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Sep112012

Holding on for Dear Life

Yes, that’s us: desperately wedging our chalked, cramped fingers into the cracks of humongous rocks, boulders, and man-made wedges. We have started the awe-inspiring sport of rock climbing (thanks to Marga and Megan). It’s an unreal workout, working your finger tips, to your hips, to your toes and leaves you feeling incredibly sore the next day–especially in the forearms.

Boulder Canyon

One of our first days of just arriving in Boulder, Marga and Megan took us to Boulder Canyon to do our first outdoor climbing. We had both done various indoor climbs, just for fun, and nothing serious. This was a whole different story. The fresh air whipping past you as you’re trying to figure out a reach to your next hold, the incredible view from all sides, the real-life feeling that gets you energized–all on nature’s rock. It’s great. You feel giddy afterwards, even us rookies on easy climbs, once you finish, because you look down from the top and feel pretty awesome that you climbed all that (with amazing belayers).

I think our first climb was a 5’6, a standard ‘easy’ one, and it was a blast. Now, Chris is afraid of heights (pretty much the only thing he’s scared of), and he crossed the tyrolian which is two ropes doubled over secured between either rocks or a tree or rocks and rocks which hangs over a river. And then, he goes ahead and climbs up a freaking mountain. Pretty awesome for facing your fears, I’d say. Anyhow, unfortunately we didn’t get pics of that climb, it was so much fun.

Fred using the tyrolian to cross the river

Our next climbing adventure was indoors at the Boulder Rock Club, a totally immersive climbing gym with tons of walls and a pretty unique gym area too. Tons of levels of climbing from 5’3 to 5’12+ (something I won’t be able to even try for at least a year). We had a chance to do a bunch of them, trying out our skill with no fear of falling. We also got to try out bouldering, an activity Chris really loves. It’s just climbing low to the ground (but still very hard stuff), so you don’t need equipment. It’s a killer workout and really fun to challenge yourself with it.

Chris on the rock wall

And finally, I got out on another trip with Marga, Megan, and Fred. We went to Boulder Canyon again, but this time in Avalon. For me, it was definitely a step-up difficult-wise. The climb was a 5-7+ and it was at a slant with less big boulders and rocks to grab onto and more just flat surface with cracks in the rock to jam your fingers into.

The hike there was pretty nice, too, very steep and climbing up rocks (but not exactly rock-climbing). We got to use the tyrolian there too (as seen in picture above).

So on this climb, I struggled a bit more in where to place my hands and feet. It’s not about grabbing as hard as you can. It’s kind of like an art: it’s about grace, balance, and pressure. You just need to lightly snug your fingers onto a hold (even the smallest of holds) and you will find support. I also found that I definitely need to work on my flexibility as I almost pulled my groin as I was reaching up for another hold. But, again, that feeling when you get to the top is great. And if you know me, I love feeling sore or even having tired muscles the day of.

Marga very generously donated her old climbing shoes to me so I am slowly on my way to getting all the gear (kind of an expensive sport). We’re on the hunt for some shoes for Chris. Also, once we feel steady money-wise, we definitely want a membership to the Boulder Rock Club as they have great climbs but also a cool gym with equipment like rings, finger holds, and a rope. I am so grateful for my family introducing us to this sport, it’s something we will DEFINITELY be pursuing.

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Sep072012

Work your Glutes Gracefully — the Plié Squat

We all want to better up our buttocks–whether it be to look nice or to gain a good amount of muscle and strength. Either way, you need a path to get there. And now I give you…the Plié Squat (with turns)! It’s good for anyone wanting to build quad and glutes muscle or simply tone. Trust me, it’s a toughie (I’m still feeling the remnants of muscle fiber tears, three days later).

Gluteus maximus muscle * compressed with pngcrush

Your Very Own Gluteus Maximus

Just because it sounds fruity and fluffy, doesn’t mean it won’t kick your glutes into gear. And this is not just a exercise for girls, it helps build great muscle which is where a lot of your leg strength comes from. And, anyways, anyone who knows me, knows that I hate gender restrictions and suggestions. Do what you do and do it for you. Usually, it’s just a Plié squat, pure and simple. However, I like add two lunge turns to one rep (inspired by Women’s Health) to really get the heat burning in my quads and glutes. Want some power? Get ready for a Plié!

The Plié Squat (with lunge turns)

  1. You can choose to do this with or without weights (I typically like using a barbell with weight because it’s easy to control)
  2. Attention! Begin in a wide stance, with your toes pointing away from your body (like horse stance, nice wide stance, but remember that toes point outward!). You will look like you are about to do a very wide-stance Plié.
  3. Squat down as low as you can without compromising your form (back should be straight, knees in line with toes, and neck straight). Make sure your knees do not fall inward. 
  4. Turn to your left from the squat position, creating a lunge to your left side
  5. Return to squat
  6. From squat position, turn to your right for a lunge to your right side
  7. Return to starting standing position
  8. Looks below for a picture instruction of these steps

That’s one rep. So I hope that you’re starting to see that maybe this isn’t as easy as the name makes it out to be. I usually go for 12 reps (painfully groaning my way there) and 3-4 sets of those reps. You will definitely feel your legs crying of fatigue after this and most certainly feel those muscle fiber tears the next day (and the day after that…aaand the day after that).

Tell me how this went for you!  And as always, if you want free consultation or workout plan, feel free to email me at alana.ppowell@gmail.com

Cheers! 

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Sep032012

Feeling Unstable? Time for a SHOULDER WORKOUT!

A lot of people don’t do shoulder workouts (especially girls) and I would like to change that! Do you know how important your shoulders are for your body?! Your shoulder muscles are your stabilizing muscles, they support your arms (biceps, triceps, etc.), your chest, your back, you name it!

However. Doing a shoulder workout is one of the workouts that don’t aim to lift a lot of weight. You need to be gentle on your shoulders, you’re strengthening them so they can, in return, stabilize you. You don’t need to–or should–lift hulk-like weight. Shoulders are  tremendously easy to injure–just ask Chris. And if you do heavy weight with the wrong exercises, bye-bye!

English: Picture of the arm and shoulder muscles

Shoulder

This was a home workout. We used a stability ball, resistance bands, and weights. If you don’t have resistance bands, you can still do the other exercises, we used them for a warm up. You are to do 3 sets of each exercise. I’m not going to tell you what weight to do each exercise at because everyone is at a different level. However, if you’d like to know what I do, or what I think you specifically should do, just comment below. I provided links to videos or pictures on how to do these if you’re unfamiliar. Comment below, too, if you’re still a little unsure!

Your Own Special Shoulder Workout: 

 

  • Scaptions: Try for 10-12 reps (do what weight is comfortable for you and do not raise arms above shoulder level!)

Again, we do not want heavy weight. We want controlled, slow movements. And we want 3 sets of each exercise. If you don’t have a resistance band, get one. And if you don’t have a stability ball, do those exercises seated on a chair. And girls, these are important for you too. Soon, we’ll have a good camera and quit the laziness to have pictures of US doing these exercises, but for now, the random array of people will have to do. Here are some of Chris:

Again, let me know if you have any questions or comments! Also, if you want a free consultation and training plan, I’d love to help you out, contact us at alana.ppowell@gmail.com

P.S.- Happy Labor Day!

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Sep022012

Livestrong, Lance Armstrong

While debating what I wanted to write about this time, I was shuffling through ideas inside my mind and decided that I wanted to just talk again. Say what’s on my mind and see what people think about it. No recipes, workouts, fitness advice, or anything like that yet… because I am out of shape, very much so.

The recent changes in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal has really had me thinking a lot lately because whenever I go onto ESPN.com to get my daily updates for all the sports that I love to follow, there is some fresh news about the founder of Livestrong. Now, as you will see in all my later fitness-related posts, I am very much so against the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs). I will go into more depth about this in a post about supplements, steroids, PEDs, etc., but for now let’s stick with Lance.

English: Cyclist Lance Armstrong at the 2008 T...

Our boy, Lance

Disclaimer: I am not the biggest cycling fan. I am a swimmer who trains triathletes in their swimming. Some of them are cyclists and I have an opinion of them, compared to runners and swimmers. Also, I am not fond of sports that cater to a certain demographic, namely the populations that are wealthier and in more developed countries. However, I realize that with our global situation, there is not much I can do about that now so when I think of cycling, I take this all into consideration. Therefore, I will not let my personal dislike for cycling as a sport affect anything pertaining to Lance or his legacy.

So, a bit of background that most people are aware of pertaining to the most decorated and famous cyclists ever. That statement, I believe, is not arguable. Lance is a 5’9”, 157 lb, 40 year old athlete who started riding professionally in 1992. From 1999-2005, he won every Tour de France, and throughout his career he has won other various races and titles in both rode races, of various distances. Lance also has competed in multiple mountain bike races, triathlons, and marathons. However, Lance is a well known philanthropist who founded the Lance Armstrong Foundation for research and support of cancer victims. This came after Lance fought and won a bout with testicular cancer, which most people know as a result of the millions of bright yellow Livestrong wrist bands. While Lance has the most successful charity created by an athlete, his morals and values have consistently been questioned due to a belief that he has been doping.

Lance Armstrong Foundation

Lance Armstrong Foundation

Now (this is a rant, I will be wrong about many things, but I’m trying to express how I feel), I bet if Lance Armstrong came in second place for every won of those seven races, no one would have ever bothered him. BUT, since he won all seven, there are allegations and stories dating back to 1999, conveniently, of Lance doping. Essentially, Travis Tygart, the current “head” of the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency), a relatively recently formed government body,  has really been the person to collect “evidence” in an effort to punish Lance for “cheating.” Tygart claims that he has testimonials from multiple witnesses that claim Lance used performance enhancing drugs, offered them to teammates to help them win, told competitors during races that he uses them, and every other claim imaginable.

List of Major League Baseball players suspende...

PEDs

The funny part is that Lance has hundreds of legitimate drug tests throughout his career, specifically 1999-2005, and he never once tested positive for any PEDs. I think Lance’s evidence is better than anything that Tygart can bring up, besides a positive test. Seriously? Who would ever believe that all of these individuals, who are essentially enemies or rivals, would tell the truth about this matter. Let’s say the guy in second place in the 2000 Tour de France said “of course he cheated, he told me during the race.” And Tygart believed him and used it as evidence in his “case.” Lance is stripped of the title and who gets it? Oh, that same guy… hmm, that’s not sketchy. Seriously, Tygart has a horrible case and argument, AND he has yet to reveal any good evidence. So why would he go through all this trouble? Ego.

Who is Travis Tygart? I bet anything that only one in every one million people know who he is. They’re all either professional athletes, work for the USADA, or have followed the Lance story (I’m sure other people know him, but not many) . His job definitely pays well and who can say if he deserves it… well, I can. You would think that the head of the USADA would focus on athletes that are currently competing in the biggest events in the world. How about you try to catch someone that isn’t past their prime and hasn’t practically retired (to help cancer research of all things). I mean really, you single-handedly (or maybe with the help of some other people close to you) tried to destroy Lance’s legacy.

Travis Tygart

What would that mean? Loss of sponsors for the Lance Armstrong Foundation? Without those sponsors and funding, one of the best charities for cancer research would have to shut down… wow, think about that one. Luckily, so far, all of Lance’s biggest sponsors, like Nike, Anheuser-Busch, Oakley and bunch others, have decided to back him up and stand behind him despite allegations. But Travis Tygart, to get back on track, must have a huge ego and realizes the best way for him to get famous, or infamous, is to go after Lance.

Now, it’s hard for me to go against Lance, not because I like the guy or the work that he’s done, but because he has passed every drug test. If you want to stop doping, then make better drug tests for the future. Maybe you missed a few in the past… well it might be your fault. I know the USADA haven’t been around forever, but you need to start from scratch, set great procedures, and stick to them. What good is stripping Lance of his seven titles going to do? Make thousands of people, maybe more, that got into cycling because of one man, get out of cycling. It’s a stupid effort and a waste of resources for the USADA. Take his titles and ban him for life from cycling. Everyone knows who won those races. Lance, who potentially was on PEDs, managed to beat the best pro-cyclists in the world (I’m sure most of them were on PEDs too).

Lance Armstrong at the team presentation of th...

Lance Armstrong at the team presentation of the 2010 Tour de France in Rotterdam

Next, (and I read this in an article) go after Babe Ruth for drinking beers before a game during Prohibition while tons of collegiate and professional athletes use PEDs without getting any backlash for it. And they might be bad people. Lance isn’t. You might argue that he’s a jerk, or doesn’t tip well, or yield to pedestrians, but he’s raised over 500 million dollars for cancer research and that is a fact. So shut up, Travis Tygart, get over yourself. Just because Lance is better looking, more athletic, richer, helps more people, smarter, etc., doesn’t give you the right to try to one-up him in the only way you can, by cheating. Seriously, I hate cheaters. I once got a 7/100 on an AP Calculus test in high school because I refused to cheat. Romney probably likes Tygart’s status updates on Facebook.

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Aug232012

15-Min Abs MIX ‘N MATCH, BABY!

Hey ya’ll! (awkward…sorry for the accent, we’re watching Chopped Southern Style) Anywayyyys, so you want to get some abs in? Who doesn’t! They’re fun, quick, and it’s an enjoyable burn. It’s also fun to work on your mid-section, which bother most people weight or fat-wise. When you do an ab workout (or core–even better), you’re building the muscle there. It’s not necessarily targeting just belly fat, but you will burn calories as you do these workouts, and as discussed earlier, will continue to burn calories afterwards. You’ll start off with some wash-board abs, then move onto certain “packs.” It just matters how hard you work.

So we’ve put together for you an easy routine that can be swapped around. It consists of 3 exercises–you get to choose from the list below. In this fast workout, we want to work all parts of your abdomen including upper abs, lower abs, and obliques. Yes, those aren’t the scientific names, but it’s how we all know them by.  So choose one from each category and put them together. We want to do 30 reps of each and 3 sets  of all of it.

Upper Abs

Lowers Abs

Obliques

Again, this is a home workout. If you had a facility like a gym, you could obviously incorporate more exercises, using cables, more weights, bars, medicine ball, roman chair, etc.

Remember, you’re doing 30 reps (which means number of times you perform an exercise) of each exercise out of the three categories for 3 sets. Let me show you an example:

Example Mix ‘n Match Abs Workout

FIRST SET

  • 30 indian crunches
  • 30 slow bicycles
  • 30 side crunches

SECOND SET

  • 30 indian crunches
  • 30 slow bicycles 
  • 30 side crunches

THIRD SET

  • 30 indian crunches
  • 30 slow bicycles 
  • 30 side crunches

And that’s 270 reps of abs exercises. So you get the idea. And if you don’t want to just do the same ones, add in some more for your different sets. Also, I normally do ten sets, but three is a great place to start out.

Let me know how this works for you and what abs exercises you love!

Get crazy, Sparta style

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Aug212012

15-Minute Triceps Workout

Finding it hard to squeeze a workout in? 

In this life of ridiculous busy-ness, it’s hard to get a chance to stop, put on your workout clothes (which for some reason feel tight, perhaps because they haven’t been used in a week and a half), and get into the mode. Let alone actually drive/walk/bike/bus to a gym! Big breath, you don’t need to do huge workouts every day to stay in fit. Remember that it’s exercise AND nutrition. They’ve got to walk side by side if you want results.

And another thing before I show you some exercises, is to remember how important strength and resistance training is. This means working out your muscles. No, it’s not just for boys. It’s for us big girls too. And it’s really important for your health! Think cardio is the only way to burn calories? Think again. When you rip up those muscle fibers while pushing yourself during any muscle workout (let’s take leg press), your body has to work hard after the workout as well in order to repair those fibers. Which means your body is burning calories after the workout to try and repair those fibers as quick as possible. Quads burn after that leg press the next day? Fibers are torn so it makes it sore to walk around. So muscle workouts = more calories burned afterwards. 

Onto the 15-min workout. It could be even less. It depends on the number of reps, sets, and exercises you do. I chose to do three. I actually did them watching “The Help,” figuring it was a movie I should watch and always looked good (it was). Here’s the three I did:

1. One-Arm Triceps Extension

Pretty simple. Get a weight you’re comfortable with (I started with 12 lbs and moved up to 18 lbs for my last set) and either sit or stand. Extend the weight with one arm over your head and then lower it down (with control) towards your back. Keep everything slow and controlled until your form is good. Now do the other arm. 

Reps: 12, Sets: 4

2. Two-Arm Triceps Extension

So it’s basically the same thing (read above) but with two arms holding the weight. This allows you to use a heavier weight than the single-arm. I started with 15 lbs and ended my last set with 21 lbs. 

Sets: 4, Reps: 12

3. Skull Crushers 

English: an exercise of triceps

English: an exercise of triceps

You can either do this with a bar or weights. I chose to do it with weights (dumbbells) simply because I don’t have a bar here at the apartment. Start lying down with your weights or bar extended in front of your chest and then slowly lower until your hands are right at your forehead. Then push out again. That’s one rep. Get why it’s called a skull crusher? I went around 15 lbs for this one.

Reps: 10, Sets: 4

So there you have it. A three-exercise workout that left my triceps feeling tired. You will too if you do them properly with the right number of reps and sets. Your core will also be worked if you keep it tight and do the exercises correctly. Do what feels good for you. Never push it to the point of injury, but push yourself to get that last rep. Comment below if you have any questions. Enjoy!

PS– If you are interested in getting a free training plan and/or consultation or just have some questions, please email us at alana.ppowell@gmail.com

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