Being Exercise-Drunk

You know when you’ve worked out so much that you are absolutely exhausted, almost to the point where you feel (and act) like you’re drunk? I’m only mentioning this because my roommate exhibited these symptoms after going to the gym last night.

It wasn’t me this time (for once)! Yes!

I did feel a little bad for her though: unless people around you have gone through it, it’s hard to explain the feeling, and how no, you really weren’t sipping martinis on the elliptical- you’re really just that freaking tired.

Anyone feel this way? Just so tired from exercising that someone looked at you and asked if you had a few after working out?

Let me know- otherwise, have a great day everyone!

Nothing Tastes as Good as Accomplishment Feels

We’ve all heard the term “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”- I imagine everyone is aware of the backlash in response, the hasty “clarification” and whatever such nonsense that followed that statement. I’ve heard some people mention “nothing tastes as good as healthy feels”, and I would like to add one more variation to the pile- the feeling of accomplishment, whatever your health goal might be. Some could argue that a person’s health goal may be unhealthy, but I am mainly addressing the majority of people who have reasonably healthy goals regarding their weight and overall fitness.

Personally, I have been working towards getting into the lighter division for tournaments like the upcoming Abu Dhabi jiu jitsu pro trials in a couple of weeks. I’m still registered for the heavier division (I have until the 17th to change it) and other than one or two hiccups, including a metaphorical tug of war with some water weight, for the most part I have been on schedule with weight loss and still intend to compete lighter. It’s more of a personal goal I’ve set, and it’s not the ‘skinny’ part that I am concerned with, although admittedly getting into a smaller pants size is a nice side benefit.

There are a variety of health goals out there that people have to adjust their diets for, and typically we use these motivational phrases and slogans when we are in the midst of attaining those goals. For some it may be dropping 10 pounds of unhealthy body fat, for some they may be seriously underweight and need to gain 10 pounds. Whatever the goal may be, I think it’s healthier to focus on striving to meet that goal and the sense of accomplishment when it is achieved. And to be honest, a focus on obtaining a healthy goal is more inclusive- “skinny” is such a vague term and can be distorted in so many ways, while for the most part people typically set goals for themselves- they have an idea of what they would like the end result to be, even if they are a little fuzzy on the details.

So, that is what I propose: let’s encourage people to obtain their goals and support one another in the effort to get there. Just some food for thought. 🙂

Have a great day everyone!

 

Weekend Training Wrap Up and The Perils of Over-Exercising

Good morning everyone- our jiu jitsu training camp went great, and I will have photos and such for everyone tomorrow, but for now I want to share this article about “Crossfit’s Dirty Little Secret” and apparently the repeated cases of rhabdomyolysis-the irreparable destruction of muscle cells that can have catastrophic results. Real talk, this could theoretically happen in most if not all sports, but the mindset of making Personal Records, or PR’s I think makes Crossfit participants more susceptible to this condition. There’s a note on the side of the article, pointing out that this is not something that happens to “newbies who do too much”, but rather this condition happens more frequently to the seasoned athlete, which I’m sort of surprised, but I can kind of see how that could happen- an insistence to make a PR, ignoring your body and the warning signs that you need to stop which can lead to trouble.

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think!

Interesting Post About “Fitspiration” Photos

This popped up on my Facebook feed, and it’s a pretty interesting article about those photos you see floating around Pinterest and other sorts of sites that at first glance just seem motivational, encouraging people to push themselves a little.

When really put under scrutiny however, I have to agree with the author that some of them can be irresponsible and pretty messed up. I particularly agree with #5: that strong has become a new buzzword for manipulating a woman’s body image, and that these ads (c’mon, real talk, these are ads for fitness) are not talking about true strength, but rather that mythical “toned” look women are always encouraged to strive for through any media of your choice.

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think.

MyFitnessPal App: Making What I Hate Most a Little Easier

I have this mentioned before, but I hate counting calories. I don’t know what it is, but I think I would rather go back to having braces then count calories. Usually. But, I am looking to lose weight for some tournaments coming up, and I have come to terms with the fact that I have a tendency to over-train and under-eat.

This would also be a good time to mention that I don’t do this intentionally and I absolutely realize this is a problem: it . It’s counter-productive, in fact: too few calories and it becomes harder for someone to lose weight. So, to counter-act this I am using the app myFitnessPal as a food diary- to do what I hate, and making it just a little bit easier.

It’s fairly easy to use and more or less self-explanatory. You put in some personal information- height, weight, goal weight, activity level, and calculate a calorie net goal. From there you log in what you’ve eaten throughout the day, and the app keeps a tally of what you have consumed, telling you how many calories as well as other nutritional information- I’m a champ at eating my daily value of Vitamin A and C, apparently. There is also an option of putting in physical activity- the weight/resistance training options I found to be sort of limited, but they have jiu jitsu as once of the cardio activities, so I plug in the time I spend in class, along with the walking I do throughout the day, but that’s about it.

I am probably not using the app to its full potential, but for someone who loathes keeping a food diary, it’s pretty painless, keeps my disgust for the process at bay, and keeps me from overestimating how many calories I’ve consumed vs. how much I’ve burned which I have to admit is pretty nice. There’s a whole thing where you can friend people, but personally I’m really not interested in that part of the app. I just want to log in what I eat, my training time and then get the heck out of dodge.

So, for anyone else who can’t stand keeping a food diary, myfitnesspal is an app I would recommend.

A Friendly Workout Reminder

I’ve been training/working out a lot recently in preparation for some tournaments coming up, and I just wanted to offer these photos as a friendly reminder, if you find yourself lifting weights frequently be sure to trim or file down your calluses:

Not as bad as having them ripped off, but still not very comfortable.

Learn from my mistake, don’t ignore your calluses. And that’s the end of my public service announcement.

Have a great day everyone!

The Locker Room Situation

The more I read around the internet about where people train, the more spoiled I feel when it comes to our facilities. I just read Jiu-Jiu’s locker room shower situation– they have one unisex communal changing area and one shower. Actually, I have heard of similar situations in the area around our academy.

Again, I feel a little spoiled when saying this, but we have separate men and women’s locker rooms: each locker room has two bathroom stalls, two shower stalls and two sinks. Separate hot water sources too, I’m pretty sure: there have definitely been a few occasions when the boys had to deal with cold showers while the girls were totally unaware of any issue.

It wasn’t quite always this way: we were temporarily displaced when the building was being remodeled, but men and women always had separate changing areas made with stacked lockers.

I’m sorry to hear this is a situation in some gyms. I understand sometimes owners/instructors make sacrifices when it comes to real estate: a space with the perfect square footage and the right location can make someone overlook the bathroom facilities, but I have to admit, if I was just starting jiu jitsu and someone told me that I had to change in a communal area, I probably would have quit, or brushed up on my locker room ninja changing skills from highschool gym class. Most likely the latter, contorting myself like I was in a straight jacket, with my arms inside a t-shirt when attempting to change from a regular bra to a sports bra.

For ladies who put up with all of this and still train, you absolutely have my respect. For guys who have women in their academy in this situation, I agree with Jiu Jiu- please understand that it can be a stressful situation for a girl, especially for one that is starting out in the sport. I’m not saying you should let this theoretical white belt girl walk all over you and take an hour shower, but understand that’s an uncomfortable situation for most women, and sometimes it takes women a little longer to get themselves sorted before leaving the locker room. I don’t even know what I would do about a single shower. I would most likely either go home and shower or only use the gym shower in extreme emergencies.

On a side note, congratulations on Meghan getting her blue belt! Hooray!

On a geek-tastic side note, I haven’t watched the season premiere of the new Game of Thrones, but I did take advantage of their site Join the Realm and made a Coat of Arms for the blog.

 

…Oh yeah.

Slideyfoot’s Marathon, Gas masks and MMA Training

Quick little blurb I just want to put out: Slideyfoot is fundraising for a Grappling marathon for Rape Crisis (England& Wales) and you should definitely donate something. Anything.

Secondly, not that I’m planning on training with a gas mask anytime soon, but I’m watching a video about MMA Training and the effectiveness of using a gas mask. Check it out:

 

The Scary World of Workout Supplements

So, when I first read about the IBJJF testing for steroids and immediately went to the Anti-Doping Agency’s website to see if caffeine was a prohibited substance (whatever, it was a legitimate concern), there was a video on site with an athlete who warned against illegal substances in supplements. And at first I scoffed a bit. I thought it was a rare event, if possible at all.

After reading this article on the death of soldiers who used the supplement Jack3d though, I’m not so sure. I knew the FDA rules were more lax when it came to supplements, but jesus, this is ridiculous. I know everyone is all about the brand new product to train harder, faster, stronger and all but there needs to be some testing done, and maybe a few more rules when it comes to the regulation of the ingredients that are put into these supplements.

And to put it crudely, it’s hard to sell a product to someone who’s dead.

 

I Work Out….

I saw this on my facebook feed (courtesy of Fitocracy) and thought it was pretty funny: check it out!