Goals:
I promised myself to take photo every 30 days to monitor my fitness progress. So as embarrassing as it is, here ya go! My specific goal is to gain some muscle, specifically in my glutes. I have been using Ashley Horner’s Charlie Mike Program (free app) along with her “Sweet Cakes” program ($50). Granted, I haven’t finished certain parts of the program when it calls for extended cardio because I don’t want to lose any weight. For example, today was three rounds of a 1 mile run. No thanks. But I added in 100 walking lunges just to fill in a little bit of the gap I left. And the other day her Sweet Cakes program asked for 3 sets of Pulsing split lunges with weight x 10 each side (10 pulses on EACH SIDE = 1 REP….). I just didn’t have time for 600 lunges that day. But I have been following them 80% of the time. This program is a no BS one that kicks me in the gut every time. And the workouts are all DIFFERENT! I get bored so easy in the gym that this is critical for me.
I workout 4-5 days a week. But since I’m older, recovery takes longer. But I’m so excited to build a new body that I keep at it. And I keep my workouts to around an hour. I do make sleep a priority to help with recovery and take magnesium citrate every night. Ill post about sleep hygiene and some awesome sleep tools later.
Now here is the hard part….nutrition. I eat super healthy every day just because that’s how Im programmed. But my macros are somewhere around 2300 calories a day split into anywhere from 60g F 220P 220P to 60g fat 180P 260gC. I’ve had it professionally calculated and also have used several macro tools (bodybuilding.com has a great one). The common factor is the low fat. I love fat. Not unhealthy fat but the good kind: avocados, olive oil, butter, ghee, MCT oil, cod liver oil, you name it. So eating high protein and carbs is hard for me. I did find a kind of secret weapon to help me: natural weight gainer with only FIVE natural ingredients and a killer flavor filler to make it taste extra delicious. One serving is 1200 calories, 50g P and 250g C. I use HALF (600 calories, 25g P and 125g C). It has like 1g F thus the flavor filler! It is made of tapioca, whey AND casein, coconut sugar and vanilla. That’s IT! It costs me about $3 per serving. Not bad.
So, Ill be taking this consistently for the next 30 days and cutting down my fat intake (sigh). Im curious to see what the January picture will look like!
I am DEEP into ‘Tools of Titans’ in between studying and working out. I read about Yogi Soothing Caramel Bedtime tea as a trick to improve sleep quality. I read the ingredients and was pleased to find L-Theanine as one of the ingredients. This is an amino acid that helps with focus, relaxation and weight loss. I don’t need to lose weight, but I sure love any natural way to increase focus and sleep quality. Since taking magnesium every single night as part of my routine, my sleep has deepened. I have great dreams and feel rested. But I always love finding other ways to support this. The Energy Teas have both L-Theanine and great ingredients like Ashwagandha and Green tea extract. FYI-The combination of L-Theanine and Green Tea is a common formula in many nootropics for brain clarity. Give these a try. They are $3 a pack.
Yogi Vanilla Spice Perfect Energy
Are you a COFFEE snob? Do you have bitter or weak coffee? I heard about the Aeropress coffee maker through Tim Ferriss, a well know biohacker who gives some very good advice. Since I was hooked on my Bialetti coffee maker (for years now) I was skeptical. But since the price was right ($30!) and the reviews backed it, I gave it a go. I am THE coffee snob. I buy the right beans, grind to perfection and think Starbucks is sub-par. I also needed a little caffeine kick in the afternoon while I was studying all these business courses that I impulsively bought. Plus, who doesn’t like the comforting feel of a cup of warm coffee in their hands?
Soooo, after I bought one I was worried that it would be too complex (I have very little discretionary time in the day…like minutes maybe). And some reviewers said it was hard to clean.
Not only was it super easy to make a cup of coffee (the instructions walk you through the very basic steps) but cleaning takes about 30 seconds. And….the coffee was TO DIE FOR.
Have you tried Clover coffee at Starbucks? Its about $5 a cup and very silky smooth? Thats what the Aeropress produces. A very sophisticated cup of brew.
Click here to view the Aeropress and the reviews: Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker
(this photo is not me. It was found under fin.de’s website so the credit goes to them)
In my ongoing goal to build a nice round backside, I have really upped my game in the Glute exercise department. I did another Ashley Horner “Charlie Mike” workout and slapped on a “Sweet Cakes” Glute workout at the end (took me 1.5 hours of constant motion). I am waiting for my weight gainer protein powder to arrive since its clear I am not eating enough. Yes, whoa is me but trying to gain is weight is as frustrating as those trying to lose weight.
I am constantly trying new Glute exercises from credible sources so here is my top picks for you:
Dont forget to re-feed! Nutrition is most important people.
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” –Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple
Along with listening to my Udemy courses on marketing, Instagram and business I read articles on Forbes, Inc. and Entrepreneur. My takeaways are these:
There was a advertisement in the newspaper long ago that is applicable to social media today. It said “Make $1000 a week from home!“. You had to mail in $50 dollars for the kit which would tell you how to make this money. Do you know what the kit was? A piece of paper telling you to put an ad in the paper telling people that could make $1000 a week from home. Think about it….
Bottom line? Build your business based on old-fashioned values and hard work. You will go farther, be happier and do more good in this world. Think of businesses you like to frequent and mirror their values. Write a business plan, look at legitimate business sites for advice and ignore all those weirdos out there trying to sell you crap to get started.
I’ll admit it. I have a flat, sad little butt. Probably from sitting for the last 20 years. To try and inflate it a bit, I enlisted the help of Ashley Horner’s “Sweet Cakes” Glute program. I am not a fan of the porno pic on the cover (although I am sure the FedEx print guys were super happy) but the workouts are very targeted. Its $50 (a lot, I know) for 13+ pages. But I guess if you shell out that kind of cash for 13 pages, you probably will use it out of guilt.
The workouts are supposed to be used the end of a regular leg day. I would recommend that you don’t do this. They are about 45 minutes of intense work if you don’t stop to gab, look at your phone or lurk at people. I don’t have 2 hours to spend in the gym so I do these workouts 3 days a week by themselves.
I am halfway through and although my butt looks nothing like the front cover, I can say that my glutes are smoked at the end of each workout. I took my ‘before’ shots (eecchh) and hope to take some ‘after’ ones in about 6 months. Or sooner…
My opinion? Buy it if you are serious about building your glutes.
And don’t forget, nutrition needs to follow your intense workout. So plan to re-feed your muscles when you are done (20g protein, 20-40g carbs, 5g or less of fat).
On Cyber Monday I was alerted to a great deal on Udemy.com. ALL their courses were $10. I bought eight of them ranging from graphic design, outsources, eBook course and overall marketing. I decided to start with Instagram course because it was only 4.5 hours long. I have already taken Chalene Johnson’s ‘Instagram Impact’ course which I loved. She’s very smart, funny and concise. But since I plan to focus mainly on Instagram as my social media of choice, I want to become an expert so I can deliver THE BEST content.
This course pictured is excellent. He takes students from absolute beginner level to advanced in REAL TIME using “live” demonstrations. Pretty amazing.
He also gives you some great websites and apps to use to track and market. For example, I am sure you have heard of Iconosquare but have you heard of “tags for likes”? It shows you the most popular hashtags to incorporate in your posting along with ones you create (adding popular plus unique to get the most views).
He also shows you a few really great ways to find targeted customers. What Chalene Johnson calls “lifers”, people you want as your customers. Not random people. Since I want to build an authentic business with targeted customers that I want to help, I found this very helpful.
Bottom line: If you are new to Instagram or a seasoned veteran, take a look at Udemy’s Instagram courses. They even offer free ones. I would recommend the one I posted above because it’s satisfied my desire to learn about IG and I have learned the sociological and psychological aspects as well.
EVERYONE out there is out to make a profit. Keep this in mind. Some are better marketers than others and have mastered the art of selling. My goal is to build a business based primarily on honest, real referrals. No tactics and overselling. I am also so tired of seeing perfect physiques on social media selling products with the promise that this is all it takes or will make your transformation so much easier. It won’t.
Here are some quick key things I have learned (and paid dearly for this knowledge) that I hope you can learn from.
Fitness professionals with PERFECT BODIES
Here is your reality check: Those perfect bodies that you drool over on the internet have a few things in common that you may not have.
Foodie and Cooking sites
Do you honestly think your favorite Instagram foodie post person or cookbook author cook this way everyday? Think again. These are again photo prep shots that take time.
Business and Entrepreneurs
I follow a lot of business podcasters and entrepreneurs. And they all have the same thing in common: they will get your attention, draw you in and then sell you something! So here are some tips:
The key takeaways are this. Give yourself a break. You can’t cook picture perfect meals every day (nobody can unless its their full-time job), perfect figures come at a price or are genetic abnormalities and don’t buy every little gadget someone sells you because you think it’ll be the magic product. Hard work, real life and realistic expectations are what you should shoot for.
*I will end with this: go BIG in your dreams and goals! But make them YOUR specific personal goals. For me, I want to build a solid business based on honesty and results within one year. And I am not afraid of failures. I also want to build my idea of a perfect physique (more muscle, nice butt) in one year to help others with their goals. And when I am successful, I will have more freedom to donate my time and money to charities I believe in that struggle. My end goal is not to get rich, its to help others. Period.
It was hard to find a great picture for this post on Pixaby.com. It was all cigarettes and people in dark clothing (WTF?). By the way, Pixaby is a free service where you can download (for free) stock photos. Its pretty cool for anyone just starting a business. So I had to resort to Google Images (also a great tool).
My new habit is to do as I learned from “The One Thing” called the Focusing Question:
“What is the One Thing that I CAN do today for (insert purpose like fitness, wellbeing, business) such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
So my “One Thing” today is to continue my Udemy course on Marketing. I am not going to the gym (I am sore….) but do plan to meditate. I also took a long walk with Sandy the rescue dog.
Here is what I learned today
I am soooooo sick of slimy marketing, bad intentions and big promises followed by lackluster delivery. I guess its good that I experience this with businesses that I really love and buy from, because I learn what NOT to do with customers. Here are my recent examples:
Here are some gadgets, books and other tools I am using to help with my transformation:
Here are some gadgets, books and other tools I am using to help with my business:
My year long internship!
Here are some gadgets, books and other tools I am using for overall well being:
My workout today:
Deadlifts (80% of 1 rm. 3 sets of 8)
Wall crawls (I died)
battle rope
pulls ups (assisted)
renegade rows
one arm rows
back extensions
*tried to do more but people kept talking to me and I had a time limit at the gym. Grrr.
Nutrition:
Clean except for two chocolates. I really need to eat more calories.
Meditation:
I am using Headspace. It wasn’t cheap ($100 for the year) but I figured I needed something good to get me started. Sat down…mind immediately wandered. Realized that my hip hurt so I started stretching. I got maybe 4 minutes into it before I got up and began doing small chores. Its only a 10 minute mediation and I failed miserably. Ill try again la mañana.
Focus for tomorrow:
Janine's Journal 