Pump hard……. Pump often

Finally got my pictures uploaded to the net. Click on the link below to open up my pictures in photobucket.com
My pictures

Alisa

Read, read, read!!

Spending a week walking the streets of one of the most beautiful cities in the world around people who curiously enough always seem to be (during work hours of all times) sitting in cafes sipping wine and eating bread and never getting fat created a very "cardio me".  That seems to be the thing over there. Cardio. Even when I looked up gyms in Paris on the net their facilities are very heavy oriented towards all types of dance classes and body sculpting classes (in my book that’s cardio with a few weights). They bike a LOT and walk even more. In short the hard core mentality we have in America about weight training and bodybuilding seems lacking over there.  I didn’t even read my bodybuilding magazines I was so lack. And upon careful people watching while walking Parisian streets I didn’t see any hardbodies either.

So I’m back home and I’m on a cardio kick. Good for me as I needed a good swift kick in the cardio. But I needed to get my Do Work mindset ramped back up. I hit the gym on Saturday and was glad to hear some clanging on the iron and some good old fashioned grunts. It felt good to be back on the bench and pushing up some weight.  But I was still all blahs blahs and searching the web for real French crepes in Atlanta while thinking how wonderful it would be to munch on some French bread and wishing we had a river that ran through Atlanta that I could sit upon during sunset and eat some pastries.

Yea…time to wake the bleep up.

So I’m back on my reading kick. Reading my bodybuilding magazines and reading on bodyspace and reading the hardcore bodybuilding websites I like to visit. Feeling that hardcore energy I was missing on my vacation and in need of a refill now I’m back home. And it feels good. My motivation level is starting to move upward and tonight it’s back and biceps. I’m looking for a good pump tonight. (Yea yea I know some of you snickered like 10 year olds on a playground!)

I still want a good French crepe with sugar inside.

Alisa
There’s a reason it’s called a WORKout!

I have finally gotten past the jet lag from landing back in Atlanta this past Friday. Paris is 6 hours ahead of EST and my body was awake and asleep on Paris time from Friday to Sunday morning even though I was back in Atlanta. I was awake when I should be sleeping and sleepy when I should be awake. By Sunday my body got it all back figured out. Did cardio every day I was there except that Thursday and Friday. By Thursday I was exhausted beyond belief and Friday morning I was on a nine hour flight back to Atlanta. Sitting on a plane for nine hours requires a lot of onflight movies to pass the time. Or some sleeping pills.

As far as my trip here are a few thoughts.

Because I knew I would be getting back to the hotel late in the evenings  I always did my treadmill 20 minute jog in the morning which developed an unplanned habit of morning cadio. I loved the effect. I was energized, awakened, refreshed and ready for my day after a good 20 minute jog, shower, smoothie of protein powder with orange juice and cereal with soy milk. So I decided when I got back to Atlanta I would keep up the habit. This morning was my first morning trying that out. And my goal is to make this a habit Monday through Friday mornings. So on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays that gets me into two a day workouts.

I walked a LOT during my visit. Paris is very much a walking city. Traffic is crazy from about 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. I have never seen traffic this bad in the states. So walking was the way to go to get from place to place in the city. Plus seeing all the cafes and how Parisians enjoy their afternoon and evenings was fun. I’ve got to find me some cafes in Atlanta to just sit and read a book.

I visited the Louvre museum, Palace of Versailles, Notre Dome, took a dinner cruise on the river that runs through the city, took two bus tours of the city, and visited the Eiffel Tower. Ate at different places and saw many amazing buildings with incredible architecture. The one thing I was not able to get into was the breakfast of bread and jam and juice and that’s it. Seemed everywhere I looked that’s what people were having for breakfast. They eat a LOT of bread and drink a LOT of wine in Paris. Yet they are a very thin people. Must be all the walking and climbing up stairs. Obesity is NOT a problem in Paris.

This is one very old city and it amazes me to see everyday buildings older than my own country. I loved the colorful, exciting, sad, revolutionary, beautiful history of that place. Too much to see in one week but I saw more than I ever thought I would see of Paris. I’m still amazed I was able to go.

Gotta load up some pictures to show you!

Alisa