Couples working out together/encouraging females to hit the weights

In all the years I have been working out, I have always had many friends ask me what can they do to improve their physique. Majority of them would be my female friends and before I could say anything they would say they didn't want to lift weights because they don't want to bulky. To this day a lot of women still believe that if they pick up a dumbell they are going to get huge, muscular and end up looking like a man. This is not the case ladies, you would have to be on a shit ton of testosterone in order to get that big and still if that were true there would be a many dudes that would be that big as well. I've been lifting weights for over 4 years now and I am not anywhere near the size of those huge bodybuilders, in fact its been quite the opposite.

This same situation came up with my girlfriend when she asked me to train her. She avoided weights mainly because of intimidation but also since she also believed she was going to get bulky and look like a man. It took me a while to convince her but i managed to teach and show her the best compound exercises to help her lose/burn body fat. Those being the Barbell squat and Barbell deadlift. I trained her using the Starting Strength program which I had a lot of success using as well. She has continued to lift weights to this day and really enjoys it. The point of this post is to say that couples should workout together, encourage each other and help each other reach their goals. By doing that you can help each other stay motivated and women if you don't give weights a chance, you really don't know what you are missing. Especially if your current workout is not getting you to where you want to be. Don't be afraid to put on some muscle.

Frank Medrano and Antoniette Pacheco are prime examples of a couple that workout together and motivate each other to strive to be a better version of themselves and to reach their potential that they know is within them.Watching them workout together motivates me and i hope it does for others as well. I have attached two of their vids to this post as motivation. My point of this post is to encourage women to give weights and other things a chance rather than staying on the treadmill (or just doing cardio) and running no where. (Not to say running/treadmill doesn't help but their are other things that can get you results as well, even faster, you just have to be willing to try them)

 

Update: 4/11/13

Its been a little while since I wrote on here....ok  a looooooooooooong while but  I've been quite busy as of lately and there are lots of things to update about as well as many things i have to write yet haven't made the time to. hmm where to start..

Weeks back I joined the BSN Summer shred on Bodybuilding.com to give me more motivation for my cut. I am 7 weeks out from finishing the challenge. I weighed in at a new low this past Wed @ 170.8lbs. Currently doing a write up about each weeks successes and failures for the contest, which i will post on here when I am done with the challenge. I am striving to win the challenge but won't be disappointed if I don't win, It would be nice to at least place and the fact that I know I have further evolved and in a better place than when i started.

I am still doing a modified Paleo diet with about 1-2 cheat meals a week and cheat items on occasion. A few weeks back I added Intermittent Fasting in conjunction to Paleo. To break this down simply, it means that I fast for 16hrs and then consume all of my calories within an 8 hour period. For example my last meal will be finished by 10pm and the following day I won't consume any calories till 2pm or after. I am currently on my third week of this combination and its working well, my gut is shrinking a lot. I tend to hold a lot of fat in my abdominal region like a lot of people do and there is no way to spot treat fat so I am using Paleo and IF to lower my overall body weight so that my abs will start to show again.

I am no longer blenderless!  I bought a Ninja Blender recently because I missed making shakes and the fact that it was only$98 bucks at costco, hella good deal yo!

I feel great but I have been feeling a little impatient because I have high expectations for myself and I wanted to see much more definition that I currently see.  A good friend of mine told me that it really hasn't been that long since i started my fitness journey again and that I need to be impatient. She told me that I have made some amazing changes already and that soon more will come.

My workouts have been great, Still hitting PR's like crazy!!! currently doing a deload week then its back to the heavy weights. Yoga has been awesome, I actually feel like I am doing a lot better and my instructor told me a lot of my poses are looking better. Fact of the matter is last yoga class, I didn't completely feel like I was dying. My other main focus has been on stretching and mobility, definitely trying to stay injury free and feel better after workouts.

Supplements: I am currently on Protein powder (not every day), Creatine (5g), Xtend (intra workout supp), Fish oil (liquid), multivitamin and ZMA's.

On To New Things: Yoga

Just wanted to run through a quick update. This past Tuesday, I decided to try something new: YOGA!

I have always been all talk about taking a Yoga class, now that I have the time and energy I thought I would give it a try. Many people have told me the overall benefits of doing yoga and more specifically to help in my weight training. A friend of mine is a Yoga instructor and she let me crash her class for free so I couldn't say no. I am always ready to try or learn something new related to Health and Fitness.  I drove to Ballys in SSF and took a 55 min class. Boy was I in for a surprise, I didn't realize that yoga would make me sweat and be as intense as it was. It started off as some simple stretching and got into more intense poses and balancing, as it got more intense I started sweating, not just a little bit but my forehead was drippin. Wow what a workout! I really liked the cool off period at the end, being able to do some personal stretching and lying there on my back escape the harshness . My thoughts were, dang this stuff is pretty hard, its new to me as I said and I really did like the session. The Yoga helped to warm my body up and open up my range of movement, I felt refreshed and relaxed after the session. I was also a bit sore and tired but I am used to that. It was definitely a challenge and I plan on taking her class once a week starting March. My goals for taking Yoga is to improve my gym sessions by increasing my flexibility and strengthening my core. I will update on how Yoga is going maybe once a month or so. Also I found a favorite pose, the only reason its my favorite is I squat ATG!! haha  I have posted it below! Thanks Jess for the opportunity! :)

Garland Pose

The Strongest Man You have Never Heard of: CT Flecther

I draw a lot of motivation from many of the youtube vids and as well as photos that i find online. Anyone that knows me well, knows that I browse YouTube on a daily basis to view Bodybuilding/fitness Youtubers videos. Everyone needs motivation and there is nothing better than seeing other people work hard and push themselves past their limits to attain their goals. I don't know about you but that gets me pumped! Over the weekend, as usual I was watching some vids on Youtube and found a video that Arash from Strength Project had uploaded. It was a biography of the Strongest Man you have never heard of. Naturally this caught my attention and I had to watch it. CT Flecher is a powerlifter that has been lifting weights all of his life. He was one big guy that believed you had to be big in order to lift heavy. He didn't care about his nutrition and would eat anything he wanted,this took a turn for the worse and he had to have open heart surgery and changing his life forever. He is motivating because he believes in putting your time in the gym and driving towards your passion. He is now motivating other people to go past their limits and attain great goals! Enjoy the video and stay motivated! I will be posting anything and everything Motivational in this section!

 

The Strongest Man You Have Never Heard of by Arash-Strength Project- http://www.youtube.com/user/strengthproject

Update 2/7/13 :Latest Workout Split + Paleo Update

Lately its been hard to find time and motivation to write, I want to but I am usually either at the gym or at work. I hope to find some time this weekend to write but there is no guarantee. However I will try my best! I need to upload a lot of pictures for my posts as well, which is keeping some of my posts from being posted!

A quick update: Some of you may know I went Paleo last month Jan 6th.  The girlfriend and I have successful completed the 30 day trial of the Paleo Diet! YAY! :D. Even before the 30 days were up, we decided that we will be doing a modified version of the Paleo Diet. I will have another post on the Paleo Diet as well as some recipe/food posts coming up soon! Also I have been juicing for about 5 weeks now an I am addicted! Look out for a future post on juicing!

Results: The Paleo diet isn't about weight loss but about becoming overall healthy and helping you become as physically fit as possible. I did however lose 11lbs from the diet alone. Ive noticed that I have a lot more energy and I am more focused as well as alert. My body has seen rapid changes as well, my cut lines back in my chest, arms and legs and the belly is shrinking rapidly. Can you say HEEEEEEEEEEELLLLO abs soon? ;)

I started my new workout at the same time I started doing the Paleo diet with 3 days a week but now have increased it to about 4 days in the gym. I am currently doing a PUSH/PULL/LEGS split and loving it. This allows me to workout every muscle in my body in a week and working out my legs twice a week now. Here is my current Split:

 

Leg Day (Light):
Back Squats	5 X 10
RDL	3 X 8
Sissy Squats	3 X Bodyweight till failure
Lying Leg Curls	3 X 8
Leg Extensions	3 X 8
Calf Raises on Leg Press	3-4 X 20
Cable Hip Aductors	3-4 X 8

 
 

Push Day:
Barbell Bench Press	3-4 X 8 and 3 X 5 heavier weight
Incline Barbell Bench Press	3 X 8
Arnold Press	3 X 8
Tricep Kickbacks (dumbells)	3 X 10
Upright row (45lb Plate)	3 X 8
Lateral Raises	3 X 10
Overhead Cable Tricep Extensions	3 X 8
One Arm Cable Trice Exentsions	3 X 10
Chest Flys (Pec Deck)	3 X 12

  

Pull Day:
Pendlay Rows	3 X 8
Barbell Bicep Curls	3 X 8
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns	3 X 8
Reverse Barbell Curls	3 X 8
Close Grip Lat Pulldowns	3 X 8
One Arm Lat Pulldowns	2-3 X 10
Spider Curls	3 X 8
Face Pulls (standing or Seated or both)	3 X 8
Bro Curls	3 X 10

 

Leg Day (Heavy):
Back Squats	3 X 5
RDL	3 X 5
Sissy Squats	3 X bodyweight till failure
Lying Leg Curls	3 X 5
Leg Extensions	3 X 5
Standing Calf Raises	3-4 X 20
Cable Hip Adductors	3 X 8

 

Abs and Miscellaneous :
Ab Wheel	3 X 10
Hanging Leg Raises	3 X 10
Weighted Hanging Leg Raises	10lb dumbell, 3 X 10

 

Cardo:
Treadmill	400-500
HITT	20-30min (40sec on, 20sec off)

 It took me a few weeks to tweak the workout to my liking by adding in new exercises as well as keeping ones that have given me gains! Abs I do time to time on leg days, usually once or twice a week. Cardio....anyone that knows me well knows that i hate Cardio with a passion. I do know the importance in doing cardio for cutting body fat%, I have yet to start it but hope to start this week. HIIT is my favorite form of cardio also know as High Intensity Interval Training, which i will explain more of in another post. Time to wrap things up and say get out there and get your workout in!

Update 1/28/13

Many things have happened since I last wrote in this blog, I feel now is the time to come back and continue to evolve it. I plan to write more frequently, hoping to post at least a few times a month on various things. The main reason I started this blog was to write about my fitness experiences, nutrition, food,  routines and where to get good FREE sources of fitness info. All I want to do is help people that don't know what to do in regards to fitness and health. I don't want people to make the same mistakes I did when i first got in weight lifting and managing my food. So this post is meant to be short, I just want to list a bunch of things that went down in 2012 that are worth mentioning as well as the failures. In no particular order:


Went to Seattle for the first time-Love Pikes!

Graduated From College

Was the heaviest I have ever weighed at a whopping 191lbs (Not a healthy 191 either)

Lost motivation to workout and regained motivation

Tried the Texas Method

Ate what ever the Fuck I wanted (Hodgetwins reference, If you don't know them)

Dirty Bulked for the second time and realized it wont be for me

Got some new items for my Garage gym: Power Tower, 2 kettle bells (20lb and 50lb), interval timer

Started the Paleo Diet on January 6th with my girlfriend

Created a new workout split that feels really good and I am already seeing some gains already

Last but not least, I always vow to take even better care of my gf cuz I love her so much!



Goals:

- Continue Paleo and get shredded
-  Start doing TRX, Yoga, Kickboxing and many more new activites
-  Learn more about Nutrition and bodybuilding
 

Sorry this is so random and unorganized but I have been lacking writing motivation so I need to get back at it!

This is the best description of me you will ever find and will be my motto forever! Get it done!