Welcome

It is springtime after a very long snowy and cold winter.  The sun is shining and the flowers are blooming.  What’s not to like?

Exercise:

"Women who claim to be afraid to train hard because they "always bulk up too much" are often already pretty bulky, or "skinny fat" (thin but weak and deconditioned) and have found another excuse to continue life sitting on their butts.” ~Mark Rippetoe

Visit www.niahsanks.com for some great workout information.

 After being at the same Gold’s Gym for a few years, I have finally starting using the “big boy’s” area.  I’ve left the comfortable little ladies’ area of the gym and started lifting weights.  I had met with a personal trainer (PT) at the gym so that when I started strength training, I’d be less likely to hurt myself.  Well, the PT was very nice and it seemed like he might know what he was talking about.  But in order to hire him I’d have to sign a 12-month agreement with the Gym.  No way am I signing on for 12 months of something if I don’t even know what he’s going to be showing me.  He had no plan done up (“we’d work on that in the following couple of weeks”) and we didn’t agree on nutrition. 

This book is available on Amazon.com

So instead of hiring the PT, I ordered a book.  In my research on weight lifting and watching videos, I noticed the same man kept popping up.  After watching a couple of his videos, I realized I really liked his coaching techniques.  And there’s no wonder.  It turns out that Mark Rippetoe has several decades of experience as a strength coach and is a former powerlifter and a current gym owner.  He has some videos on the CrossFit website for barbell training.  He’s known for having a brash teaching style and humor.  I really get a kick out of some of his videos.  Anyway, I ordered his book, Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, and the accompanying DVD as a birthday gift for myself last month.  Now I’m a weight lifter and I love it.

Eat:

“The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.” ~Julia Child

LCHF is the shit –  look it up on Youtube…you gotta watch this video!  Hilarious and educational.  You’ll learn more about eating Low Carb/High Fat in just a few minutes.

I’m Keto-adapted and that’s a good thing.  The point of a keto diet (LCHF) is to be in ketosis – meaning that your body is breaking down fat and there are ketones in your bloodstream.  These ketones are burned up by your body as fuel (instead of the typical carbohydrates/glucose).  After your body has adjusted (become “keto-adapted”) to burning these ketones for fuel, fat becomes the preferred fuel.  Hormone levels are changed, glycogen is lowered, the body carries less water and you’re able to function very well – lots of energy, you can exercise, lift, build up endurance, etc.  There’s no need for a “carb-up”, and there’s no “bonking” either.

 

Have Fun:

“The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.” ~Isak Dinesen

The men are going fishing so I get to go spend a weekend at the beach.  We’ll be going to the Outer Banks (Nags Head) at the beginning of June and I can’t wait.  Last year when we went we stayed up further north in Duck.  We rented a jeep and drove up to see the wild horses and went for a helicopter ride.  I wanted to do a “land, sea and air” type of vacation last year but we didn’t get to the sea part of the adventure.  I’ve decided to do it this trip so I scheduled a dolphin tour cruise of the Roanoke Sound where the dolphins spend much of their time during the late spring and summer.  For only $30 it sounds like a nice way to spend a couple of hours.