Let's Share Bloggers

Yesterday I emailed a few websites to some of my family that is trying to get in shape and I thought it would be nice to share with you guys some of my favorite websites and would love it if you would share a few of yours.  I am always looking for new learning tools, motivation, workouts, receipes, pictures, etc... to help me along my way.  So, here are mine, I hope you will post yours too!

jillfit.com
She posts some killer cardio workouts, has a ton of articles that are probably the best reading material I have ever run across, and she does some receipes (not a huge fan of the receipes)
kellyolexa.com
This one I will pull up almost daily just to take a look at what pics she has posted.  The best fitness shots with motivational lines ever!
muscleandfitnesshers.com
Can not say enough about the "Workout of the Week" on this site.  I have done them all and they are all great.  They normally post a new one about every two weeks, wish it were more often.
rxmuscle.com
Great for contest pics, but after that I go straight to the "RX Girl" tab for blogs from the pros, introductions of the newbies, and a little bit of everything.
fst-7.com
A new one to me, still working through it.  So far, I love the "workouts" section and the forum.  I am a fan of FST-7.

Please share your favorites, so I can add to my list.  ;)

Hang snatch

Just a quick note I wanted to share with you guys.  I am thinking about entering a local competition for a cross fit event.  Hang snatch and tire flipping.  While I have been tire flipping for some time now, I have never done a snatch.  The owner of the gym I go to on Saturday's, Mr. Don, tried to help me with this over the weekend.  Honestly, I love the idea of doing these power Olympic moves.  They are quite cool to me.  I set up and worked through it twice on Saturday morning with him.  Some of the lifts I got correct, some I didn't.  A lot more incorrect than correct.  :)  But it was fun to learn.  Needless to say, the rest of the weekend I spent in agony.  My traps, forearms, and calves were brutalized!  (Not all from the snatch as I did an Insanity workout, walked on an incline tread and flipped tires)

Here is a video....I am not there yet.  :)

Big sweaty mess

Let's just say I needed yesterday's workout much more than it needed me. 
Here is how it went:

Inc DB press 3 X 10-12
Inc flyes 3 X 10
Flat DB press 3 X 10
Cable crossovers 7 X 7-10
Left to take Hannah to a football game.....went back for....
45 min spin class (I haven't done one in a while and fell in love all over again, will be doing more)
followed by....
Bench dips w feet up 2 X12 w 25lbs  1 X 10 w 45lbs
Cable overhead ext 7 X 7-10

A sweaty mess!

Went back to pick Hannah up from the game, she has a new flavor of the week now, so she had to tell me all about that.  Then it was chores as usual at home.  Long day, but through all that happened it all worked out.  I must say a HUGE thanks here to the guy at Jiffy Lube, and even more so to Harley.  Both my hero's of the day!



Legs

Yesterday was leg day.  It is always a love of mine even though I was feeling a bit strange yesterday, (I am sure Stan thinks I am a weirdo after our brief conversation and I must apologize)  :)  For Sam and Prissy who are looking for a workout for their lower half, give this one a whirl:

Leg ext toes pointed 4 X 15
Hack squat 4 X 12-15
Weighted walking lunges 2 X Hallway
Standing lunges heavier weight 1 X 16
Walking lunges (no weight, long and low with double dips) 1 X Hallway
Stiff leg DL w db's 3 X 10
Seated calves 3 X 8

My poor legs are crying today.  :)  LOVE IT!!

My diet has been pretty spot on and I am seeing changes, so I am happy for the time being.  I will being moving on the 1st of the month, so I am changing gyms too.  Kind of looking forward to the change of scenery. 

Something for me

Been feeling the need to do this for a while:

Look at the waist.

Peak performance!

The chest shots are my favs!

Stumbled across this one the other day, I never noticed how low his lats were

(and he still kept a beautiful waist)

Well I can say alot here, but of course I am biased and I realize my thoughts are not those of the present day judges, so let's just leave it there.  (Look at....nevermind)

Ok I have had my fix.  Hope you enjoyed the walk down memory lane as much as I did. 

Worry

"Worry is evidence of an ill-controlled brain; it is merely a stupid waste of time in unpleasantness.  If men and women practiced mental calisthenics as they do physical calisthenics, they would purge their brains of this foolishness."  ~Arnold Bennett

Dennis Wolf

This post came to mind and will not let me rest until I do it.  As all of you know I an an Arnold girl through and through, so when I look at the top bodybuilders of today it is very hard for me to say I "like" any of them.  Although, for the past couple/few years I have had my eye on one that I think represents a different package much more to my liking.  Now let me say here to clarify, I know my liking is not in line necessarily with what today's bodybuilders are paid to look like, but I don't care, this is my opinion.  For ads sake, and women of the world, yes, I agree with Tenecia, Phil Heath is quite something to look at, he has a gorgeous face (and body), but hands down for the body "type" I would rather see Dennis Wolf.  I love his long lines, the elongated V taper, shoulders that come forward and look like they are just perched there, the HUGE quad show, and most of all the tapered waistline.  Now here I go teeing people off.........he is the only one (I have noticed) that does not look like a BLOCK. 

 Where are the Arnold's with the beauty?  I want to see shape from head to toe.  I guess I am just daydreaming, Harley looks at me like I am a monster and have sprouted horns when I tell him all of this.....  The woman in me wants to see beauty (OMG, Harley will have a hay day with that one)  I can hear it now.......Crystal, they are not paid to be pretty, they are not supposed to look like what you see on a beach, that does not draw in the crowds which pays the bills...........whomp whomp whomp whomp...... It is just me daydreaming......

Go Dennis!!!!

    

Olympia

I don't know about you guys, but I am so ready for this years Olympia.  Can't wait to watch the videos, read the posts, LOOK AT THE PICTURES!!!!  Especially since I saw where Nicole has really "changed" her much softer look I think it is going to be a tighter battle between her and Erin.  Man do I love the way Erin looks too, but I am going to go all out and say I am feeling a bit Nicole-ish this year and I think she will be reigning queen.  I think Erin might have a tighter back side.........which will help her alot, but man have you seen Nicole's new shoulders???  So front all Nicole and I am going to give back side all to Erin, I hope, I haven't seen a recent pic of her, but I know girl has it hands down year round!

I have a few others I can't wait to see, plus I must admit the bikini division will be interesting too with alot of competition.  (That is a division I have no clue how they judge, because at that level they really all look the same to me other than hair and suit)

Go ladies!

For Today

"You've got to believe deep inside yourself that you're destined to do great things."  ~Joe Paterno

Labor Day Hike

Monday after all the rain had cleared out and the "cool" front had moved in I decided to take my girls and Harley on a hike.  I will say here I should have known better......on 4 wheelers the trail takes an easy 4 hours, and that is some hard riding.  Well we got there about 10:30 and started out.  The pics I am going to post were all taken within the 1st two hours of starting the hike because if I had even mentioned picture after that all three would have strangled me.  When it took an hour and a half to reach the 1st bridge something in me said we should turn around and go back the way we came, but no we pressed on.  At 2:15 I was getting slightly worried, at 2:30 I was seriously worried, and by 2:45 I was almost in panic mode.  Luckily I found some other people who were in a truck off the main path and asked them how they got in.  Harley said he knew I was worried at this point because I was walking really fast.  Guys I have been 4 wheeler riding in that area MANY times, but never hiking.  What I thought would be a leisure 2-3 hour hike turned into a 5 hour miserable trek.  Keep in mind I never said a word to any of them how worried I was or that I had blisters on my feet and my knee was due to give out at any point.  I knew it would worry or scare them more.  So I walked way ahead of them and never said a word.

We did eventually find our way out thanks to the nice guy and a couple of wildlife enforcements.  I ran the last 1/2 mile to the car and drove back to the others to pick them up.  Harley said he wanted pizza and I did not have the heart to tell him no after what they had just gone through.

The only thing I can compare it to is like giving birth.  It was so painful and trying during, but the pain and agony was quickly forgotten once my belly was full and I was in the comfort of my home.  :0)

Blood Type Diet

Hey guys, thought I would catch you up....
I have been looking into the blood type diet this week.  Still waiting on 2 more books that will hopefully help me tie it all together.  So far this is not your "normal" diet which I must say I like.  Rather it really is not a diet at all in my opinion.  "Diets", which I do not do, tell you what to eat, when to eat it, and how much to eat.  This takes into account your blood type, of course hince the name, and says there are certian foods, spices, etc... that generally do not work for people with your blood type and why.  Thank the Lord I am type O, so I can handle all the meat you can put in front of me, it is just the wheat products that will wreck havoc with my digestion.  Strangely, I knew this already, but ignored it I guess.  I continued to eat wheat when I felt like it and paid dearly for about 3 days afterwards every time.  Don't get me started on the "sugar alcohols"!  Why does it take being put in black and white with scientific backing before we will even consider eliminating it from our diet.  And even once eliminated, we will cheat with it.....UGH!!
So anywho, it has been going great all week until this morning I tried a piece of ezekiel bread, which is on my allowed list, and it threw me for a loop.  Now I have a $5 loaf of bread in my fridge I can not eat.  Just proves, this is not total rocket science, nor completely foul proof. 
Plus, I have not even touched on the genotype part, still need to do more reading, but what I read so far is crazy accurate for me the hunter!
I will let you know how more of this plays out as I go.
Let me leave you with this.......as I was getting dressed for work this morning and thinking how I look so bloated, while not as bad as Monday morning, but still a little pooch, my youngest daughter walked into the bathroom with me.  She looked at me and said mom, I am going to have abs like you one day.  Need I tell you how that made me feel.  here I was thinking I look like a huge pile of ____ and she wants abs like me!

Children are something else!

Here is the site for the diet I have been reading Eat Right For Your Type.  Try to find time to check it out especially if you already know your blood type.