Aerobic Class

Aerobic Class

We’ve all seen and maybe even thought about participating in an aerobic class before. Well, maybe not the men. They usually stick to the free weight room and cardio machines and avoid the classes claiming they are “Girly”. I’ve seen many from a far and have had a curiosity of trying one. Apparently the curiosity was not strong enough because in over 18 years of training, I only took one and that was at my initial stages of training in my teenage years (I’m now 37 years old).
My wife teaches classes at the gym we both work at, Gold’s Gym in Miami Lakes. Saturday’s class is body sculpting, meaning light weights (2.5-7.5 lbs.) and body weight are used for the exercises. Since the whole body, abs included are trained in the 75-90 minute class, most men, including me felt that I could make it through safely. Well, I made it, but it was a struggle. My shirt was drenched at the completion of the class and I needed a nap later that afternoon.
Most men don’t train with high repetition. They usually stick to 1-10 reps. Anything above 20 to them would be considered excessive and non-result producing. I know better. I train lower body in the 25-50 range and have seen tremendous results, so I’m a big believer in high repetitions. Although I tend to be in the minority. My point being, I felt I would be better prepared for the class than most men. I was right about that, but I still had trouble with it.
This woman had us do sets of 20-25 each leg. One leg on the stepper and one on the floor squatting to the floor and back, 25 reps, followed by both feet on the step for another 25 reps, followed by now the other leg on the floor with one on the stepper for another 25 reps. Holy crap! Man do your legs burn at this point. From there, she’ll go into one legged lunges for another 25 reps. Man, my legs were shaking and towards the end of the class my legs were shot.
At the end of the class, I noticed that 3 of the men who started the class had since left. The other four including me managed to make it through, high-fiving about our accomplishment.
Today, I have some tenderness in the legs due to the class. Incredible. Well, I have a new found respect for all the aerobic teachers out there. I always knew it was difficult, but I had no idea how much. I had to stop for a few seconds more times than I can remember due to muscle soreness and burn and even light-headedness at times. I wish I would’ve wore a heart rate monitor to see how many calories I burned. Maybe next time, although that may not be for quite a while.
Well, on the contest front, just under 12 weeks now. Things are now going to start ramping up. Weight is down to 213 lbs., so way ahead of things. From here on in, I can lean up slightly more and fill out while dropping another 12 or so pounds. Rested my injuries from last week and hope to be back somewhat this coming week.
Enjoy the holiday weekend everyone.

lilmisschris…thurs. 8/28

Today, I spent the afternoon doing something that

           is a constant source of frustration…..

 

                                           ………..shopping for jeans.

Jeans are not made for girls who are five-foot two, with a 24-inch waist and 21-inch quads.

 

If they fit in the waist, then they are too tight in the legs. Which is fine, if i stand still in one position all night!

These look good from the front, don’t they? 

                                       

….oooh, I feel a draft!

      

 

I finally gave up on full length jeans and went with a pair of capris that

won’t pull everytime I bend a leg!

 

 

           …………..    Big wheels keep on turnin’!

 

                                  

Why we beat our bodies up in the gym?

Do you ever sit and wonder why we beat our bodies up in the gym, on the field or on the track? Why something’s harder to get accomplish than others? Why couldn’t life be easier? Why do we have obstacles and challenges throughout the entire span of our lives? It seems we are made to be active, physically and mentally. Although sometime tiring, it makes or breaks us. Its make us the people we are today. Our minds and body have to stay active or we’re pretty much dead. Try sitting in a chair without moving for a couple hours lol. See where I’m going? I haven’t read a book in years and so its become harder to express myself like I want to. We have all different types of challenges and problems. Some we can definitely do without. But what would we do without the ones that keep up striving for the best? When life gets tough you either adopt or you become extinct. We are built for survival, it’s our instinct to absorb, learn and grow from the positive and negative issues that we deal with in life.  The next time you ask yourself why you’re pushing yourself in the gym or making sacrifices in a relationship to make things work don’t forget that something’s in life are tough for your own good.  You’d be amazed at the way you man handle obstacles when you expect and accept them when they come your way. Keep and open mind in every situation, you might not know as much as you thought you did but you can always learn and grow or died with the past. Stay positive friends.

The Truth about Steroids and Teens-A Letter from a Worried Parent

The Truth about Steroids and Teens-A Letter from a Worried Parent

Dear Jay,

My 16 year old son is an above average football player.  He has hopes and dreams of playing college and earning a scholarship to a Division 1 Program.  My husband and I are very supportive of his dream and will do anything in our power to help him accomplish his football goals.  Lately, with all of the talk about STEROIDS in sports, a lot of the parents have been speculating that there are some players that have considered and are possibly using performance enhancing drugs.  Our son does know a lot about supplements and uses: protein shakes, creatine and energy drinks before he works out.  I am kind of worried about his curiosity, for even though he is a great kid-I do think that he is so driven that he will do what ever it takes to get a scholarship.  Do you have any advice for a worried parent?  Also, I have looked on-line about STEROIDS, but everything is too scientific to understand.  Would you break it down in lay-men terms for me and my husband. 
Thank you. 
Joann: Tyler, Texas

Joann, teens need to know the facts about steroids—both guys and girls. Many teens want to look better, be faster, play harder—and they think that using steroids (sometimes called “Juice” or “Roids” ) gets them there quickly. While it’s true that steroids do change the human body, these changes often come with a high price. Some of the damage steroids cause is reversible, but some is not. Why take the chance? Steroids come in tablet or liquid form, and they are illegal in the United States. Many people who use steroids buy them from overseas sources with no guarantees of quality or purity. In some cases, teens are shooting steroids into their bodies, not knowing that the product is intended for veterinary use or is adulterated. Anabolic steroids are compounds which are closely related to the male hormone testosterone. This kind of steroid builds muscle mass. Androgenic steroids increase the male characteristics in users. Cycling is a term which describes how take multiple doses of steroids over a specific period of time, stopping for a period, and starting again. In addition, users frequently combine several different types of steroids to maximize their effectiveness while minimizing negative effects, a process known as stacking. These activities wreak havoc on the body, particularly teens’ developing bodies.

I would suggest having a heart to heart with your son and expressing to him the same feelings that you have expressed to me in your letter.  You do have to confront your son, for even though it’s never too late.  You do not want to look back on the day where you could have said something and didn’t.  Laconically speaking, from a legal standpoint-steroids are illegal.  If your son’s curosity gets the best of him, if caught, he does face the possibility of never playing college football, or worse ruining any reputation that he may have established as a man and athlete. 

Whatever you do, talk to your son before someone else does.

I wish you and your husband all of the success in the world.  And, I honored to see that there are parents out there who are choosing to have children as opposed to trophies.

Until next time, train safe…

Spill into the happenings around us.

With not much on the contest front to talk about yet, let’s just spill into the happenings around us.  I personally couldn’t get enough Olympics.  If given the opportunity, I would’ve watched them all day.  As physique competitors, we have a chance to compete multiple times within a year if we so choose to and we get frustrated when we’ve put in so much time and effort when things don’t go our way.  I CAN’T imagine only being able to compete once every four years.  Talk about extreme pressure.  That’s what makes these games so exciting to me.  They have everything riding on a possible once in a lifetime opportunity.  Some don’t make it as did the 4X100 relays for the USA.  They fumbled the baton and were disqualified.  Then that same night, it also happened to the women’s 4X100 relays.  Then on the flip side of things, there is Michael Phelps & the female 41 year old swimmer, Dara.  They pull through in that intense time. 

    With the closing ceremonies tonight, I hoping I can keep this Olympic inspired fire in me as I continue working towards the Nationals.  Speaking of the show, a quick update on how things are going.  Hany’s got me real lean this far out and has allowed me to have two cheat meals a week, so for me I don’t even feel as if I’m dieting.  One of them is during the week and the other is on the weekend.  We still have over 12 weeks to go and weight is already down to 216 lbs.  We are excited with the progress.  On the training front, I had another strain in my left quad just below my hip.  I was doing high rep leg presses and on my very last rep on the push up I felt it strain.  Swelled up a little but no bruising so assuming only a strain.  Frustrating because it halts quad training for the next 2-3 weeks.  What are you going to do?  As things get closer, I’ll post a few pics of the progress. 

    All for now.  Best of health to all. 

lilmisschris…weekend 8/24

Oh, dammit! I forgot to take a picture of my rental car! Anyway, I drove to Orlando, FL to work the NPC Florida Bodybuilding, Fitness & Figure show this past weekend. Desha worked with me and we were provided with a rental car for the trip. It was a sporty blue Mustang. We were a bit concerned about the storms and flooding throughout central Florida right now, but it wasn’t too bad.

(presenting the Men’s Master Overall trophy with friend and IFBB Fitness competitor, Maria Bellando.)  

(Lengendary IFBB Pro Bodybuilder, Chris Dickerson and I awarding the overall Women’s Bodybuilding Champion)

                                       

A new category I made up called, the ‘best booty-butt-on-a-white-boy’ division…..

                          ….and the winner is….

                                                                       

 

It stormed really bad during the night, remnants of Tropical Storm Fay…..

                     ….but cleared up by sunrise.

As a Mom, it’s always difficult to go away on trips. Bringing home a surprise takes away some of the hurt. Being in Orlando, there were many places to shop for just the right toy.

This is me at the Lego Store at Disney Marketplace. The dinosaur I’m standing in front of is made up entirely of Legos.                            

Here’s Desha shopping for her two little princesses…              

 

                Oh, mirror, mirror on the wall 

                                    who is the fairest of them all…..?                             

                

                               Princess Christine and Princess Desha.

Can you cheat on your diet and lose weight?

Can you cheat on your diet and lose weight?

 

During a recent business trip, I decided to pick up a couple of magazines in the hotel gift shop. We had just finished teaching a seminar on diet where we addressed some hot topics like cheating. Ironically, one magazine caught my eye with its catchy bold heading proclaiming “cheat on a diet and still get results”. That’s when I realized maybe it’s time to define the word “cheat”.

 

Of course everyone would like to believe you can get results and still have ice cream too. Every diet program on the market relies on this belief system to help pull consumers in by using ads to make people believe their program allows you to still indulge while losing weight. Although this may be somewhat true the overall message is misleading.

 

First, let’s address the word “cheat”. I believe we think of the word as if it means “treat” but Webster would give you synonyms like deceive, trick and con. Unfortunately, the only one you are deceiving is yourself. It’s not like you are cheating on your diet and your body doesn’t pick up on the extra calories.

 

When I think of cheating on a diet, I think of going to my favorite restaurant or getting some ice cream. Since I don’t visit my favorite restaurant or ice cream parlor very often, they are always a big treat to me. However, many people “cheat’ weekly and sometimes daily. This is not cheating – this is just a bad habit.

 

Secondly, cheating on a diet means different things to different people. Some dieters can have a 300 calorie small cup or ice cream once a week and call it cheating. Other people may diet during the week and go wild over the weekend, eating countless calories, and call that cheating. Both are cheating, but one is cheating responsibly and another is not.

 

Let’s compare dieting to saving money. Can you save money and splurge every once and a while? Sure, but there must be limits on what “splurging” means. Splurging for some is buying a Lou Vuitton handbag while splurging for others means going to the movies. What you splurge on should be based on what you can “afford”. Either way, the less you splurge the more you save. The same principles apply to weight loss.

 

The more you cheat, the more you slow down your progress. If you must have your chocolate, then work it into your caloric allowance. Basically you need to “budget” it in your diet. If you are really watching your calories during the week, you need to keep track of how many calories you are taking in over the weekend too – that includes cheating.

 

Lastly, there must be different rules for different people. If you have more than one child you know you can’t expect each one to react the same. My two sisters and I are all very different. My mom could tell one sister not to touch the stove and she’d never touch it again. On the other hand, if she told my other sister not to touch the stove we might as well get the First Aid kit.

 

It’s not fair to expect everyone to be able to play by the same rules. We are all different and have different personalities and weaknesses. My husband, for instance, loves Tostitos Restaurant Style with a Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips. Steve knows he can’t act responsibly when it comes to these chips. If he eats one, he will eat the whole bag so we can’t buy them when we are dieting. Just because others can lose weight and still have Tostitos chips doesn’t mean he can. You must know your limits.

 

 

A note from Afitnessconnection.com

 

Cristine Wan AKA Lil Miss Chris is out of town right now. Here is the message she left our moderators to post for all her fans.

“A note to all my readers and to the afitnessconnection.com community. This weekend I am working a show in upper Florida for GNC. I wanted to save my weekend post for a huge post of the show and so forth.

Thank you again to all my readers i will be back Sunday to show you all what my trip was like. In the mean time check out Afitnessconnection.com and sign up for your free profile. Just another way you can read about my life and get in contact with me and all of your friends. Start a profile, upload some pictures and videos,create your own blogs and bulletins and start a group to keep in contact with your friends. Come join me at Afitnessconnection.com its free and its fun.

See you all Sunday”

Afitnessconnection.com

Improve your health and look

Putting on weight shouldn’t be your priority if you’re goal is to improve your health and look.  Although weight gain might be one of the results to proper exercise and balanced diet it shouldn’t be your main concern. Many put so much emphasis on weight gain that they end up putting on the fat weight. There is a science to changing your look and proper weight gain. Learn to follow the step by step instruction that has been preached for years. People with fast metabolisms are told to increase calories, protein and carbs to increase muscle mass but some attempt to put on body fat instead.  We are hard headed, we want to take short cuts in life but sometimes you’ll end up at a road block.  Yes, it is hard to force feed, its hard to decrease your portions but who is going to do it for you? It’s all a learning process.  Hard gainers have to train their body to take in more. The harder you train, the more your body is going to require for recovery and growth, thus your appetite will increase. Be patient and give it time. Stay consistent with the step by step instructions and your body will have no choice but to change. This is to the people that are worried they are losing weight when their intention is to put on mass.

Once you’ve been on a proper workout program and balance diet you will most likely drop some weight due to fat loss but will later put on more weight with muscle mass gain. Fat weighs less than muscle so; you will gain the weight you’ve lost plus some. When working towards your results don’t forget that you can put on water weight one week and drop it the next. Use the mirror and scale to give you an idea of which direction your workout and diet is taking you.  Its you’re body, the power is in your hands or should I say your mind to make changes.

lilmisschris…wed.8/20

After two days of school closures due to Tropical Storm Fay (which was really ridiculous, because we have unnamed storms much worse all the time during the summer), my daughter’s first day of first grade finally arrived. This was my first experience with the car-pick up line. Good thing I packed a lunch for myself! So different from when I was a kid, but I guess you can’t be too safe these days.

I needed to get her a larger lunch box that also matches her backpack, but could only find a plain pink and black igloo, with no design on it. I pulled a dragon graphic off of the internet and heat-pressed it to the front, then embellished it with Swarovski crystals.

                     

The end result….

I love creating – whether it’s writing, photos, or crafts…. all right-side brain (and wrong-side heart). That’s me.