Livingloca’s Hot Bodyblog

The journey began on the plane to Caboville…lol…. margaritaville.  The lady sitting next to me on the plane asked if Strongforgood (sitting next to me), KLTexas and I were in some bodybuilding competition in Cabo.  What a sweet comment.  She said because we all looked fit, that our arms were really toned.  Told her no, that we were just on a girls’ trip.

We arrived at the airport and got our bags…. walked out and ugh……. the sweet, fresh, warm air of Cabo kissing us hello!! If you have never been, there are two stands (makeshift bars) right outside the exit doors.  This, my dear, is the first drink to start the weekend.  Although I don’t usually drink beer, it sure sounded really good.  There were crowds upon crowds… apparently bachelorette and bachleor parties…. all awaiting a glorious, fun weekend.  I can tell you that the fun immediately started after walking out of those exit doors! 

We arrived at our house and could not wait for Strongforgood’s reaction at the beach, the coast, the house (it was her first time).  Omg.  We arrived at the house and yes, we were pinching ourselves (we do that often… we like to think we live like rockstars in Cabo…. most of the time we do!) LOL!!  Our personal concierge met us at the door to the house, gave us our keys, introduced us to our housekeeper/cook and told me she is there to cook for us… whatever we needed.  We immediately got our bikinis on and made margaritas…. we went straight out to our patio and let the sun kiss us officially!

That evening we went to one of the most funnest places ever!!!  The Office.  A totally unforgettable night!! We arrived… had a drink to start the night off and they sat us at our table.  This restaurant/bar is on the beach.  The tables are on the sand.  It was soooo nice that evening.  They had entertainment going on on a stage… some which was silly games where they pick out people from the crowd (good gosh…. if you are hammered, its a given that you have to go up there and make a fool of yourself… keep this in mind you future party goers!) lol.  We ran into a crowd of people that were at the airport and we all went up to the stage to dance (no we weren’t hammered, but enjoy being silly) and the fun began!  Singing and dancing to YMCA, someone falling off the stage (hammered again) and being handed long balloons to wave like we are all silly Americans away in Mexico on a party weekend we need a balloon to wave "yay!! I’m here" … doesn’t that sound like fun???  LOL!!  

We visited different places that weekend and had a total blast.  Seemed we bumped into people we saw at the airport every night… drank, danced and giggled alot.  Let’s just say there was a smile on our face that NEVER left. 

Had a spectacular time hanging out at the beach and the pool…  Seems we lived in the pool….. like fish   What fun! We kept joking we should be in our rooms playing scrabble!  LOL!   

The last night in Cabo was sad…. WE HAVE TO LEAVE???!!  Which was our thoughts exactly.  No one ever wants to leave a fun place.  We started the evening with a little taste of Don Julio before we left the house and had dinner in a restaurant off the marina.  We giggled at the table of Mexican girls (bachelorette party) next to us which sounded like sailors!  Every other word was "wey" and they were pretty intent on using it several times in a sentence! LOL.  KlTexas and Strongforgood thought it funny to pick it up as well…. crazy women  

We ventured to a couple of locales and the last one, well, it was cheesy.  The locals were in full force on a Saturday night and we opted to not squeeze our way into the bar, so we went home like good little girls do… lol. 

In Vail and Aspen this week, whew… this traveling is for the birds lol.  I plan on getting my workouts in while I’m here though…. that’s what vacations are for….

 Keep training hard!

It seems every morning that I have been on vacation,  I have made it to the gym.  If you would have asked me 4 years ago if I would be getting up early (even on vacation) to get my butt in there, I would have told you that you were completely nuts!

Each day seems to bring me little surprises here on Peninsula Papagayo in Costa Rica.  I drive the little golfcarts they have equipped the homes with, and as I make it down the mountain (hill, perhaps, but in Houston we are flat, so they all seem like mountains) little orange crabs scurry across the pavement, trying to get away from the golfcart (oops… i seem to be smushing a couple of them each day).  As I was making a turn, I looked to my right and there was a white-faced monkey crossing the road! 

 I went in late today to the gym and it was empty (it was also 11 am–took a long leisurely morning) but I had the most incredible run!  Seems I had a "carbfest" yesterday which was topped off with eating some cookies (eek!!) So today I wasn’t going to go in, but the thought of those cookies on my abs… not good   Apparently, the overload of carbs yesterday did me well- lots of energy to run with!! (and yesterday I couldn’t move my legs if a burglar was chasing me! I tried and tried to get the motivation to really get some intensity in my cardio but couldn’t).  I realized that my legs were really telling me they wanted a break (i have been running everyday and doing sprints constantly and I forgot I had a big leg workout the day before that left me SORE!).  Well, I listened to them, gave them a little break (ok, so I just didn’t sprint) and today I was back with full intensity.  The little golfcart "valets" probably say to themselves  "there is that chick with the black baseball cap AGAIN".  lol. 

 So today, after I got in my cardio session, I end up going to a small, secluded beach.  Beautiful still water (no big waves) and crystal clear.  As we are sitting, EEEEK!!!!!  An iguana is behind us, shaking its ugly head.  My husband thinks its cute and tosses a piece of bread at it…. WHOAH!!!!!  A couple more come running down the tree behind us!!!  Okay, I love nature (not really, not a nature girl, BUT I LOVE THE BEACH) but those things freaked me out!  I tried to nap on my towel on the sand after having lunch (grilled chicken breast,  fat free plain yogurt and an apple, for the record) and just kept thinking about the iguanas, the ants around me, what was going to fly out of the tree over me… ha ha ha.  Peaceful and tranquil??  lol.  My girls played in the water, loving that they could see fishies in there.  You could hear the massive group of Howler Monkeys in the trees nearby yelling.  When they are in unison it sounds like a bunch of gorillas!  As we were leaving, we walked back through the path and heard a branch near us crack… we looked up– a howler monkey swinging from tree to tree over us!!  Then we saw another one…..the girls are flipping and taking pics…. I smiled, admired and decided the mosquitoes were gonna get me (note to self–bathe in repellent… bc after 10 days of being in Costa Rica, I have gotten bit in sooooooo many places, I am so tired of scratching!!) 

We make it back to the house and relieved… its nice and cool inside and I sit to notice …. a racoon outside on the patio.  The same racoon that was out there 2 days ago!!  Wildlife…. everywhere.  It went away and we went outside on the patio to admire the oceanview…. we hear more Howlers in the trees near the house and catch a glimpse of one, lazily draped over a branch.  Cute.  That is totally what I felt like doing.

So, it has been busy with all kinds of attractions around here.  Lol.  I love being at the beach but I am ready to be back home.  I will get home on Sunday to find myself leaving Thursday for Cabo with my best girlfriends for the weekend.  More sun, more fun– although Cabo won’t have but maybe a few iguanas to offer…

 Keep training hard!

A week in Costa Rica.  I arrived in San Jose, CR over a week ago to find wet weather.  Its the rainy season now (the summer) but it rains in the late afternoon and then clears up.  A day in San Jose and then we ventured to Isla Tortuguero (Turtle Island).  A drive of 3 hours took us to a town where a river began and from that point, there is no way of getting to the island except by boat.  We got on a small boat, to be suprised that we would be "flying" down the river…. an hour later, we arrived.  The only way around the island is by boat– no cars.  We spent 3 days and although it was interesting to hear the howler monkeys howling while we ate dinner, it was nice to get back to civilization.  We went back to San Jose for another evening and then drove to the Guanacaste region of CR— Papagayo Peninsula.  Where we call it "jurassic park" the gates that enter into the "compound" where the Four Seasons sits amongst private homes.  Ahhh…. the beach.  FINALLY!!!!

We have spent each day, sunning, swimming, enjoying the beach, hearing the howler monkeys in the trees surrounding the house.  On my way to the gym, driving a golfcart, there was a howler monkey in the road.  He stared at me… sat there as I drove past him…. we were having a staring contest that I thought the darn thing was going to spring at me!!  On the way back, a Coatimundi was crossing in front of me while i was driving back to the house…  and racoons that pass by our patio…. pretty neat.  The sunsets are spectacular and the only apparel during the day has been a bikini.  Twelve bikinis, actually.  LOL! 

I have worked out every day (except for a couple of days) getting my cardio in and the only thing I can’t seem to do here are my squats and deadlifts.  No squat bar!!! darn!!!!!  

I have to say, I love the beach.  However, I don’t like being gone from home more than about 10 days.  I start to miss home, my BFFs, friends and, of course, my gymrats.  LOVE my gymrats!  The intensity level of my workouts aren’t quite the same as being home and I really miss that!! 

Hope you are enjoying the first few weeks of June so far… while I was away I turned 39.  Wow.  Love my age.  I love that I don’t feel my age.  In fact, I love that I am working at not looking my age!!! lol!!

 Keep training hard!!! 

Chatting with a friend made me realize how much fun I’m having in my workouts.  I’m not talking about socializing… although I get that in at the gym too!  Completely focusing and working towards your goal can totally make the change you are looking for.

 I really challenged myself yesterday…. worked on my shoulders (MY FAVORITE!!) and felt the burn, felt the weakness too, but kept pushing harder and harder.  I had to stand in front of my bff, Strongforgood, interrupting her workout, making her take out her earplugs so she could see my accomplishment.  I stood straight, arms to the sides, and flexed… omg.  The cuts in my shoulders… that sweet shoulder cap that is looking better each week.  We died laughing that I had to tap her for her to see with her own eyes!! LOL!!!!  We are total nutheads.  Of course… she later came by and tapped me and showed me her vein popping from her shoulder as well… Love that we can entertain and amuse ourselves!!!! WE ARE FUN GALS!!!!!!!! lol.  We laughed and laughed and laughed some more until we cried!!!!!!!!  (we should see a doctor about our giggling spells… what are we?? 16? )lol. 

 Ok… so my shoulder workout was intense… No chitty chatt, I kept it going and could totally feel my shoulders tight and a little pain.  That’s good.  That’s hard work that will pay off!   Today I worked out triceps and chest.  I can tell you tomorrow… I may not be able to lift up my toothbrush.  ha ha.  But its all good and each day of a hard workout gets you closer to ……. ahhhhhhhhhhh  a better, fitter, tighter body! lol. 

 And did I mention cardio??  Doesn’t look like fun and sometimes it isn’t, until you hit that 20 min marker… then all of a sudden a great song pops up on my Ipod and VROOOOOOOOOM!!  Gotta sprint… gotta get moving!  Then from there… its just flying and coasting with it.  45 mins later… looking like a wet rat (yeah… women do sweat and we look good doing it! LOL) I’ve accomplished a babystep towards seeing the cuts in my abs a little better and getting those glutes a little tighter!

Keep it going and keep it strong! 

Keep training hard because its paying off!

Hello Summer… here we all come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ever had one of the best weeks…. Ever????  Well I did!  I have been busting my tail off the last several weeks and it is TOTALLY PAYING OFF!!!  I broke my plateau last week, dropping 2 pounds.  Continued with my enthusiasm and this week dropped 3 pounds.  WOW!!!! Incredible progress! My training has been phenomenal this week.  I have been completely focused, training intensely and have met goals!!!  And NOTHING has stood in my way! 

In the last two weeks I have on an average of 4 days a week, done a second session of cardio (usually running for 30-40 minutes) and have COMPLETELY eaten clean.  Heck, I was eating every 2-3 hours and at the end of those hours I was HUNGRY!!  I thought something crazy was up…. but speaking to the competition trainer of a friend of mine, he said that means I am leaning out.  I told him "GET OUT!!"  lol.  He asked what my diet was… I told him.  He said it was right on.   Then I showed him my bodyspace pics on my phone.  He looked at them and said "oh shit".  ha ha.  Then he said "let me see ‘em" which he was talking about me lifting my shirt and showing him my abs.   I showed him and yes, it was enough to shut him up

So… as I told my girlfriends, I am surprised I have limbs left, because as much as I have been eating, I have been hungry in between meals enough that I would have eaten my arms off!! lol.. 

I have 2 weeks till June arrives… I have a birthday coming up June 5th and will be on a sandy beach enjoying it in my tiny new green bikini I just bought.  I will be frolicking in the waves in a freshly, tight body.  Damn!  lol!!!

I will continue my strict clean eating (only because it feels sooooo good and well, because its what I’m used to).  Anything else would feel icky.  The cool thing about it is that clean eating doesn’t feel restrictive to me.  Probably does to most.  It is solid, nutritional eating that benefits my body.  I do LOVE my cheat meals (had one tonite!)  Most people who are not fit or do not watch their diet will think it is a fanatic thing.  "Ooooh you eat what??"  they may say.  Ok, whatever.  Go ahead and eat your pizza and pasta and have those Dr. Peppers with your meal.  Yes, enjoy the spinach artichoke dip swimming in mayonnaise or have that cheesey dip with your chips.  It’s all a choice.  Wanna eat that stuff and look like you do??? Or do you want to eat healthier, cleaner and be fit and tight???  It’s all a choice.  You have to decide.

Despite pitfalls in training that may come from week to week, you have to overcome them and focus.  Can’t get to a certain mileage mark in your running?  Don’t let it keep you from trying harder.  Want to run faster?  Longer?  Keep it in your mind that you CAN do it.   Do you want a six-pack?  Yes… it can be done.  But you have to WANT IT.  YOU HAVE TO WANT IT SO BAD YOU CAN TASTE IT.  That is what I can’t understand.  People that want to be fit but yet continue to eat garbage EVERY DAY.  They whine about not being able to lose it, but won’t make the changes to do it.

 Hit the pavement, get to running, lifting weights and get moving!!! LOL!!!  Maybe most don’t have the exhuberance or enthusiasm as I do.  ha ha.  I have friends that gawk at the fact that I get up at 4:45 am to go workout.  Well… it’s my choice and it works for me.  If you want to make a total change in your diet, body and workout routine, you have to make up your mind and dedicate yourself to it.  No wishy-washiness.  You say you’re gonna do it??? THEN DO IT.  No ifs, ands or buts allowed.  People show a weakness when they can’t follow thru when they say they’re going to do something.  That’s my theory, anyway….

Continue in your quest!  If you don’t start now, it will only prolong the time to get to your goal and what better time is better than now??? LOL!!!

Keep training hard and keep it fun!!!

:)

I’ve received numerous pm’s/requests on how to achieve some saaaaweet abs.  I can totally tell you that I did not expect to be able to have a nice mid-section.  I thought that only the few, genetically-gifted could get a six-pack.  I still have a way to go, but as I have told others, I worked on them while I still had lots of fluff in the middle but figured one day that fluff would vanish and those sweet babies would *shine*!  That is exactly what has occurred.  If you can clean up your eating, that layer of fat will diminish and those abs will pop out nicely.  (that means cardio too). Lol.

I have to give credit to Hacksquat though, with impeccable abs, who told me all he did was use a 25lb plate doing crunches.  Wow.  I started doing that and then added a few others.  The idea is, of course, like any other muscle that you want to build, you have to give it weight resistance, weight training.  Abs are muscles that if you want them to stand out, they, like any other muscle, need to grow.  They will pop nicely if that mid-section layer of fat is diminished!   

It is alot of work, not necessarily from a working out standpoint, but the eating/diet is crucial.  If you eat cheeseburgers and of course for many who work, those lunches can get in the way.  Making wise choices in your nutrition will give you those rock hard, (I call them dinner plate) abs.

The few exercises that I really devote time to are on my workout plan.

 Keep training hard….. because those dinner plate abs are waiting to come out this Summer

My saying… "It’s the delicious taste of progress to keep you striving for more!"  This is so true! 

Wow.  Incredibly awesome.  In the last few weeks of my pushing it hard at the gym and tweaking my meals, I have made some incredible changes.  My mid-section leaned out a bit more and yes, my new picture shows it.  I look at the pic and still am shocked it is me.  A friend asked if I really look like that (after seeing my pic).  I admit, the sun/lighting allows the cuts to look deeper, but yes, that’s me.    This is the goal I have been waiting for and it’s arrived at the right time — just before my Summer beach trips!

I’m just a few weeks away from the final stages of my goal — lean out the sides of my quads, get my mid-section a tiny bit tighter and of course, get those glutes firmer and higher.  I am totally happy with the progress and changes that have occurred.  I have achieved the strong, sculpted body I’ve wanted and it has taken 2 years.  No one said it would be easy.  But it is soooo much fun doing it!  ;)

Thanks for the pm’s you’ve sent and the sweet compliments and encouraging words! This gal isn’t done yet!

 ps.  For those that have asked… yes, diet is crucial at developing your abs.  Staying on top of your eating will allow those results to happen.  This is true in the last several weeks that I have really fine-tuned my eating and workout routine. 

 Keep training hard and keep it intense!
 

So…. the goal is to get a tighter and firmer bootie.  Deadlifts, Squats, Plie’ squats (w/dumbell), leg press, lunges, reverse lunges,  one-legged squats, donkey kicks with the stretch bands.  Whew!! What else can I possibly do?? LOL!  Oh, and cardio.  Yes, cardio is a must to shed the bf to get that bootie harder and higher!! My diet has been tweaked so that those results come sooner!

 A friend of mine told me to measure (my bum) …. do I really need to?? ha ha.  I could not figure out why my shorts were getting shorter. Not necessarily tighter (because the waist is getting loose) but they are shorter.  My sister asked the other day if I had my daughter’s shorts on (she’s 11).  Then it dawned on me… my derriere is standing on its own and its making my shorts shorter.  Yay!!! ha ha ha.   This is definitely called progress!  

Last week I had one of the best weeks training my legs.  I was sore every single day.  Although I worked them out twice during the week, my quads, hams and glutes felt tight, hard as a rock and sore!   I would run… I’d get sore.  I would walk on the treadmill, stressing and tightening my glutes as I walked… I got sore.   I then started wiggin’ thinking my quads were getting squatty-looking.  A friend of mine told me to chill, keep doing what I was doing and that it was probably just lactic acid buildup.  So, I am continuing the quest for the perfect bootie!  lol!

At the same time…swimsuit time is here.  My  favorite time of the year.  Beaches… ahhhhhhh.  Can you hear the waves crashing?  The smell of the salt in the air??  Can you see that intoxicating sunset?  I just love it.  The beauty of being at the beach and taking in all those senses, it is truly pleasurable.  I have a true passion for the beach.  Just something about it.

Ok… the countdown is on for the Summer…. I am going to be ready.  :)

 Keep training hard!

:)

Wow.  What a great weekend.  I went to Austin with fellow bbcom’r KLTexas to see the Texas Shredder BB and Figure Compeititon.   What a great competition.  BBcom’s CraigD34 was one of the competitors and boy, did he blow them out of the water!  He brought in two titles… Men’s Novice and Men’s Overall.  When Craig went out on the stage…. there was no question he had it; he was totally ripped and there was no comparison with his competitors.  He looked incredible as he did his posedown.  Way to go Craig!  (pics of The Shredder)

http://www.musculardevelopment.com/browse/index.php?mode=browse&id=15585&eventcode=1237&

Some don’t actually realize the hard work and dedication it takes into preparing for these competitions.  The diet… omg, the diet.  I am sure the last week is the hardest…. no carbs.  Keeping water to a minimum, espec the day of the competition.  Keeping that skin as thin as can be so that those muscles pop and the cuts really stand out.  I totally admire the competitors for the strictness of their diet.  Its hard work and not everyone can endure months of training and dedication like that.

So, not only was this a spectacular competition, but it also served a purpose.  KLTexas will be doing her first competition in August and she is intensely working on her preparations for that.  Not only is she intense and fit, seeing those gals on stage…. KLTexas is totally ready now.  She could have easily been on that stage to compete. 

Although I am not planning on competing, seeing the women in the figure competition really allowed me to see the potential of where I can actually take my training to.  Really fine-tuning my diet (love my present weight routine) could make real changes in the sculpting of my body.  I have had several friends tell me not to lose any more weight, that getting leaner will change my curvy body, but really, the change would only be a 3-5 lb change.  Just leaning up and slenderizing my legs and a little more abwork– I will be a happy puppy. 

So…. today is the day that I begin to really focus (although I have had great focus) and zone-in on my training.  I have a month until I spend 2 and a half weeks on the beaches of Costa Rica and I can easily make the changes that I want in that timeframe.  No question, no doubt about it.  It’s really just a matter of tweaking my diet because my workouts are already intense.

Keep training hard!

What is truly the ideal shape for a woman?  The sexy curves?  The hard, lean look? 

My goal has always been to just get lean, tight and look incredible in a little tiny bikini.  That’s it.  It seems once you train a certain bodypart, that change completes a segment. Then its time to move onto the next.  It has been so interesting to see the transformation.  Muscles developing and getting defined shows really how much work and dedication you have put into your workouts.

I always love using the term intensity.  Anyone can lift a dumbell.  But can you lift it with intensity?  Really feel the work you are doing?  Are you enjoying it?  The heaviness and the last few reps… possibly a little pain?  ha ha… not into pain, but its those last reps that leave you a little fatigued and it’s at that point that you have to push it harder for the next set.  And when you’re done??? Accomplishment.  Yes!  You finished and it’s onto the next exercise.  When you awake the next morning and are sore, gosh… that is the best feeling of working out.  You can feel how much you pushed yourself.  You didn’t wimp out… you made a change to your body and weeks of this…. pure and delicious progress!!  

I will never forget when I was in Costa Rica the summer of 2006 at a resort and even though I looked great (ok… I was an average size 8/10) and wearing a tankini… I was working out, felt good.  I then saw women older than me in bikinis.  That was such an eye opener that kicked me into gear and I never looked back.  That is when I found bbcom and it was such a motivator to keep me going… seeing others’ progress helped fuel my determination to continue to reach my goals.  I am now a size 2 and in the best shape of my life.  Being fit enhances every part and bit of your life.  Confidence, endurance, giddiness…shall I go on?? 

At the commencement of my training, I really wasn’t out to acquire ab definition.  Funny, I just enjoyed the weighted crunches and voila’!  As soon as I began to lean out more, they began to pop out.  Is that sexy?  hmmm…. guess it depends on a person’s opinion.  I asked a personal trainer friend of mine if I should stop working on my abs.  She said "absolutely not".  You see, I’m afraid of getting too cut, too hard.  Is that silly?  The thing is I want to be fit, tight and have strong abs but I want to have a sexy, soft curvy waist.  I don’t want to look too hard. I want to be lean and sleek.   

The present goal to hit my fancy:  glutes.  I have been working on tightening those glutes and all that hard work is paying off.  I wore a fitted black dress today that I had to keep pulling the bottom down because apparently those glutes have lifted and well, they are slightly lifting my dress! lol.  A friend at the gym asked several weeks ago if it was time to be in rap video (lol… the gals in the videos I guess have big booties??) ha ha.  No thank you… I don’t need a big bootie… just want to have a tight, hard one   lol.  Also… cannot get over the fact that I have gotten my quads to get rock hard… omg.  To stand, and have them look like I’m flexing, but not?!  sweet.

So… when you are doing your sets, push that intensity and make it burn. You will feel the progress you’ve made the next day….and in weeks…. you’ll begin to see great changes and hopefully, some sweet definition. 

Keep training hard