I was cross-eyed with pain. What gives? My body for sure, but it’s mostly my mind, giving into temptation and this freaky competition that I have with myself.

How it all goes down

Whenever I have an injury, my healthcare provider/trainer prescribes the following:

Do not participate in X activity for # amount of time
Follow X treatment plan for # amount of time
After treatment is complete you may return to activity but do so gradually and build up.
At the first sign of pain stop.

My compliance FAIL happens at step one. “Do not participate in X activity for # amount of time.”

For example, the downtime for the knee issue was supposed to be a 1 month per the trainer (who had torn both of ACLs and knows pain). My primary care physician said 2-3 weeks along with a treatment plan. I did not follow the treatment, I laid off for 2 1/2 weeks and started running again, gradually and with this

but I went back. Only for my body two months later to say NOPE.

What have I learned?

Good habits can be difficult to form and bad habits difficult to end. Starting an exercise program and staying consistent can be difficult. However once it becomes habit, stopping is not an option even though sometimes it should be, as in the case of injury. Folks who worked hard to get where they are now, competitive folks and folks who just want to have a good quality of life within their own body can have difficulty with stopping, reducing or adjusting activity. Swallowing the pill/complying with the doctor’s orders has been difficult for me, but the old broad is learning. I’d much rather do what they tell me to do and go for the long-term, then do what I want to do in the short-term and pay for it by being laid up.

What about you? Does your mind over power your body and make you exercise when it’s probably best for you to refrain? If so were you able to break out of that pattern of behavior? What did you do. Let me know in the comments and until next time,

See you on the trail or the gym or…

Another Guy At The Gym

Because the knee is doing funky things right now I’m spending more time on the gym floor with the weight equipment. My “soccer mom” gym Planet Fitness is great for my needs. The equipment is always operable, there’s never a wait for anything (at least not early in the morning) and the price is right. This past weekend I went in at early evening and lo and behold “that guy” was there.

I’m headed to the back where you do all your abs, stretching and such. The back also contains the adductor and abductor machines which I hit last before the ab work. There are two of each machine, only one is available when I roll up but I figure somebody will be done by the time I finish my set. Two machines opened when I finished. One didn’t, the one with “that guy” on it. I always time my workouts and since the clock was ticking I wanted to know how long he would stay on. I got a bit more than time with this one.

That fool on the adductor next to me definitely was not doing thigh work. What he was doing was sweating all over the machine with his headphones on doing some weird swooping movement for his… abs? I want to say DUDE YOU’RE ON A THIGH MACHINE WTF? Clearly he didn’t know that those machines are the exclusive territory of the big thigh mamas like me. Now homie would throw a few reps in for good measure but go right back to the swoop and sweat. While all that was going on I completed, adduction, abduction, abs and stretching which took 18 minutes at which time he finally vacated.

So I’m submitting another entry to the “don’t be that guy at gym” series as follows: “don’t be that guy who is using the machine for purposes other than what it’s made for and stays there like he’s on his La Z Boy at home.”

If you’re that guy, please stop this foolishness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-91_iXATY8

Until next time, see you at the gym.

photos: mine

	MsThorns on Airplane Mode
	Ant Pruitt (@ant_pru… on Airplane Mode
	MsThorns on No Pumps for You Sis
	Basimah on No Pumps for You Sis
	Robert M Knight on No Pumps for You Sis

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