Awakening the Beast: June 2014

Monday, June 30, 2014

Your Brain on Coffee- the good and bad!

Hi my fit friends!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I know I did, it was spent with my boyfriends awesome mom, and the weather in SF was incredible! Anyways, I wanted to touch today on our brains on coffee. I love me a cup of coffee, there is good and bad, so here is both!

adenosine binds with an adenosine receptor, and this makes you feel DROWSY
When you drink your cup of coffee, caffeine comes in and the receptor BINDS with the CAFFEINE instead of adenosine.
5 minutes later..... BOOM more ENERGY!!!

THE GOOD: :)

Caffeine's effect kick is only after 5 minutes, which gives you more energy and a stronger ability to focus!

THE BAD: :(

drinking even small amounts of coffee will result in a TOLERANCE and your body will need more to get the same stimulation

BEST TIME TO DRINK:

Coffee is good if you've already got an idea and you just need to focus on the busy work!

COFFEE IS GOOD FOR EXECUTING IDEAS!!!

Drink up my friends, but remember EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!

Until next time,

Pistols..Out! xoxo

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Coconuts battle the bulge

Happy Thursday everyone!

I hope that your day is off to a great start! Today I'm going to touch on coconuts and how they help to battle that bulge! I know we are all always looking for anything to help with that, and coconuts are a great way to do this. They are also natural, and I'm sure you can find some organic ones close by! :)

I know you are wondering how do coconuts help me in my fight against fat. Well here is how. Most islanders have coconuts readily available. On the island of Sri Lankan, just off the coast of India they eat an average of 116 coconuts a year! That's a lot of coconuts, and these tropical paradise residents are half as likely as Americans to get pudgy. How does this help you, I know you are still wondering.

Well the reason behind this is that coconut oil is packed with medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA's) that help the liver to burn body fat 50% FASTER THAN NORMAL (that's pretty fast). When women eat two tablespoons of coconut oil, six ounces of fresh coconut meat, or ten onces of coconut milk daily, they can effortlessly shed up to three pounds every month!!! This just might be what your diet is missing. Just remember, like everything you eat, make sure you consume in moderation. Anything in excess will cause you to gain, tracking your food is a great way to stay on top of what you are consuming and to see where your calories are coming from. An ideal ratio for losing weight is 30 grams fat/ 30grams protein/ 40grams carb.

You see most people believe that fat, makes you fat. This is false, what makes you fat is over-eating, consuming too many calories for your needs, not enough veggies or fiber, too much sugar, and too many processed foods.

Your body actually needs fat to survive, to give you energy, and to function properly. Without it, or depriving yourself of natural fats, can actually cause weight gain. You also need fats to build healthy cells, build your brain, help your body use vitamins, make hormones, provides healthier skin, and give your organs some cushion. If you want to learn more on why this is please click on the following link.

I hope that this was helpful, and you start adding some coconut into your diet! I usually use coconut oil to cook with, make sure you pair it right, I usually cook shrimp or oatmeal pancakes with it!

Pistols...Out!
xoxo

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

June 26th- Chest and triceps, of course with some cardio

Hi everyone,

Hope you all are having an awesome day and you were able to sneak in a workout! I know I have been super busy, and super tired. I am getting enough sleep, I just think I need some good quality R&R, and some quiet, me time.

I just received a request to post about the nutrition aspect of reaching those goals, I will be touching on the topic of coconuts and coconut oil tomorrow, so stay tuned for that! Other than that today I was able to get some chest and tricep work in, along with some sprints. Here it is folks, enjoy!

Chest and Tricep:

Superset: 3x17
Cable standing chest fly
Bench, bent over dumbbell single arm kick back
Knee drive, knee drive, into wide tuck jump

Superset: with this super set I had no break in-between the first 3 exercise listed. It was one continuous superset. Try to pick a weight that challenging but do-able. An example would be that I usually chest press 20-25 pounds and I used 15 pound dumbbells for this particular set.
3x15
Chest press

Keeping dumbbells in the eccentric position (lengthening phase or upward motion) pick on side and do chest presses on one side and then switch to the other

Palms then face in when completed with the above exercise, brining weights together, you will then drop both weights to your chest, keeping your elbows as close to your body as possible, then push the weights back up

Directly after this, 3x10 high plank jumping jacks w/ tuck jump

Cardio:
Sprits at various levels and speeds for 1.25 miles

Remember, have fun with your workouts! You are doing this to make yourself feel better, you are doing this to create healthy life time habits, not temporary ones. Love it, live it, do it!

Pistols...Out!
xo

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

June 23 Awesome Leg and booty workout, Cardio too!!! :)

Hello fit squad!

I just wanted to give you guys a couple updates on my workouts! Yesterday I did an awesome leg workout! I'm nice a soar and my booty feels a little bigger, in the best way possible lol! Alright here you guys go enjoy!

With this workout, please remember to try and go as heavy as you possibly can!

June 23rd:

Warm-up:
Leg swings:

10 forward to back
10 side to side

Barbell squats with no weight 10

Workout:

Barbell Squats 5x10

Superset: 5x10

Alternating lunges

Single leg hamstring bridges

Alternating step ups with knee drive

Barbell alternating lunges

Barbell good mornings

Cardio: 15 minute stair master, level 8

June 24th:

Cardio:

15 minute stair master- level 8

Sprint intervals:

3:00- walk incline 4%

30 second sprints

30 second walk

30 second sprint

1:00 minute walk

30 second - 6% incline- Sprint

30 second walk

30 second Sprint

2:00 minute walk

0% grade- 1:30 minute walk

1:30 minute sprint

2:00 minute walk

1:30 sprint- as fast as possible

Enjoy!! Keep up the hard work team! Remember you are worth it, and you can do anything you put your mind to!

Pistols...Out!

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Move-SF Functional Mobility class- Friday June 20th Workout, and Cardio Workout w/ Abs

Hello everyone!

I know I haven't been posting as much this week. That is because this week, has been the week of classes for me! I posted my workouts for Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday I attended another Barry's bootcamp class with my girl Thea Nolan, and our friend Marc Crosetti, as seen below! This was after class as you can tell my our glowing faces! :)

Thursday, I went to a TRX Rip trainer course where I was able to get my workout in, by learning new movements with the Rip trainer! It was a lot of fun and I was able to learn and enjoy my time with my co-worker Precious Moreno. The class was taught by the creator of the Rip trainer Peter Holman, he was very knowledgeable and you could tell he has a real passion for what he does. It was a great class and I have been using the Rip trainer with all my clients, it is a great tool!

Now let's talk about the class that I took on Friday! I took this class out of a private gym in SF, called Move-SF. This is the private gym that I work out of, it is a great facility, and the people that work their are very friendly and knowledgable. The owner Matt Tripp, is the one who lead the class. Matt is a Stanford graduate and he really knows his stuff, any exercise science questions I have, Matt is my goto guy. I now have time open to take his class on Friday's which I am really excited about. This is the second time that I have taken this class, but it had been a long while.

The class works on functional mobility, while of course strengthening and toning! It consists of three 4 parts a warm-up, total body movements (some kettle bells where used, but mostly body weight), core, and stretch/ cool down to finish it up. After the warm-up, Matt went through the 6 exercises we would be doing, we did these exercises for three rounds. The first and second round lasting 1:00 minute and the last round 30 seconds of whatever you have left to give. The core portion consisted of three different exercises lasting 1:00 minute, and then we ended with a nice stretch.

Matt is FANTASTIC at correcting your movements and making sure that the correct muscles are engaging. He's cueing is excellent and makes the class easy to understand. I really enjoyed my time, and felt like a got in a great workout. I really enjoyed the stretch at the end because I really need to focus on that, and a lot of class do minimal stretching, and it usually is not correct to make sure you are stretching out the correct muscles. I also, really enjoyed the music which is a big thing for me! Overall I would HIGHLY recommend this class to anyone, the more you go, the better you will become at the movements, and most importantly the stronger you will become. Also, the movements that are preformed in the class you use in everyday life, such as reaching for or with objects, stretching, shifting weight rapidly, as well as pulling objects. Also, no matter what level of fitness you are you will be able to rock this class, and it will also rock you!

Before I attended Matt's class this is what I did:

Cardio:

Stair-master: 15 mins, level 7, fat burner

Superset:

Tire sledgehammer hits: 10 pound hammer, 3x15 (on each side)

5 sprints (recovery back) 3x

ABS:

25 toe touches

no rest into-

25 alternating toe touches

no rest into-

20 second uneven v-up hold (right leg)

no rest into-

20 second uneven v-up hold (left leg leg)

no rest into-

20 second uneven v-up hold

no rest into-

20 second low plank hold

no rest into-

20 second high plank hold

no rest into-

20 second low plank hold

no rest into-

5 on each side plank up downs (10 total)

no rest into-

50 butterfly crunches

no rest into-

50 regular crunches

Hope you all are having a great weekend! Make sure you do something active, but also do something fun! YOLO!!!! Talk to you guys next week, and here is a challenge for you, try a class out that you have been wanting to try, or that you have been thinking about for a while! It is a great to mix up your routine, and have fun with it! You never know what you will get out of it!

Pistols...Out!

xoxoxo

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Cardio workouts with abs and a TOTAL BODY butt kicking workout!

Hi all you go getters!

I hope that all of you are having a great week and working hard! This week is going to be a little crazy for me, but super exciting. We are doing an event with Lululemon next week, and I'm going to be able to participate! I will be modeling a work to gym look, I was fitted with some awesome pieces I will share with you all next week.

Other than that, we are doing another event with Barry's bootcamp for work tomorrow, which I am super excited about! I will be taking the class with a couple of friends, which will change the dynamic since I went by myself last time. I also, kind of feel like I get so in the zone it doesn't really matter who is around me, but it is always nice and I always welcome the energy of a good friend, nothing can beat it! :)

I am also going to be getting TRX Rip trainer certified coming this Thursday. I already have my TRX Suspension certification, so I am excited about this one too! I will share the details with you guys later on this week!

Since, I am going to be doing Barry's Bootcamp tomorrow, I have been trying to keep it light so I can go in 100%. I have just been doing cardio and abs so far this week! Below is what I have done, also I put a workout together for you all as a special treat, ENJOY!!!

Monday- Run
Ran 3.3 miles- included

Straight run for 2.2 miles
2 hill sprints
Lyon street steps
Straight run to the bank and then home for 1.1 miles

Tuesday-

Stair master-

Fat burner
level 8
30 minutes

Abs:

In and out crunches 4x25 ( in and out)
W's 4x15
Bicycle crunches 4x20 on each side
Self hang knee raises 4x12

Special Tuesday Workout:

50 on each leg mountain climbers:

8-12 Plyo push-ups

100 Jumping Jacks

50 total walking lunges

25 on each side Grass hoppers

15 Squat Jumps

25 light-medium weight standing dumbbell shoulder press

15 tuck jumps

50 light-medium weight bent over dumbbell rows

25 standing bicep curls with step up

30 tricep dips

Have fun and Kick some ass!! Just remember you only have to do that exercise once, so push through and get all of those reps in! I know you can do it, I believe in you, just believe in yourself and don't stop moving.... until it's over of course! :)

Pistols...OUT

xoxoxo

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Barry's Bootcamp SF

Hi all my worker-outers,

I hope that you all are having a great weekend! I know that I had a busy one! I told you guys that I was going to take Barry's Bootcamp this weekend, and I did. I didn't take it with Barry, but I did take it with his right hand man Martin George! There was no way I was waking up on a Sunday to get my ass handed to me at 8:15am, I am human too, so I opted for the 1:15pm class.

Martin is an incredible instructor, taking his classes to the next level and pushing them to their limits, I know I hit mine. Martin made sure to go around and correct form, as well as challenge people by adding a touch for of resistance. We didn't stop, not once, you are moving the whole class, or at times fighting to do so, but some how he keeps you motivated and moving. The music was upbeat and blaring to keep that energy level high (not my favorite list of songs, but still enjoyed it).

It was by far the hardest class that I have taken in a while, I was sweating bullets, and I'm now dead tired. The class is split into two groups in the beginning, a treadmill group, and a floor group. The treadmill group is always running and going up and down in both incline and speed, always trying to hit your max. As for the floor group, the steppers are set up when you enter, you just have to grab two different sets of weights, light and moderate (8's and 10's for me). These are used interchangeably throughout the workout depending on the exercise.

Overall the class was everything I could have hoped for. I signed up for more, so they are definitely doing something right. I can't wait until next weekend, but feel like I might need it in order to recover lol. Here is a picture after the class of Martin and I.

After the workout, they have an awesome protein shake bar! They label all the ingredients, as well as the nutrition information up on the screens behind the bar. The staff is nice, and the shakes are packed with protein. It is perfect for a post-workout meal, I had the PB&J super yummy! It was a great way to end my visit.

That was my fun Sunday adventure! I hope you were able to get something fun and active that you enjoyed in this weekend! Remember always try new things, and push your limits, it will only make you better, stronger, or smarter (if you are lucky all three)! Until next time....

Pistols...Out!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Night out with Thea Nolan, June 12th and 13th workout! Back and Biceps, Circuit training, and cardio!

Hi all,

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a great week and you have some fun things planned for this weekend, I know I do! I was able to attend the grand opening of Barry's Bootcamp in San Francisco last night with my dear friend Thea Nolan! She is absolutely amazing, and I was so honored to be her date. If you have time you should also check out her awesome blog...

http://theanolan.blogspot.com/2014/06/lululemon-palo-alto-my-favorite-finds.html

She also, is into fitness, but also touches on recipes, and fashion! Her blog is amazing, and so is she!!! For all my SF local ladies, she also runs an outdoor all ladies training group that meets in the marina at 10:00am on Saturdays. The class is $20 and there is also an event afterwards, the company is called Infinity.

Anyway, the event was amazing, I am going to be able to attend a Barry's Bootcamp class this weekend instructed by Barry himself! I'm so excited and can't wait to share my experience with you all! Here is a pic from last night, so fun! I met such wonderful people, including Erica Stenz one of there awesome female instructors, she's in the middle in the red dress!

Alright my fitness freaks, here is my workout from the past 2 days!

Thursday June 12th: Back and Bicep

Superset:

Assisted pull ups 4x12

Assisted chin ups 4x12

Mountain climbers 4x50 (on each leg)

Superset:

Dumbbell hammer curl, into a bent over lunge, to row, to stand 5x10 on each side

Cable handle lat rows, with a lunge step back 20-rows x 10 lunges on each side for 5 rounds

Incline medball sit ups with twist 5x10

Friday June 13th: Circuit and Cardio

Superset: 3x45 sec on, 15 sec off

Barbell squat press

Lying chest fly

Split jump, split jump, squat

Physioball high plank pull ins

Supermans

Superset: 4x20

Adduction machine

Abduction machine

Physioball hamstring pull ins

Physioball crunches (Center, left, right) - 20 on each side

Cardio- 15 minutes, fat burner, level 9, Stair master

Have fun all! I will keep you posted on my Barry's bootcamp experience!! I'm so excited!!

Have a great weekend, be safe, have fun, and do something active!

Pistols...Out,

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

June 11th Cardio Day- TABATA Style!

Hi everyone!

Here is my awesome workout from today! It was a lot of fun and the time flew by, before I knew it 8 rounds where over!

For those of you who don't know what Tabata is, let me share a little bit with you. There are 8 exercises, each exercise is performed for 20 seconds and you get 10 seconds of rest between each exercise. You want to get in as many reps as you can each round, and every round after you want to try and increase that number! Once you have completed one round take anywhere from 30sec to 2:30 minutes, you just want to make sure you are recovered before you begin! Here is what I did today;

8 rounds-20 sec on, 10 sec off
Double cable seated lat pull downs
Tuck jumps
Jack Knives
Single arm chest press with step forward and back (each arm for 20 seconds)
Squat with plate twist
Dumbbell high plank row, curl to stand and press
Narrow squat w/ lateral jump

Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Tuesday 6/10- Leg day! Building that booty!

Hi all you beasts!!

Hope you have been killing it at the gym, just like I have! Today was leg day one of my favorite days! Check out what I did!

Superset: 3x20
Barbell Squats
Squat Thrusts

Superset:
GHD- 3x20- if you aren't sure what this is check out this link
24" Box jumps-3x15

Superset:
Front Curtsy Squats w/ Reverse Curtsy squats 3x10 (all 4 lunges=1)
Decline Cork screws 3x12 on each side

Superset:
TRX hip bridge (staying up the whole time)-3x20
Single foot high plank get ups 3x10 on each leg

It was tough, but fun and I made it! Try it out and see how well you can crush it! :) Also don't forget...

Pistols..Out!

xoxo

Monday, June 9, 2014

Monday June 9th- Chest, Triceps, and abs

Hey all,

I was really developing those pecs today! :) I had a lot of fun with this workout, it kicked by butt but I felt good after words! Check it out, also here are a couple diagrams incase you are interested in what muscles you are working out! :)

Superset: 3x20
Flat dumbbell chest press
Barbell skull crushers
30 second sprint
Captains chair (center, right and left)

Superset: 3x15
Seated machine chest press
Assisted tricep dips
Weighted sit to stand sit up w/ hop at the end

Superset: 4x12
Free motion standing scoops
Tricep push up

Enjoy and hope you have as much fun with it as I did! :)

Your shoes just might be your best investment, here is why!

Hi all you gym rats,

I hope that you had a great weekend! I just received my new shoes in the mail, which inspired me to write this post. I want to talk to you about the importance of your shoes!! Our feet carry us all day, and we need to make sure that we take care of them, and treat them well!

Your shoes might be the most important piece of equipment you can own as an active person. Every time you jog or do anything aerobic you are transferring three times your body weight to your bones and tissues of your feet. For the average weekend runner, this amounts to over 100 tons of force applied to your feet for every mile that you run. This is why it is so important that you wear proper footwear.

It is really important is the type of work-out shoe you will need, and it will be dictated by the shape of your feet.What is awesome is that there are a lot of places, and shoe stores that will look at your movement pattern when you walk/run, as well as examine your footprint impressions to see where you place your weight.

After your foot type has been determined, it's time to invest in some awesome new work-out shoes. Now here comes the hard part, are you a jogger or are you purchasing shoes for aerobics? What's the difference? If you are a jogger, you are constantly striding forward with your heel striking first and then rolling toward the toes. Select a shoe that gives you about an extra quarter-inch in the toe box. Make sure that the shoe has enough flexibility at the point where the balls of your feet meet the toes, so that the shoe will bend when you do.

If you're buying shoes for aerobics, remember that in most work-outs your toes strike the ground first and then you press down, using the heel to help absorb the shock. Make sure your aerobics shoe has extra support in the toe box to help relieve the pounding on the delicate toes. The importance of buying the correct footwear cannot be stressed enough. Most jogging and aerobic injuries are preventable, as long as the proper shoes are worn.

I actually prefer Nike Free's, they are light, provided support, and come in awesome colors (which is really important for us ladies :)) Also, a plus my new shoes match my computer case, which I think is awesome! Take a look!

I hope that this is helpful, and remember shoes only last up to 300-500 miles!! Keep a look out for my workouts this week!

Have a great day peeps!!!

Pistols..Out
xo

Friday, June 6, 2014

Thursday 6/5 and Friday 6/6- Cardio Outdoor and Indoor and my playlist!

Hi everyone!

Happy Friday!! Time to enjoy the weekend! Here is my cardio workout from yesterday and today!

Thursday-6/5:
5 rounds of stairs- interchanging

Regular
Left side
Right side
Skip a step
Regular

5 hill sprints-walk down to catch breath
1 minute intervals:
Split lunges
Ice Skaters
Bench step ups (1 minute each side)
Right lunge, Squat, Left lunge Squat
Karaoke's
Lunges with hands over head

Friday-6/6
StairMaster- Fat burner level 9-30 minutes

There you go guys! I hope you enjoy and have fun! Pick your favorite playlist and burn those calories! Something is better than nothing!! Below is the playlist I have been rocking out too, it is always growing or changing! Enjoy peeps!!

Pistols..Out
xo

Getting it

by Ashley Hiben