Back problems

Well I did it! After a few years of being injury free, I hurt my back and dislocated a few ribs. Well technically re-injured. When I was in college, we were required to take physical education classes like archery, racquetball, weightlifting, etc. I took one semester of racquetball and one semester of judo. I was the professor or sensei’s first female student. Again my military college was primarily boys, and for 18 years, no female had ever taken his judo class. I loved the class! However, because all the guys were bigger than me in regards to weight, I had to fight people 15-20 lbs heavier than me. Well one of the moves went wrong and the guy landed on me, hard. Four dislocated ribs and a fractured rib. I was out for a few weeks.
         When you dislocate a rib, a chiropractor is able to reset them into place. It feels like a heart attack when a rib is out from the pressure. What I didn’t know, until last week was that once you dislocate your ribs, it very easily will happen again. Well it did. I had been doing a few new ab workouts that WOW, were showing amazing progress and burned so bad! I was upping my reps from two sets of 25 to three sets of 25. The problem, according to my doctor, was that I was contracting my muscles in the front (chest, abs, etc) and expanding my muscles on my back allowing for slight tears in my muscle tissue. Because I wasn’t strengthening my back, my ribs popped out of place. This happened early last week. My orthopedic/ chiropractor is the also the doctor for the St. Louis Blues hockey team. He’s a busy guy and I got an appointment on Friday. He put my back and my ribs into place. My headache went away immediately from my spine being out of alignment. E-stem and heat, I was sore but felt better. He gave me a few instructions like 2 back work outs for every ab or chest work out, and rest.
         Well I went to work Friday night, tried to pick up a heavy tray and my back pretty much said “nope.” So I took it easy Friday and Saturday night at work. Sunday, I decided to go to the gym for a light workout. My back is still achy but I wanted to see my personal trainer for a few tips and workout ideas. I did a lot of pilates, stretches, and stationary workouts. I made sure to do back exercises to strengthen those muscles. Back workouts are SO BORING. So for the next few weeks, I have to take things easy and be conscious of my posture, my back, and my muscle tension… Oh boy.

Let's talk about weight

Weight is a touchy subject. Understandably. I get almost daily updates on my facebook newsfeed about someone's weight loss (new diet/gym routine) or weight gain (expecting a baby). Exciting news that people want to document! It's never really been about numbers for me. I know people have an ideal weight- I tend to have an ideal range. I know if I look in the mirror and I am unhappy- that I need to do something about that. I also know that if I look in the mirror and I am happy, I should probably keep doing whatever I am doing, because it's working. That's where I usually taper off. My mom was never a "diet" person. She always worked out. She also encouraged us to work out and play sports year round. We were always active. We also had portion control and rarely soda in the house, etc. We ate at home most of the time, which would probably explain why I love fast food so much. The minute I got my drivers license, I would hit up every fast food chain on my way home. I was broke but it was great. I digress. We also never had scales in our house. I would probably only know my weight if I was at the doctors or at a friends where I saw a scale and curiously stood on it. I have never 'struggled' with my weight. I have struggled to keep muscle mass, tone, etc. I didn't really focus on weight, muscle, and health until college.

At a military college, we get evaluated for height and weight standards. Once a semester, I would have my height, weight, BMI, water weight, bone density mass, etc. measured. If you are over or underweight they put you on a health plan. You also have a physical fitness test once a semester as well which consists of pushups, situps, and a 2 mile run. You have to reach a certain number of pushups or situps in 2 minutes, the 2 mile had to be completed in 16-17 minutes. Needless to say, I was in the best shape of my life. My roommate was a health,education, sports science major who played D1 volleyball. She was basically my personal trainer. I normally weighed in around 122-125 lbs. Except for my knob year. Knob year, we really don't eat as much and the calories that we are taking in do not equal the amount that we are burning. I had a lot of proteins bars hidden during that first year. I dropped down to 106 lbs. I was literally bones and biceps. Once the upperclassmen realized I was ridiculously skinny and sick all the time, they began force feeding me. Typical guys, I had to eat a lot of eggs and ice cream sandwiches. The Citadel taught me amazing things about portion control, not needing so much food, and only eating until I barely got full. Enough to last me until the next meal. I never had soda, barely drank- (drinking calories is dumb), and I consistently trained. Being a SGT and later a commander, I did quite a bit of pushups each day with my subordinates. (Reps were 20 each time) On top of that, hitting the gym with my roommate KJ, where she would pull up Ipad workouts and smoke me. It was great! After graduating undergrad, I did something stupid. I stopped working out. I lost all that muscle mass and went down to 114 lbs for almost two years. I loved being so skinny and eating anything I wanted. I hate that I was easily sick, bruised like a peach, had no energy, and had zero strength. If I looked in the mirror and didn't like my abs. I would knock out 50 situps for a week until my six pack was back and continue on until the next time I didn't like my abs. It was/ is a vicious cycle. Now, I do daily or every other day stationary at my apartment. Situps, pushups, planks, flutterkicks, etc. Also whatever I find on pinterest that really interests me. I run but not as much. I really hate running. I walk the mile to and from campus and try to walk as much as possible. I hit the gym on the weekends doing an hour or hour and a half of cardio, weights, stationary. This morning was rowing, running, stairmaster, stationary, pullups, and weights. I also have the fitbit charge that I monitor for my daily distance, calories burned, heart beat, etc. However, I am still not happy with my body. I want to be back to my senior year of college fitness.

I weigh 128 as of this morning. So for Lent, I am going to do something I did for two years in college. I am going vegetarian twice a week. I would eat strictly veggies for the whole day. I had so much energy and felt great. I want to keep up with my workouts but I want to push the envelope and get over that hump. Since it is Lent for us crazy Catholics, I thought it would be the perfect time to kickstart this. We are supposed to abstain from meat on Fridays, so I will probably incorporate Tuesdays as well. You can't get anywhere by complaining about it. So I am doing something about it. I love my body but I know I can do better, starting today.

Check out my Pinterest for work out ideas!! 

Losing a few lbs..

I am fully supportive of self acceptance but here are few of my helpful tips for a losing a few pounds. I do not and have never participated in fad diets, although juicing has done wonders for my dad. I believe in portion control, clean eating, and an active lifestyle. I am definitely not perfect, I have a secret love affair with fast food. But thanks to the Citadel, I am great about portion control and having an active lifestyle. When I feel a little unhappy with my body, I hit the gym and do these few steps:

1. Working Out
Whether running, walking, interval training, etc. Getting 45 minutes of physical activity a day is important for your mind, soul, and body. If I want to lose a few pounds, I focus on lightweight weights and not bulking up. Running, rowing, and stairmasters are your best friend.

2. Go vegetarian.
When I want to lose weight this is my 'go to'. I will go vegetarian two or three times a week. This does not mean vegan or starving myself. I just eat small meals of vegetables for lunch, snack, and dinner. I might mix in a starch. I try not to use any spices, dressings, dips, etc. You're just adding calories and undermining the purpose of the meal plan.

3. Cut out alcohol.
People who drink their calories amaze me. Try and find a drink that is low in calories like a gin and tonic. Not a cocktail with a plethora of alcohol and mixers. And limit your drinks to two a week if you can't cut it out completely. I rarely drink but if I am feeling bloated or retaining extra water, I sure as hell will not be drinking to retain more.

4. Take the stairs
Do not take the elevator unless you are in a sky rise. There is nothing wrong with walking a few flights of stairs and if you're feeling wild, take two at a time.

5. Cut out desserts
I don't believe that each meal requires dessert. There is nothing wrong with skipping desserts and only having them on rare occasion.

6. Do not choose anything 'diet'
You are just drinking or eating more chemicals and it's not healthy for your liver and kidneys. And eating 'diet' foods do not help you lose weight.

Hope these helped

XOXO

I run... because I really like food. (What I wear to the gym)

I will be the first to admit. I hate working out. Like...HATE IT!! I despise running or anything that makes me want to hurl. But lets be honest, ya gotta work out. I went to a military college for 4 years, we had a PFT (physical fitness test) each semester and if we didn't pass, we didn't leave campus. Thus working out, running, pushups, situps, etc. was a must. Because this girl wanted to leave campus on the weekends. My senior year, I was in the best shape of my life, thanks to my roommate who was a beast in gym and kept me up to date on my workout regime as well. After graduation in 2012, I completely stopped working out. I mean, goodbye gym, see ya later running shoes, bye! I did situps periodically to keep up my abs, but other than that, nothing. I lost a ton of weight going down to 110 lb. you could see my ribs etc. I wasn't starving myself by any means but I lost all my muscle. I started getting sick all the time and sleepy. I had no energy. Then after a year and a half, I started working out again. At first it was a half mile run, then a mile. Then it was the gym. Then it was rowing. And eight months later, it is five days a week of cardio, weights, etc. I like to do hand stands just because I can. I don't like doing the same thing every day, so I mix it up with different machines and different workouts. I am up to 120 lbs and I finally feel great. I don't hate my body. I eat relatively well. I'm happy and healthy. Below I am going to share some things I like to do at the gym and what I wear to keep me motivated, my philosophy being, if I am wearing happy work out clothes, I am more inclined to go to the gym.

 So like I said, I like to wear happy things to the gym. So that day, I was wearing Nike workout pants, Columbia running shoes, a Champion yellow sports bra, and a loose white tank from Forever 21. Because my hair is getting long, I like to keep it out of my face in a ponytail. That day, I did a French braid down half of it, and then had a headband as well. I normally get my work out clothes from TJ Maxx or Marshalls- owned by the same company. Its cheap and good material.

Check out my Pinterest for some of my favorite work out regiments: http://www.pinterest.com/riegerixr1/workin-on-my-fitness/

Right now, my main routine at the gym (I go to the YMCA) is: 1/2 to 1 mile warm up on the track, 1 mile on the stair master- climbing every other step (Extra work on the butt) or I do 20 minutes on the rowing machine, I do the whole circuit of weights, 2-3 pulls with no assistance, 5-6 with assistance, squats with weights, pushups, situps, and a warm down run.. stretch and then I reward myself with COFFEE!!!