Show Me Your Blood & Guts!

Yahoo! It's me, the first, the one, the only female in the Blood & Guts Club of Sigonella Sicily. The tryouts were yesterday, which by coincidence was on the day of my sweet baby boy's first birthday. This was very exciting for me and it proved to help during those last ten seconds of my flexed arm hang. I dedicated my performance to my son, and in those last 10 seconds of the flexed arm hang, when I started shaking, I thought "Dont let baby Kellen down! This is for him." After I passed all three tests I was absolutely beaming, my face hurt because I couldnt stop smiling. Ive been working so hard to get back my strength and this was the testemant to all that dedication and hard work. What better day to reach my goal then on Kellen's first birthday. I hope that I can lead by example and show him, as well as others, that living a fit and healthy life is fun and rewarding. So... Do you want to train for the Blood & Guts Club? You can do it! I trained for 3 solid months with a 3-day lifting plan to increase strength. I incorporated the test exercises each week as well as other compound strength building exercises. It's all about increasing the weight for your one rep max. Criteria: 60 second flexed arm hang, Leg Press 2x bodyweight, Bench Press 75% of bodyweight. Believe me, you can do it.

Sweet Tooth

I have a sweet tooth. I try to satisfy my sweet tooth everyday with a banana in the morning and my special protein pudding in the evening. But some days my sweet tooth cannot be satisfied with these sneaky substitutes. Recently, I started trying Jamie Eason's recipes from bodybuilding.com. Usually I go for chocolate but something told me to try her Lemon Protein Bars. It was the best move I've made in awhile. Those suckers are DELICIOUS. So here's the link, for those of you that have those days when fruit is just not enough but you want to stick to your diet. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-lemon-protein-bars.htm

Carrot Cake

Made some yummy carrot cake! First, chop 1/3 of a large carrot and place in food processor (or blender) until finely processed. In a small bowl mix one scoop Optimum Nutrition Casein Vanilla with 1-2 tbs of water (start with one tbs and only add enough until powder forms into paste). Now add 1 egg white, the shredded carrot, dash of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla. Transfer to ramekin and Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until set.

House Arrest

Sicilian truck/transportation drivers have been on strike since Monday. Because of this, no gasoline, food, mail, and many other goods can come onto the island. As of early Wednesday morning, all gas stations ran out of fuel. Right now, there is no end to the strike in sight so my husband and I have decided I will not drive the vehicle until gasoline returns to the island. This means... NO GYM. I was crushed this morning, but didn't let it stop me from getting in a decent workout. I hit my chest, shoulders, triceps and abs with only a stability ball and 15lb kettlebell. Yep, that's all. I decided to take a little video for you all so you can see that not having a gym membership is no excuse. This video is only a little excerpt.
The full workout was as follows; Circuit Set 1: Stability Ball Seated Shoulder Press (10 reps), Stability Ball Incline Chest Press (10), Stability Ball Chest Press (10), Kettlebell Windmills (10), Kettlbell Push Ups (10). Perform all exercise with left are first, then with right arm. That's one set. Perform set 4 times through. Circuit Set 2: Elevated Push Ups on Stability Ball (10), Single Arm Shoulder Lateral Raise (10 each arm), Overhead One Arm Tricep Extension (10 each arm), Stability Ball Crunch (20). Complete giant set 3 times through. Last and Final Circuit Set: Stability Ball Seated double arm front kettlebell raise (15), Standing Overhead double arm tricep extension balanced on one leg (20), Bicycle Crunch (20 total), Side Plank (30 seconds each side). Do this last set 3 times through.

My Mantra

Today was Hamstring and Glute day, but because The Blood And Guts tryouts are in less than 2 weeks I'm practicing my 60 Second Flexed Arm Hang at least 3x a week since this is what I've been struggling with. So I go into the gym pumped with positive thoughts and energy I need to accomplish my first task. My goal is 50 seconds today. I reach up, grasp the bar shoulder width palms facing forward and pull my body up towards the bar finishing with arms flexed and chin comfortably 2 inches above the bar. I tighten my back and prepare for the 50 seconds I will hold myself in the position. The first 30 are always easy, then my grip starts loosening around 40 seconds and my body starts to fatigue. In that moment when I want to release and drop, I tell myself, "YOU'RE POWERFUL!" I stay for another 10 seconds and reach my goal. It was weird because I've never thought of having my own mantra until that moment. In the past, I've always told myself I was strong, that I could complete the task at hand. But I've never said, "this statement should be my mantra". And then during that hang it just came to me, and it was exactly what I needed. I once had a volleyball coach in high school who strongly believed in practicing mental imagery before our matches. I always thought she was such a weirdo! But now, as I've gotten older and really into my sport, I understand and believe its crucial to success. We must believe we can do it, and picture ourselves in motion and in accomplishment. It's such a fantastic tool, and it all rests within ourselves. One of my favorite bodybuilders is Kai Greene. He practices mental imagery and employs his own mantra. I especially love one video in paticular. Kai is staring at the dumbbell, you can see in his face total concentration, then he says, "I'm going to move you!" sternly. It wasn't even a question to him that he'd complete the task at hand. He went on to explain at the end of his video that he tells himself he will do it and pictures it all before even beginning. Another favorite athlete of mine who uses this technique is Georges St. Pierre. I love watching him in the ring. No doubt before he even won the fight he imagined himself doing so. And so, now, I go out into the gym world not only with my mental imagery technique, but also with my new found mantra, "I'm powerful!"

Shoppin The Local Italian Farmers Market

Get the memo California! Italy has markets everywhere and their produce is cheaper than yours. Seriously, I jumped on that whole bandwagon back when I lived in San Diego. I wanted the fresh, seasonal and local produce. So many positives to shopping at the farmers market. I was just so disappointed when I saw how expensive these people were selling their produce for. I would walk in with $20 and feel like I came out with a bag of a couple apples, potatoes and 3 strawberries. I couldn't understand why they charged so much? I mean, aren't we getting rid of the dreaded "middle man"? Well in Italy there are markets everywhere and when you walk in with $20 Euro you come out with kilos and kilos and kilos of fresh, seasonal and local produce (conversion is 2.2 pounds equals 1 kilo). The absolute most delicious tomatoes you'll ever eat. Get these prices I saw today: 1 kilo of apples for 1 euro. 3 gigantic zucchini for 1 euro. A head of lettuce, 50 cents. Ridiculously large bag of potatoes for 2.50 Euro. Plus you walk out with the feeling you've helped the local farmers. Nummy nummy num. I was particularly excited about the zucchini because I had a recipe I've been dying to make from Gina Allioti. It was her Zucchini Breakfast Loaf. So I made that tonight. I also used the zucchini to make my own creation, Mini Meatloaf Surprise! Yes, the zucchini goes into the meatloaf, and boy does it make it flavorful AND super moist. Do you ever have that problem with dry meatloaf? Well, look no further for a solution! Zucchini does the trick. 1 lb extra lean ground beef (or turkey if you'd like). 1 cup shredded zucchini. 1 medium carrot shredded. 1/2 cup packed cooked quinoa (or 1/2 cup oats). 1 egg white. Tbs Basil. Salt to taste. Mix and put into a sprayed muffin pan. Cook 350F for 25-30 minutes. Baby Kellen gobbled them up too! Makes 10 muffins. Can be eatin with brown rice or on a salad. Each muffin is 87 calories, 3.3 fat, 3.4 carbs, and a whopping 10.3 protein.

Individual Strengths

You know that feeling when you can't do something good. It can be so frustrating! I'm talking about when everyone else can cook better food, do better hair, craft better crafts, sing better, run faster, lift heavier! All that kind of stuff. But then you find something that you're really good at. And that becomes your pride! Each person has their own individual strength (or strengthS if your name is friggen Beyonce). While I may want to bench press like Amber, or have the endurance of Rhonda, I've got a pretty good shoulder press going on. I know, that doesn't seem like much. But hey, it's MY thing. And this goes outside the gym, I wish I could do make up like those chicks at MAC, or sing like Zooey, or craft like Martha. So what's your strength? Everyone's got one. And it's ok to be proud. :). P.S. I love avocado.

Eggy Quiona Muffies

Yummy. As I get closer to a competition date I always get more inventive with my food. Competition diets are so boring and bland. Me being the food lover I am, need flavor and variety. Sometime I miss the mark with a recipe (the nasty quinoa cookies for example) but today was a success! And so was born Eggy Quinoa Muffies. Mix in a large bowl 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, basil, oregano, 1 medium thinly sliced red bell pepper and scant salt. Spray muffin tin with Pam spray and bake at 375F for 25-30 minutes. Makes 8 muffins, each muffin 54 calories, 1.2 fat 4.3 carbs 6 protein.

Not Always A Tasty Creation

So I tried making some Quinoa Cookies the other night. Boy did they turn out horrible. As Mike said, "they taste like dirt!" I don't know about dirt per say but the recipe is definitely not being posted on my blog. Eek. I even tried making variations thinking if I added honey or more peanut butter but nothing saved those guys. I didn't throw them away though because Baby Kellen LOVES them. They are very healthy so I figure they can be his afternoon snack. Weird kid! Anyways, my appetite these last two days is off the charts! I'm hungry all the time. No matter what I eat I want more. My cardio is starting to increase so I'm attributing this hunger level change to that change in my training. I've started looking at posing suits to get an idea of what I want and how much money to save for one. I've already had a pink suit and a navy posing suit for past competitions so this time I'm thinking either a holographic purple or a liquid metal green. In the past I've always bought a simple suit and I've jeweled it myself. I'm debating on this now because I don't have as much free time. I'd have to work on it every night after Kellen goes to bed. And while this could happen, sometimes dirty stinky dishes have priority. It would save me LOTS of money though. I have time to think it over, at least another month before deciding.

Hot Stinky Mess

So I've been without a shower for three days now, and it's not like I'm sitting around doing nothing. I work up a hot stinky sweat at the gym and my hair oil makes me want to vomit. Today is an Italian holiday so they still can't fix the short in the water pump. The city did manage to turn on the direct water and I had just enough pressure to flush a toilet, wash my dirty hands and have a trickle of shower water to get the job done. It took 10 minutes to rinse the shampoo out of my hair but at this point I can't complain, at least I had water. Today we hit quads differently than usually keeping the reps between 15-20. We also did lots of drop sets, walking down the stairs was killer. Tonight I also made up a new recipe. It was delicious. I'll call it Southern Sweet Potato Chili. Brown up 1 lb ground beef with 1 tbs Cajun seasoning (I used McCormicks). Add 16 ounces chopped sweet potato, 1 can Fire Roasted Tomato, 1 can low sodium pinto beans, 1/2 cup water, and 1 more tbs of Cajun seasoning. Cover and cook till sweet potatos are tender, about 15 minutes on medium-low heat. Do not add additional salt as the McCormicks already has high salt content. Calories 370, carbs 46, fat 8, protein 32.

Shotty Construction

Urban Dictionary Definition for Shotty: being of poor quality or sketchy origin. This house we are renting has such shotty construction. Seriously, the house cannot keep an inside temperature because of all the cracks and holes, the electrical wires are exposed throughout the home and the outside, the sewer system is constantly clogged. And what's even more sad is this is a "new development". This construction company cut some corners to save money and time. If you know anything about Sicily is that it rains, A LOT. With our exposed wires in the back yard and all the rain can you guess what happened? It screwed up my afternoon, that's what happened! I cannot turn on my water because the water pump that brings water into my house shorts out anytime I flush the toilet, try to wash my hands, forbid even trying to shower! Yuck, I had weights and cardio today. Got me to thinking about how some people treat their bodies. They put poor quality food inside, have virtually no up keep with exercise, fill their minds with negative media. Do they really think that all that will produce a beautifully fit, healthy and happy machine, ie their body? We only have one body on this earth, shouldn't we take care of it? It's not like you can sell it and buy another one.