Shannan’s Journey

Workout 1:
 
Bench step-ups: holding 10 lb. db
40 Reps each leg (so that’s 80 steps)

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press (15 Lb Dumbbells) for 20 Reps (or as many as you can get shooting for 20 reps each set)

‘Bench’ Squats With The 15 Lb Dumbbells (Touch bench with butt/hamstrings - holding D’bells slightly in front of you) for 20 Reps

Lying Tricep Dumbbell Extensions 10-15 Lb Dumbbells (Just lie back down on the bench that you do the step ups and squats on)

Stay On Bench Lying Down: Leg Raises (15 reps) holding onto the back of bench, then do twisting bicycles for Abs (50 Reps) elbow to opposite knee, twist and crunch-

Repeat this WHOLE sequence 3 Times.
 
___________________________________________
 
Workout 2:

Standing Shoulder Lateral Raises (15 Lb D’bells X 20 Reps)

Push Ups Between Dumbbells: Use same D’bells; 1/2 Rep & Full Rep for 10 Reps -  put dbs on their ends and put a hand on each, you will do pushups between the standing db’s.  Try to do a 1/2 rep and then a full rep stretching down to the floor as far as you can.

Standing Bicep Curls: 15 lb. db each hand-  10 Reps palms facing up, 10 Reps with hands turned in (known as hammer curls)

Hamstring Deadlifts: Use same weights X 15 Reps

Traveling Lunges: 30 Reps down a hallway/pathway and back

Elbow Plank (Abs) On Floor Or On A Ball: Hold for 30 count; do this twice  (so by the end of 3 set through this workout you will have done 6 elbow planks for 30 sec. each)

Repeat 3 Times
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
 
Workout 3
 
Lying Hamstring Curls -  25 reps, 40-60 lbs.

Smith Machine Chest Press (Have The Bench On A Pretty High Incline): 15-20 Reps - 20 lbs. dbells

Incline Bicep Curls (Stay On Bench Use 12-15 Lb Dumbbells)

Alternating arms, Front Raises; or do together with a lighter weight: 20 reps, 10 lb. dbells

Squat Jumps:  holding 5 lb. dumbbells if you can; 10 holding dumbbells and 20 without. 30 reps total.

Repeat 3 times—————————————
—–
Cardio 

Run 5 minutes maybe a little faster than normal

Jumping jacks for 30 seconds

Push ups x 20 reps

Body weight squats for 1 minute

Back on treadmill and run for 5 mins.

Do this cardio sequence till you compete 40 minutes of time—-

 WHoooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!

A common problem with many hamstring workouts is that they focus too much on lying leg curls. It’s a perfectly good exercise, but if it’s the cornerstone of every ham routine, your intensity will eventually wane or your muscles may stop responding to the stimulus and stop growing. Replace a stale exercise in your current workout with one fresh alternative each week or, to really stun your hams, try a unique lift routine of four underutilized hammie exercises.

- Hamstring Smith squats– Just as stiff-leg deadlifts work hamstrings more than they do the lower back, Smith machine squats can be performed in such a way that they put more tension on the hams and glutes than the quads. Place your feet 12 to 18 inches in front of the bar and push each rep through your heels.

- Hamstring raises–  This is a favorite of Alexander Fedorov, owner of two of the biggest hams not baked at a luau. Position your knees on a hyperextension bench and hook your ankles or heels under the support pads. Make certain you’re secure (short trainers may not be able to do this on most hyper benches). While keeping your back straight, lower yourself until you’re parallel to the floor, then pull yourself back to an upright position by tensing your hamstrings and glutes. Ask a training partner to assist you until you master this difficult bodyweight exercise and can do eight reps on your own. When you can do more than 12 reps, begin holding a weight. This exercise can also be done on the floor by having a training partner hold your ankles while you kneel on the floor and lift up your entire body.

- One-leg negative curls–  This movement can be done lying or seated. In either version, do the positive half of the rep with both legs at normal speed (allowing you to lift a heavy enough weight into position to be effective for the negative rep), and then perform the negative half of the rep with only one leg. Alternate legs. Try to take 10 seconds to lower the weight, even though you will naturally speed up in your final reps when you get fatigued.

- Standing cable one-leg curls–  Perform one-leg curls with a low cable attached to the working ankle. This method allows you to focus on the peak contraction of each rep, and it also allows you to alter your leg position more easily. Curling with your working thigh pulled back a few inches provides continuous tension and focuses more on the ham/glute tie-in.

HAM IT UP–  If you are working hamstrings one or two times per week on a regular basis and are not getting results, the culprit may simply be stagnation. Stop going through the motions with the same low-intensity leg curls, and increase the intensity and the variety. Utilize the preceding routines, exercises and principles to spark rear leg growth and cure your lagging hams.

HAMSTRING ROUTINES

Prioritization

High reps

Low reps

Slow motion

Unique lifts

The 5 Myths Are:

Myth 1: You can eat as many carbohydrates as you like since you exercise and train so hard.

• Truth: There is a great saying “No work out can out work a bad diet”. The reality is that too much of anything will yield negative results. ALL Carbohydrates are broken down to sugar and too much carbohydrate intake (even healthy ones) will spike your blood sugar levels, cause an over release of Insulin and cause you body to store fat. Take a look around you and watch the people you know who overeat carbohydrates and exercise a lot, most of the time they have higher body fat levels and lack muscle tone. This is due to the overconsumption of carbohydrates and working at too high of a heart rate for too long of a time.
• Everything needs to stay in balance. Your body is a feed as it goes machine. The best way to look at this is by taking a baby’s feeding routines into account. A baby will feed every 3 to 4 hours, eating balanced meals of all three nutrients - Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates, stop when satisfied and begin eating again when it is hungry. Our Nervous System uses Glucose (sugar) to create energy, so it relies on a steady balanced supply. When a baby grows (or you workout more one day than your other days), the body will need more fuel. It won’t only need carbohydrates… it requires more balanced meals. The combination of Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates within each meal creates a hormonal balance of your blood sugar levels which will maximize your results.

Myth 2: During high intensity cardiovascular exercise (Heart Rate above 160 BPM) of extended duration (60 minutes and above) you should eat many more carbohydrates before, during and after exercise to ensure you have enough energy to maximize performance.

Truth: Your body does require more overall Calories (carbohydrates, protein and fat) during high intensity exercise due to the fact that you are mostly burning glucose during the activity. The old philosophy is that loading up on Carbohydrates before an event would maximize your glucose (sugar) reserves for the activity. Unfortunately that is not the case. When too many carbohydrates are consumed your body will store fat and some of the glucose will also be stored to be utilized for energy. The challenge with this is that the stored glucose (sugar) in muscle tissue lacks something called a Glucose 6 Phosphate, all this means is that the sugar in each particular muscle can only be used for that muscle and cannot be accessed for blood sugar. So any extra glucose your body requires will be taken from the amino acids (protein) in your muscle mass. In essence, your body begins to cannibalize itself. For these reasons, carbohydrate loading before, during or after an event will completely work against you.

• Of course, you definitely need to feed yourself before, during and after the training. The key is to feed yourself a balanced meal of Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates - preferably low glycemic ones - and high quality food before and after training. During High Intensity Cardio of extended duration training (marathon, triathlon, extended high intensity cardio, etc…) you are best to either eat a piece of a protein bar or a have a portion of a protein shake every 15 minutes. Make sure the protein bar and protein shake match your balanced nutrient ratios.
• This type of consistent feeding will provide your body with a steady supply of Glucose. It will also keep your liver Glucose stores full. Keeping these stores full is critical because the Glucose found in the liver is the only stored Glucose that can be converted into blood sugar. Now, the liver can only hold approximately 400 grams of glucose at any given time… This is why Carbohydrate Loading will not work.

Myth 3: To maximize performance you must eat a lot of Heavy Carbohydrates (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, etc) the night before an event.

• Truth: The same information from Myth 2 applies to Myth 3. The overall philosophy of carbohydrate loading was to provide the body with a high amount of stored glucose (sugar) so it could utilize these stores during an event. As we discussed above, it is physiologically impossible. This means that all carbohydrate loading will do is store more fat and end up keeping the body’s blood sugar levels unstable. You can see this by reviewing the High Blood Sugar Chart provided here.
• The answer is to consistently feed your body high quality balanced meals before, during and after the event. This will maximize your performance.

Myth 4: During the event you should be consistently taking in glucose (sugar) supplements to keep your energy consistent.

• Truth: By now you should all be seeing the theme… all your meals should be somewhat balanced and you should feed your body as you go, meaning as you output energy, make sure you are consistently replacing that energy.
• All pure sugar replacements do is quickly go through your digestive system and spike your blood sugar levels. Physics says that what goes up, must come down… The same thing applies to your blood sugar levels, and that kind of reaction will drastically affect your performance. When using glucose supplements you will eventually have an energy crash. They will also cause irregularities in your blood sugar and affect recovery time.
• The solution to that is to consistently feed on something such as a protein bar or protein shake as explained in myth 2.  Of course, there will be times where you will “Hit the Wall” meaning your body seemed to burn more fuel than you expected and you experience low blood sugar. If this happens, taking a glucose supplement could be recommended (always have one available for these types of emergencies) and then evaluate what happened so you can create a solution to prevent it from occurring again.

Myth 5: After an Event you should eat many carbohydrates so you can refuel your body’s low glucose (sugar) supply.

• Truth: There is an Old Philosophy about the “Window of Opportunity”, meaning after an event your body is in such a deficit it needs to take in a large amount of food, especially carbohydrates, to recover and maximize performance. Once again this will only lead to spiking your blood sugar and storing fat.
• Imagine if there is not a deficit, what if you fed your body correctly and balanced through the event and never hit a blood sugar low?
• If you never hit a blood sugar low there is never a need to over consume carbohydrates. The reality is this: if you can prevent the Ups and Downs of your blood sugar and keep your body in a constant state of homeostasis (internal balance) you will train, perform and recover much more efficiently and effectively.

There’s misinformation everywhere…. I too bought into it at one time, that was of course until I could see the holes and inconsistency in the information I was working from. Myths like these are easy to spot if you choose to become educated on how your body works. Once you make that choice and let go of what you think or, what others say works, and actually start spending time understanding the body, you will then have the tools to achieve all of your Health Goals and Maximize Performance.

Information provided by: Mark Macdonald

Chest/Triceps/little bit o’ Legs

4 x 15,12,10,10, Incline flies, superset with-
4 x 20 Alternating lunges

3 x 15 Peck deck

4 x 6 Decline press

4 x 5 D-bell skull crushers

3 x 10 Overhead cable extension
superset
3 x 30 pushdowns

4 x 15 Weighted bench dips

End with 300 stick turns

meal 1:  1/3 cup of Wheat Bran, 1/8 cup Oat Bran, and two 1/3 cup egg whites
meal 2:  2 packages of cabbage, 1 tomato and 4 oz turkey
meal 3:  2 cucumbers chopped, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 stalk diced celery, and 5 egg whites
meal 4:  3 oz chicken breast, veggies
meal 5:  1 scoop protein shake with 20 almonds
meal 6:  big salad (about 4 cups) with 4 oz chicken 
meal 7:  1/2 cup egg whites
 

Chicken Recipe:  This is truly the marinade recipe for Koo Koo Roo Chicken and their basting sauce.

Source: Top Secret Recipes,  Serves: 4

Marinade:
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple juice
1 cup tomato vegetable juice (V8 will work fine)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 whole chicken or, several chicken breasts…. skinned and cut into 8 pieces (legs, thighs, breasts, and wings)

Baste:
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1 10-ounce can tomato puree
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash ground black pepper
Dash garlic powder

Combine all of the ingredients for the marinade in a medium bowl. Mix well.

Add chicken to the marinade and leave it for at least 24 hours. It’s even better if you let the chicken marinate longer, for as much as 48 to 72 hours.

Sometime before the chicken is done marinating, prepare the basting sauce by heating 1 teaspoon of the oil in a medium skillet. Sauté the sliced onions until they begin to blacken a bit. Pour the onions into a medium saucepan with the other baste ingredients. Bring mixture to a full boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. When cool, cover the baste and chill until it’s needed.

When you are ready to cook the chicken, fire up your grill to medium heat. Grill the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes, then turn it over and grill for another 5 to 6 minutes. Turn chicken over once more and brush the top with the baste. Grill for another 5 to 6 minutes, then turn the chicken over again, baste the other side, and cook it until it’s done, around 20 to 24 minutes total cooking time that will vary from piece to piece. You should see a few charred black spots on the surface of the chicken, but don’t let it burn.

This recipe is from Top Secret Recipes website. I have tried it a million times and thought geeee, I should share it with all of ya’ll   It’s great for the dieters and non-dieters.  Super tasty !!!  

 **Don’t forget all you dieters out there that just about all the marinade dips and cooks off so you don’t have to worry much at all about the juices in the recipe.  If you are competition prep then maybe you may not want to do this if you are super restricted with your foods.

Know About Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears:

What is the ACL and how big is it?

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of four important ligaments of the knee joint. Together, they connect and stabilize the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). The ACL crosses the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in the center of the knee, which is why they are called cruciate ("forming a cross") ligaments. The other two ligaments are the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) on the sides of the joint. The ACL limits rotation and prevents excessive forward movement of the tibia in relation to the femur. That is why an ACL tear causes instability or feelings of "giving out" of the knee. For such an important ligament, it is surprisingly small. The average length is between 32 and 38 mm. It has an average width of 7 to 12 mm and an average cross-sectional area of 40 mm2, which means that it is only about 1/3 to 1/2 as wide as your pinky finger.

How common is an ACL tear?

There are approximately 200,000 ACL injuries per year, with around 95,000 ruptures.

Why does the ACL tear?

The ACL can tear with contact or non-contact injuries. ACL tears are common in football, basketball, skiing and soccer. Contact injuries occur with a forcible blow to the front of the knee or with somebody falling onto the side of the knee. Non-contact injuries usually involve deceleration or a quick change in direction, when the foot is planted and the body twists in another direction. Also, if the knee is hyperextended more than 10 degrees beyond its fully straight position, the lower leg is forced excessively forward, which can cause a tear.

Are there other injuries associated with an ACL tear?

Over half the time, there are other meniscal or cartilage injuries with ACL tears. The rate is higher the more times there are "giving out" episodes of the knee. Depending on the severity of the injury, other ligaments in the knee can be injured as well. Acute ACL tears will usually show a classic pattern of bone bruising on MRI as the tibia spins forward on the femur.

How do you know if you’ve torn your ACL?

You may hear or feel a "pop" at the time of injury, but not always. The knee usually swells up with blood quite rapidly. Sometimes, however, if the injury is severe enough, the joint capsule may tear and the blood may leak out the back of the knee instead, so you may have bruising in the back of the knee and rather minimal swelling of the joint. If you have a "pop" with immediate swelling, then chances are high that you’ve torn your ACL! You should stop playing, ice the knee and use crutches if you can’t put weight on it. Seek out medical attention. A doctor can examine your knee to tell if it is "loose." Xrays may be taken to make sure you don’t have a fracture. An MRI is beneficial in confirming the ACL tear and seeing if there are any other meniscus or cartilage injuries.

Boy have I suffered from these in my lifetime… so painful even when you’re not working out.  I mostly got them because I didn’t stretch after my grueling leg sessions.  Over time I just got so bound up and the simplest thing like doing a basic lunge made me feel a little tug in the groin or hip flexer.  Take it from me, stretch whenever you can even if it’s not right after a training session… do later on at home when you are not in a rush or, before bed.  If you do happen to get a groin or hip flexer injury of anykind, take these steps to alleviate some of the discomfort and get back on your feet and lifting soon

Give It a Rest

A groin injury is the result of muscle strain of the adductor muscles in the inner thigh area. There are four primary muscles in the inner thigh that might be strained: adductor magnus, adductor longus, gracilis and the adductor brevis. Pain typically can be detected by touching the involved area or by trying to adduct (bring the leg in towards the body) against resistance. Once these adductor muscles are injured, you must rest them in the acute phase, which might last two weeks or more. Your return to sports must be gradual. This initial rest phase will allow the inflammation of the affected muscles to decrease while your pain diminishes. In many circumstances, your return to athletics will be four to eight weeks. If you suffer chronic groin injuries, the time it will take to compete again probably will be much longer.

Ice It

Don’t apply heat to this injury, as it will only increase the inflammation and swelling. Apply ice to the affected area in 20 minute increments throughout the course of the day. 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. Ice makes the affected area feel better, and studies have shown that it minimizes inflammation and swelling. If you do not own an ice pack, use a bag of frozen vegetables.

Apply Compression

Couple your ice application with a compression device, such as an ACE bandage. ACE bandages can help to reduce swelling and inflammation while allowing the inner thigh muscles to move. Apply the ACE bandage so that it is neither too loose nor too tight. If there is an open wound, you should have this groin injury evaluated in an emergency room to reduce the likelihood of infection and to rule out any other problems in the area.

Bring the Thigh High

Elevate the inner thigh as high as possible to complete the R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate) protocol. It may seem difficult to elevate the inner thigh alone, and you may have to elevate the entire leg to raise your thigh above heart level.

Use Appropriate Anti-inflammitory medications and Physical Therapy

Anti-inflammatory drugs should be used in the acute phase of a groin injury. The drugs of choice are naproxen and ibuprofen. There are prescription level drugs available, too. Physical therapy and an adequate stretching program are necessary for you to recover from your adductor muscle strain. These programs should be started after the acute painful injury has subsided.

Do Not Over TrainAthletes are competitive, and many of them aim for perfection. They know that they can hit the ball harder, run faster, pedal with more vigor if they just push themselves a little more. While this mentality might get you to the finish line quicker on race day, it can also have a detrimental effect by increasing your risk for injury. Never forget that rest is an essential component of any training regimen, regardless of the sport. Schedule at least one day of rest weekly to allow your body to regenerate.

Introduce Variety

Many athletes focus their time and attention on one sport. If you are a cyclist, you get out your bike and prepare for that 25 mile ride. If you are a swimmer, you might be thinking about ways to improve your breast stroke. However, you must add variety to your training regimen to prevent injury. If you are always running, you are working the same body parts day in and day out. By changing up your regimen, you recruit muscle fibers that you may have neglected while giving your body a rest from your usual activity. As you increase your variety, you will become more versatile and a better athlete all around.

Stretch Away

Stretching prevents athletic injuries. Oftentimes, athletes are so eager to get to their sport, that they forgo a good stretch regimen prior to and after their activity. They cite time constraints as a primary reason for disregarding their stretches. These bad habits invite injury. Muscles must be stretched adequately to perform optimally. Learn the stretches that apply to your sport, or for the workout you will be doing, and make a commitment to perform them every time that you compete or train. Stretch easy at least a few minutes prior to exercise by doing a few back stretches and quad stretches, limbering and warming up, and do at least 10 minutes after any activity.

If you could have a day
To put on a pair of magic glasses
And see the world in a different way
Where human frailties like fear, insecurity and anxiety were concepts difficult to grasp
Instead of obstacles in daily life
Where doing something that you loved and was the highest expression of your talents was a reality instead of a dream
Where you quickly eliminated unpleasant situations and people from your presence and the memories from your consciousness
And a positive attitude was not a fleeting gift mysteriously bestowed upon you or taken away based on life circumstances, but an empowering choice available even in the worst situations

Then you’d have a glimpse of what it’s like to be and see, your full potential.

written for Lance Armstrong– anonymous