Monthly Archives: August 2012

Inner Me Boot Camp

August 30, 2012 – 10:54 am

 

Silly me!  I’ve been working so hard on my strength and endurance physically, that I forgot to tune in to what was going on on the inside!

The last few months have really been both an emotional and physical roller coaster for me. Some of the things I have been dealing with are too personal to post on the interwebs, sufficed to say that I have been doing a lot of soul searching amidst my Best Body Bootcamp training.

 

So in addition to my Best Body Bootcamp Training, I am now also self-enrolled in a more spiritual bootcamp.

 

As you know, I started this blog to have it help me find balance. Well here is my chance. I have been focused so much on the outside that I forgot to tune in to what was going on on the inside. My struggles spiritually have been due to my failure to communicate my feelings and emotions with those close to me, and my lack of faith and trust in the Lord, who is supposed to be my strength in times of weakness.

 

A verse in particular has been of great importance to me, and is the basis for my bootcamp. It has to do with preparing for spiritual warfare:

 

Ephesians 6:12-18

New International Version (NIV)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

So in addition to my daily workouts and stretching regimen I have taken up the following Inner Bootcamp training modules alongside my husband:

1) Daily Devotionals, share with Travis

2) Find a congregation to attend to with Travis every Sunday

3) Pray without ceasing!

4) Voice my needs and concerns without fear, anger, or doubt. Trust the Lord with my needs and give the burdens up to Him.

 

I need to take up the full armor of God in order to fight my spiritual battles. I have the tools I need, it’s just a matter of using them, practicing with them, and being ready and steadfast against temptation.

 

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Tempo Tantrums

August 23, 2012 – 2:55 pm

Hello there!

So it’s time again to update you on my Best Body Bootcamp status, now that i’m halfway through. (yay!)

 

A special shoutout to Miss Tina as it is her birthday today! :)

So last week and the week before, actually, were all about tempos and timing. For Week 3 we had used 3/1/1 time for workouts A and B. 3 counts for the initial part, then hold at peak for one count, then return to start for one count.

Week 4, however, went to 2/4/2 time. MUCH easier said than done! I didn’t think much of it going into the workouts, but boy did I feel those 4 count holds at the peak of each movement! It’s amazing the amount of fatigue increase that changing up counts will do. It’s very important though for training. Having the ability to change up timing in your exercise movements really helps to increase muscle strength.

I was reading an interesting article on tempo (and other aspects of strength training) over at www.muscleandstrength.com, and they say:

“Slower tempos with pauses at the eccentric-isometric phase (where muscles are lengthened) could be better for targeting maximum strength and isometric strength gains. So faster tempos with no pause at the eccentric-isometric phase that induce a stretch reflex would be more appropriate if training for explosive strength and increasing power.”

So basically, varying your tempos to utilize both slower and faster movements with varying holds increases muscle strength in different ways from a functionality standpoint. You want to train your muscle to be able to handle quick, explosive movements and well as movements that require endurance. Very interesting stuff!

Having to pause at the peak of each movement is definitely more difficult for me than the quicker, more explosive movements. I believe this is because of my dance and martial arts background…I was constantly moving from one thing from the next, so while my muscles are trained for explosive movements, they are not as well trained for endurance holds.

 

Good to know, good to know…

So yeah…whined a little bit this last week about tempos, but now I know why. Now I know that going forward I need to vary my tempos in order to get maximum results from my strength training workouts.

 

Hope you all are having a great week!

 

Cheers,

 

Christin

 

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Ode To Greens

August 15, 2012 – 7:15 am

Hello Friends!

Today I have been pondering the vast and glorious world of green veggies. The intense color, the freshness, the succulence, and the healthiness…oh yeah…and the Vitamin K! (boooo!)

I want you in my mouth you sexy green beasts...

 

Yeah…why am I booing vitamin K?

Because i’m on Coumadin, (an anti-coagulate) and Vitamin K is a coagulate! So basically, it undoes what my Coumadin does, which is to thin the blood.

In order to break up the blood clot in my arm, I have to be on Coumadin for about 3 months…which means this normally broccoli shoveling, spinach inhaling, green monster smoothie drinking girl can’t have any greens! For 3 freakin months! Torture, mayhem and despair! :(

So in order to properly process my woe and grief, I have made up a little song…an Ode to Green Veggies, if you will…please sing the following to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” to help me feel better:

Spinach, Kale, and Brussels Sprouts

How I miss you in my mouth

Lettuce, Cucumber, Basil, too

Oh I’m craving more of you

The less I have the more I see

All green veggies are a treat.

 

Yay! Thanks guys, I feel better already…now it’s off to drink more coffee and eat some greek yogurt…good thing I can still have those or we wouldn’t be singing songs…oh no, we would be beyond that realm and into a much darker abyss of pain. :)

So on that note,

Cheers!

Christin

 

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