Fit Mom's Blog

Loved this article on how sleep can help build muscle mass! Mark’s Daily Apple. Almost wanted to cut it out and paste it on my forhead! So many people ask me questions all the time on how to build muscle and lose fat, this is a great one to read.

Legendary Competitor is hosting some new events for CrossFitters that look fun! It’s be interested in the partner event as well as the individual events.




The Outlaw Way is now partnered with Muscle Driver USA on upcoming events and equipment and I am saving my money for these beautiful plates!

How to stay mobile and ready for your next WOD: M-WOD!! Check out these sites for more information.

Eat to Perform

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When you feel a little down, who do you turn to? Tonight, as I sat here starring at a blank screen thinking about all the little stuff that can bring Me down, I turned and saw Jack Lalane’s book, and then I smiled. He makes me smile.

“Anything in life is possible and YOU make it happen!”



Image Borrowed from Strong First:

On top of that, I found several new inspiring Fitness Blogs to help me stay motivated today. One is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s new website and I love reading all the fitness posts on Breaking Through Muscle! One of these days, I’ll try one of these programs just to see how it’d feel in my over 40 mom body! Then, there’s Girls Gone Strong which I liked a lot also. Finally, Pavel T, who was the inspiration for many of us using a kettlebell, has a new website called, Strong First. I get it, I like it. I agree with the statement that with everything else, you must be strong first. I want that.

Who do you read for motivation? Who do you think is strong?

In the end, I like them all for different reasons. Jack was the 1st fitness fanatic and there are many others now, it all depends on you and your goals!

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Check out this upcoming event in LA next month! Competitions for everyone, lots of vendors, and food lectures. Looks interesting?! And, it’s a possible CrossFit competition for me. Big question, should I do it or not? It would be the first one in more than a year…not sure I can handle the pressure or time away from the family!

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Check out this fantastic post, The Giant Women Experiment.

Essentially, the article talks about women lifting weights for the sole purpose of gaining more muscle.    Jason, the coach, took a few ladies to do an experiment of his– that is to gain a whole lot of muscle.  Deb, one willing participant was already a lean mean machine at 53, but this particular experiment got her LEANER.  I am just blown away.  She consumed 3500 calories a day of meat, veggies and healthy fats and lifted a ton of weights as if she were a bodybuilder (bench press, squats) and guess what the results were?  She actually DROPPED two pounds and got leaner.  Meaning every single measurement WENT down.  Unbelievable.  Go read it, I’ll wait. 

What does that mean for me and you?

As for me, I am currently lifting for the purpose of strength- not particularly gaining muscle mass and my reps and sets are usually in the 3-5 range with a load of around 70-80% of  my one rep max.    When I completed that strict paleo challenge {proteins, veggies and healthy fats + 2 glasses of wine in six weeks}, my strengths were going up and up and up and I got leaner.  Now, we did a body fat test before and after the six weeks and yes, I had lost 3% body fat, but, I also lost about a pound of muscle.  That part isn’t good.  In fact, in my opinion that part of the challenge was bad.  Essentially, it means that I wasn’t eating enough.  Our rules were 3 meals a day with no snacks.   For me, that didn’t really work as I love being leaner but I’m also a little obsessed with my weight and how I don’t want to “gain it all back”.   I’ve added back some alcohol, some chocolate and last night I had some wonderful Better Than Bread.  Basically, I haven’t been that strict with my diet, and my results have slowed down {example, was missing 140 on my C&J this morning when I have a PR of 150, dammit!}.    What’s even more unbelievable is how much she eats compared to what I eat.    Seriously, I, do not eat enough food.  And, by that I mean food, not protein powders and almonds!

This blog of mine has always been where I share what I learn, what I screw up and how I grow.  Even though Deb is just one woman getting leaner by eating proteins, fats, and veggies, it struck a note with me as I have been focused on not gaining back what I lost and too many days I am hungry and not eating because I don’t want to get fat.  Well, I will go back to being heavier by NOT eating.

What does this mean for you?

If you are a woman who’s looking to get healthier and lean out, lifting weight along with a seriously healthy diet  is your answer.   You can teach yourself the five most important lifts {Bench Press, Press, Deadlift, Squat, and Power Clean} and just do moderate sets and reps, you can get leaner!

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2008 was the first time I’d heard of Lucy Activewear.  I fell in love with it then, and I still love it now.  I recently got to visit an actual Lucy store during the CAF triathlon and as I walked through the store, I was admiring all the really soft cotton shirts, the textures of the running clothes and the styles of the yoga gear.

And, within a week or so of visiting the store, Lucy reached out to me for a product review! Yes, it’s my lucky day.

So, far this is my favorite piece of Lucy gear, the Get Up and Go Quarter Zip! I’ve worn it everyday since receiving it and have received multiple complements on the color and style of the shirt. I love the ruching on the sides, the thumb hole and the soft cotton feel of the shirt. This shirt has been a perfect for wearing over my workout gear on cold mornings and it’ll look great with jeans as well.  I can’t wait to wear it again!

Lucy is having a sale of 25% off today only in celebration of their Birthday! Check it out!

FTC- The shirt was provided for purposes of review and the above opinion is my own.

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For those of you endurance athletes still relying on carbohydrates pre/in-race and post workout, please read this article. It’s truly an eye opener on how it can be done without all that sugar (basically). My husband is an endurance athlete and is currently tweaking his program for the sake of our challenge. However, we may find that he does better on a completely different on bike diet! I’m excited to find out.

Read Article Here.

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Before breakfast I had 1/2 cup of coffee with 1 tbsp of coconut milk (out of a can) and post workout, I had one scoop of Recovery by SFH. Then, had time to make breakfast which was canned tomatoes, spinach, onions with a side of bacon!

Was hungry an hour or two before lunch and had my real coffee, yeah!



Lunch, leftover chicken breast, veggies with spinach and cashews.

Snack at 4pm was 1/2 an avocado!



Kale Chips



Finally, made it to dinner with a steak and lots of frozen veggies.



I am proud of myself…I walked past the cashew jar all day long and did not take ANY extras!!

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To know me in person, you would understand that I am a girl who loves to lift heavy things often! However, I know most of you aren’t like that and probably would have no clue on what to do or how to go about a lifting program without a coach, so, I’ve decided to try and offer my very best suggestions for a cross training program based on the absolute best body weight exercises you can do for yourself.

For those of you who are new to working out of have been on a long hiatus, my recommendation would be three days of endurance work with lots of intervals (two days) and one day being a longer style workout. As you may be aware, I too, am training for an endurance event (CAF triathlon), and this is what I’d do if I had no access to weights!

2-3 times a week, I’d cross train!

Image: Rogue

Swing a Kettlebell
Do Air Squats
Perform perfect chest to deck pushups
Work your core by piggy backing your child for half a mile or more!
Hold a Plank position while watching the Olympics
Teach yourself the Turkish Get Up!!!!!!

Get a rope and learn to do double unders!

Bottom line is the doing something is better than do nothing.

Suggestions for a cross training program? Leave it here.

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These two things may or may not go together- depending on your view of athletics?!

Those of you who’ve ran multiple marathons on nothing but running, raise your hand? *me

Raise your hand if you’ve done some bodyweight conditioning when training for a marathon? *me

If you’ve never done any cross training ever and rode 50-100 miles regularly? *me

Ever completed a triathlon on 2 weeks of run/ride/ and swim style training? *me

Ever spend most of your “training” time in the gym lifting and spend less than 10% of your time working out getting your heart rate up? *me

Because of my LONG ridiculous history of endurance/athletic events, possibly, I’ve learned a few things I could share that I know to be true in regards to training for endurance events and the huge need for cross training!

1. Cyclists, swimmers and runners need a structured lifting program that would complement their sport.
2. Less is more in the field of aerobic exercise. Get out there, get it done, and get home.
3. Lifting heavy will not make you heavy or bulky- it will lean you out.
4. Sweet Potatoes should become routine in the house of all workout fanatics. It’s a great post-workout carbohydrate.
5. Too much high intensity cardio work can possibly “ride off your muscle”. Read Poliquin.
6. Bagels are Not good refueling post workout food!
7. Core work for upper body stability is must. Exercises such as Turkish Get Ups, Suitcase Deadlifts, Toes to Bar, Plank pose…anything that engages your core would be highly valuable to an endurance athlete.

Question: Should an endurance athlete who regularly does high intensity aerobic activity also need high intensity cross training style workouts?

My gut says no. Anybody have an opinion on this?

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“Invisible Vegetables. Magical Taste.”

I was recently reading my favorite magazine, Experience Life, when I came across this ad for Medley’s. It comes in grape, apple, and tropical flavors and according to the ad, “Mott’s Medley’s looks and tastes just like the fruit juice they already love with vegetable juice magically hidden in every delicious glass.” According to My Pyramid, 1 serving=1/2 cup. US Dietary Guidelines recommend a daily intake of 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables for a 2,000 calorie diet.

First, I’d like to address the cost of the product. You can buy 8 bottles on Amazon for $50. Assuming your kid will drink at least a cup a day, that works out to approximately $1 per {2) servings. If you were to purchase in season produce at your local grocery store (strawberries for example), it would work out to about $.25 cents per serving of strawberries, apples or pears possibly less if you grow your own.

Secondly, fruit juices are high in sugar (regardless of whether it’s been added to the juice or if its naturally occurring juice. Mott’s Medleys Apple juice has 25 grams of carbohydrates for one serving of juice (8 ounces). 25 grams of carbs is A MEAL, folks. Ever wonder why your kids don’t eat their dinner when they are served juice with it? Juice fills them up. Juice is easy to drink. Juice is a happy place for kids, I get it. 1/2 cup of strawberries is equal to 5 grams of carbohydrates!!!! Want to make your kids fat, keep serving them juice!

Finally, why do you want to teach your kids to NOT eat their veggies? Here, kid, “drink your veggies” it’s good for you! They will grow up only wanting/thinking they can get their veggies by drinking sugary “healthy” drinks.

In the US there is an obesity epidemic! Lets help change this by serving them real food.

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