Livingloca’s Hot Bodyblog

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

So I threw a party Saturday night.  Huge party.  Lots of laughter, drinking, eating and dancing.  It was a Fire and Ice party… and it was vowed that the party wouldn’t end until the ice melted   lol.  Everyone had such a great time and then the police showed up.  ha ha.  Apparently, I inadvertently forgot to invite neighbors behind me (which, even though I don’t know them, would have allowed us more LOUD music and dancing time). :)  We were given a warning, and a nice one at that, and we just had the noise level turned down a bit.  The dancing and drinking continued. 

 As guests arrived, they were greeted with a candlelit sidewalk up to the front door.  As they entered the two-story foyer, there were vignettes of candle displays everywhere.  They stepped through an archway that was draped in sheer white fabric and as they proceeded through to the dining area (which had an wide array of food and centerpieced by an icy-candle display surrounded by lots of candles on the table), they would encounter double french doors facing the dining room which were opened during the evening … where our side courtyard is with a Spanish fountain cascading and candles surrounding it and the cool breeze blowing in.  As they would walk into our living room (with no furniture, to make room for dancing), the ceiling was canopied in sheer white flowing fabric… it was pretty darn spectacular!  The DJ was playing tunes and then… boom!  You saw the tall ice sculpture that held several gallons of a Flirtini that would come down and with a nozzle, guests served themselves to delight.  On the kitchen island, another icy glass candle display with trays of fresh sushi and sashimi.  Yum!    The evening was gorgeous and everyone was outside in the patio next to the pool enjoying themselves.  A full bar was outside…. it was all spectacular! 

 Of course, the feedback I have received from several guests is that…the bar has been set higher now due to my soiree.  LOL! (it was a sweet compliment).  It was quite a production that I planned months in advance.  I have to say, practically everyone that was invited came (however, we had several MS150 bike riders who could not make it).  

So… the concensus is that I should throw this party annually (although lots of friends said I need to do it twice a year!).  It was a blast and well, sad to see the canopy put away along with all the wine, champagne and martini glasses… but only for a very short time… Summer will be here soon and this party girl will come up with another grand theme of a party….

And yes… I did get back to my training/cardio routine today.  I don’t miss a beat when it comes to my workout ….

Keep training hard!

Can you believe its the middle of April?  Wow.  Summer will be here before you know it! 

It has finally gotten warm here.  Ugh… just love it!  Its been cool enough in the evenings to go for a run.  Even in the warmth (and we are only at 80 degrees now),  plugging in the Ipod and hitting the pavement is so exhilirating.  I finally was smart enough to have an exclusive cardio playlist so I don’t have to skip around my music… duh!  My pace and the music send me on a high.  lol!  Sunday evenings I like to start the week with a nice long run.  I plug in and go and lose track of time… and just run.  I run around my entire neighborhood…encompass lots of footage in my release of energy.  The other evening I was running, although there was some wind I had to have my shades on (the sun was going down) to keep the cool, sharp wind out of my eyes.

I’m already thinking and gearing up for the Summer.  Intense training the last few weeks have allowed me to taste a little progress.  Those bikinis are coming out after a long spell of Winter… ha ha.  I was chatting with a fellow female bbcom member –  she is starting off her fitness quest.  I told her to simply focus on the goal… on the picture of what she wants to look like and the progress she wants to achieve.  Mine was wanting to lounge in a little bikini on the beach (ha ha.. without the rolls, without sucking it in!)   Getting to check that off my list was wonderful!  Pick the goal and work towards it without fail.  Intently working on getting what you want will deliver results.  The delicious taste of progress keeps you striving for more! 

Ok… I am sooo needing some new ab workouts.  I have tried to be creative and throw in some new ones… but I guess if the old exercises have done the job… stick with them??  Just love the cable pull.  On my knees and pulling the cable down, forcing tightness on your abs…wow.  I’m not wanting to get really cut, I just want to stay sleek and curvy … still want to look like a curvy girly! ;)  A little definition can go a long way~

Keep training hard!

So these next two weekends will be a test to my training.  I have made incredible progress this week.  OMG.  Incredible.  My mental focus has been outstanding to push myself and not to mention, I have been sore each and every day!!!  Yes!  Love tossing in bed, feeling the soreness…

I have two parties to attend to this weekend and a party next weekend.  Whew!  My partying escapades this weekend will have to be kept to a minimum.  I don’t want to lose the momentum that I’ve picked up in my training. 

Today, a friend of mine and I will sample 4 different champagnes to decide on the perfect one for a party that I am throwing next weekend… A fire and ice party.  That means 4 bottles!! Yikes! lol.  We will, of course, make sure we will have plenty to eat along with our sampling…. and all while we are labeling small bottles of the party favors for the party….. what is it??? Body/Massage Oil.  LOL!!!!  My husband told me people will refer to me after the party as the Madam.  ha ha ha.  Jokingly, I have informed a few girlfriends the leftover 1/2 gallon of body oil (oh my) should be used that evening for an adult slip and slide. (Girls… bring those bikinis!! LOL!!!)  :)  Not really.  Not that crazy… but I’m sure if anyone wants that big bottle of body oil… have at it!! 

The Fire and Ice party…  its just a fun theme.  But it will be a blast.  A towering 45" ice sculpture that will hold several gallons of a flirtini.  Nice!!   My home will transform….will be cool.  Me, the party girl that I am, have purchased over 150 candles.  Wow.  The fire dept will have to be put on alert for the candles…. and well, of course…. because of the HOTness this party will produce!  Ha!  Just hope no one starts jumping into the pool to cool off…

Keep training hard!

If you haven’t started to eat clean and want to get ripped….. today is a great day to start!  Eating clean not only speeds up the process of allowing those sweet muscles to pop and stand out more, but it makes you feel so much better. 

Eating clean will afford you the possibility of shedding that extra bodyfat you have wanted to get rid of (that jiggle you know where) lol and fuel your body in its journey to staying healthy and building some nice, clean, hard muscles. 

If you don’t know how to start, pick up Tosca Reno’s The Eat Clean Diet.  I don’t like the word "diet" because it makes people think its a quick-fix, short-term gig.  It’s not.  It’s a lifestyle change…. for good.  It’s not deprivation either.  It’s just a matter of making wise choices to benefit you.  You can have your cheat meal once a week (Fridays are mine… mexican food and ritas) but then you jump back on your wagon and continue to eat clean. 

If you are a beginner, you may not be aware that if you are weight training and doing cardio on a regular basis, you need sufficient protein to keep your muscles growing.  It is said that eating 1g of protein for each pound that you weigh is a good amount.  A good way to achieve this is through your post-workout whey protein drink.   Egg whites, fish, chicken, turkey. All great sources. 

I wrote out a basic starter meal plan for my sister on Easter… told her it was easy to lose the weight… she just needed to have a little dedication if she wanted to see a change to her body.  In a week, she lost 3 pounds.  Yes, it’s that easy.  A little focus goes a long way!

Beach and pool season is underway… think of your goals now and consider the possibilities!!

 Keep training hard!