It's a Dachshund Thing....

...You wouldn't understand. Or maybe you would.
I'll admit it. I have a thing with dachshunds....and the only way I can explain it in a way that makes sense is to steal that stupid Jeep quote....because I'm sure this obsession doesn't make sense to most of you, especially those of you without a dachshund to call your own. Perhaps it exists in other mediums for other people....exists in ways I can't understand. Maybe for you, it's a Chihuahua Thing (I don't get it) or a Cat Thing (I don't like cats). For me, however, it's dachshunds.

I can pinpoint the exact start of this obsession. August of 2007. That's when I met Peanut. A friend of mine and Zeb's suggested we go to City Pets some day if we're feeling bored to look at the cutest dog they have there....you know,

"just to look at the puppy...."

"if we're feeling bored"

I being the more practical of the pair had always said I would wait to get a dog when I turned 30 years old. That made sense to me. 30 symbolized stability and a house and a career....just like when I was 20 years old, I thought 25 symbolized business suits and casual Friday.

So there I was that August afternoon in 2007, 25 years old, falling in love with a puppy.

Now, don't get me wrong, if Practical Cheryl had her way, when it came time to get a dog, adoption would be the first option. I fully believe in adopting pets, but on this day, I was not looking to bring home a dog friend so there was no planning this experience...and, in this moment, I couldn't find Practical Cheryl anywhere anyway.

We spent a lot of time playing with this little puppy and then I  remember Zeb sitting in the play area holding her with the biggest smile on his face and begging me with his eyes to bring her home.

Bring her home we did not. No Sir!

We went home that day...

 and then went back the next day to get her.

There we are. The day we became a family. Me, Zeb and Peanut.

From that moment on, I have been a total dachshund person. I own several dachshund home decor items and often shop online for anything dachshund....jewelry, art, etc. I would have more Dachshund goodies to show for it, if I weren't so afraid of overdoing it and really geeking out and turning our house into a Dachshund Decor Heaven.

I have also had to stop myself several times from stopping my car and jumping out to pet other dachshunds I see walking around the city. I feel there is a connection among dachshund lovers. This small group of the population lucky enough to spend time with this little clown dog who is the silliest, most serious, smartest, most animated companion.

A Scrapbooker

I was talking about my scrapbooking in an embarrassed way recently...talking about how I like it but how I feel nerdy about it and don't really want to scream from the rooftops that I am a scrapbooker and after all this, the response was:

"Life is too short"

And it's true. Life is too short to be embarrassed, especially about something I actually enjoy doing. So listen up everyone, I am a scrapbooker!!

I made a couple pages from our ski trip to Colorado.

The first one is about a Pineapple Upside Down cake.

Every year on Zeb's Birthday, he asks for tacos and Pineapple Upside Down cake (something his mom always makes for him). Now, I don't know why it took me so long to make the following discovery, but I didn't realize until we were about 2 hours away from Leadville that I should make a Pineapple Upside Down cake that evening for Zeb's Birthday. Since all we really did on his Birthday was drive for hours. and hours.

So we went to the grocery store upon arriving in town and I got the ingredients. I was so nervous that the cake wouldn't turn out right because:

1. I had never made one all by myself before.

2. I don't know how to bake in the altitude.

However, the cake turned out great. I hear it was delicious (I was on a special diet at this point) and I can attest to its beauty.

Now for the big reveal.

A page about a cake.

Brrrr already?

This morning I woke up and it wasn't even 60 degrees yet. It was cold. Brrr....

Mind you, I am more sensitive than most concerning the cold, and spend most of the winter wearing my winter coat, sleeping in stocking caps, sporting purple lips, etc, so though this may sound like a stretch for some of you, but this morning I was reminded of winter. It was a good memory though. Last winter we had the pleasure of being invited to my friend Brian's (husband to Kate) family cabin in Leadville, Colorado.

I was quite apprehensive when discussion of this trip started because I absolutely hate hate hate riding in cars for long distances. I can handle road trips where the idea is to stop and explore every few hours, but when the destination is over 6 hours (actually 4 hours) away, I would opt to fly. I did consider it in this circumstance as well, but thought it might be an inconvenience to my fellow travelers if they had to concern themselves with picking me up at the airport at a certain time.

So in the car we went. We left KC on the morning of February 4th quite early...I'll say 6am. Good morning!....and then drove ALL DAY LONG. 12 hours later we made it to Leadville. We stopped for dinner, went to the grocery store and headed to the cabin.

The beauty at the cabin made the whole day of driving worth it. It was a beautiful, snow covered landscape. The picture above was taken the next morning....don't get confused, We left KC and it was dark and arrived in Leadville and it was dark.

The next day was day 1 of skiing. Zeb, Kate and I opted for lessons and the other 3 took to the slopes. After lessons we hung out on the bunny slope for awhile until a blizzard came through. I learned then, that skiing without proper eye wear and face covering is no fun and the 3 of us retreated into the lodge to wait for the others. They joined us with stories of snow blindness and spills as they attempted to make their way down the mountain during the blizzard. Their experience sounded treacherous and fun but nothing this newbie wanted any part of.

Day 2 and the 6 of us got to ski the slopes together. It was freezing on this day. I think the temperature was 5 degrees, (which we only realized after getting in the van at the end of the day) but add altitude and speed and it had to have been much colder than that. I'll say it was -20 degrees and accurate or not, it sure did feel like it.

So, day 2: -20 degrees.

I was a bit miserable at times (most of the time) and I had to emergency ski to the lodge a couple of times because I was convinced that once I took my gloves off, all I would have were dead, blackened hands. Surprisingly, this was not the case, my hands were not frost bitten, just cold....and hot chocolate seemed to make everything better.

 A picture of Zeb, me and Amber on a lift. We were smiling, I promise.

This was Zeb's first time skiing (I had past experience skiing in Colorado in 6th grade) and he was a trooper. (side note: I do believe during dinner after our 2nd day of skiing he was awarded the 'Spirit Award"). After falling as many times as he did, I surely thought he would throw in the towel at some point and belly up to the bar in the lodge and just drink the day away. However, he stuck with it all day long, and as I was in the lodge waiting for everyone to finish their last run (I threw in the towel before Zeb did, even) he skied down that mountain like a pro. Perhaps the absence of my yelling 'Pizza Slice!!!!!' as he whizzed past me on the slopes or other's constant (and caring) advice every time he fell helped him to find his ski legs.

Let's try this again.

My blog went stagnant. I know this. The problem the first time around was my focus of the blog. How can I make a blog about exercise and eating right when I do waaaay more than that with my life?....and I don't always exercise and eat right anyway. It became a difficult task to write about: working out and eating right or trying to relate all things to working out and eating right. Boring too.

When this blog came to a screeching halt, I was also becoming more involved in something I wasn't sure I was ready to share with lots of people. I was starting to train for a figure competition. I will describe this competition as women on stage in sparkly bikinis flexing their muscles and getting judged. This was so out of my comfort zone of living a mostly no make up, low maintenance, jeans and T shirt kind of life that to share my new goal felt very uncomfortable. I also didn't know if I could do it.

Look, me in a T-shirt (with my pooch, Peanut).

Me again! This time I'm in the sparkly bikini.

However, I did do it (see above), after sacrificing a lot of things....like my family, my social life, my happiness...the list goes on! I did it. Done. I did get to look pretty ripped after all that hard work and I chiseled myself a nice pair of abs as well. I also won a couple of trophies too. It was hard hard work though... and probably something I won't do a second time. During those 6 months, I spent a lot of time lifting weights and doing cardio and when I wasn't lifting weights or doing cardio, I was thinking about lifting weights and doing cardio. I was also spending my time cooking chicken and eating chicken, and eating eggs and timing my meals, etc.

Now that that chapter in my life is over, I can start blogging again.....and this time it'll be a bigger and better blog than before! Bigger? I don't know, but better, at least, because I am more than just a personal trainer, I am a pretty crafty girl too and I like to garden, and I like to travel and this blog will be all of those things. This time, it won't be boring.

So What?

So who cares that I went to a continuing education class? What does this have to do with all the non trainers out there? Let me tell you...

First off, if you are a rep counter, try watching the clock once in awhile and lift according to time. Build up every set. Start with a 30 second set, then 45 seconds and then a minute. In other words, mix it up! Count reps one day and time sets the next.

Two, work harder. People don't like to work hard because it's uncomfortable, but you should do it anyway. Push yourself. You should be breathing hard, talking should be difficult. This is more attainable when there is an end in sight, this is when timed sets are useful. However, keep in mind that this intense level of exercise should happen only about 2 days a week.

Also, try those compound exercises I was talking about. If you're squatting, add an overhead press at the top. Just push your arms overhead without weight to get started doing compound exercises and overtime you can add weight. The possibilities here are endless.

Remember: Always work to the last point of success, not the first point of failure.

If you need to take baby steps to maintain 45 minutes of an intense weight lifting workout, then take baby steps. There is no reason to start off at a higher level than you are able and walk away feeling defeated, never to return again.

Lisa Garrity's Max Burn FX || Review

This weekend I attended Lisa Garrity's Max Burn FX sponsored by Excel Wellness Studio.

This was a 4 hour course geared toward helping clients to get the most out of their exercise session so that they get the most after their session.

She encouraged us to get our clients into the anaerobic zone which is a higher working zone than the cardio zone. This anaerobic zone can only be maintained for about 30-90 seconds, but getting there helps to increase calorie burn during the session and after as well.

Read: elevated calorie burn for up to 10 hours after your workout!

We, of course, did the workout and it was a challenge. She does most things on time instead of reps. So instead of counting reps we did exercises for 30 or 60 seconds, and we didn't just do simple exercises, she was big on compound movements. No standing and doing biceps curls, she added a lower body movement to everything. Step ups with an overhead press, plie squats with biceps curls, squats with rotation, etc...this class was full of movement.

She was high energy, she moved fast, she talked faster and she kept us engaged the entire time. I could not write half the information down that she was saying, but I tried!

I'm so happy I took the class. First, i learned a lot, but also, revisiting education and thinking about new exercises and new workout techniques gets me re-energized for work. I do have to fulfill certain requirements for my certifications, but my goal is to go above and beyond the requirements because I love what I get out of it.

Be sure to take one of Lisa Garrity's courses if you get a chance and check out the other opportunities that Excel offers.

Let's visualize

I recently shared some information with a client, and now I want to share it with you.

It's the power of visualizing.

I am not trying to get all new age here, but rather I am giving you a tool to reach your goals.

Her dilemma was fear about going to a baby shower over the weekend and knowing there would be sweets there...sweets she did not want to eat. I told her to visualize saying 'No thank you' when being offered a treat. That way, she would have a better chance of sticking to her goal.

image from www.weheartit.com

I use this visualizing trick all the time for myself. Mostly, when I am thinking of tomorrow's workout, I imagine myself doing it. If tomorrow I need to do cardio, then I make a plan (say, walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes) and I imagine myself doing it. Same thing, if I need to lift weights, I'll visualize myself going through the routine.

This can work for slimming down or toning up as well. Do you want 6 pack abs....imagine yourself with 6 pack abs....Although keep in mind that goals like this need to be accompanied with visualizing yourself going to the gym and also not eating pizza.

image from www.weheartit.com