Biggest Loser backlash, disordered eating, and weird things society thinks are "okay"

This is going to be kind of a rambling, rant post. So apologies in advance.

There has been so much buzz about the Biggest Loser finale (which I haven't watched yet, still sitting on my DVR, but its been spoiled plenty), and now Jezebel has an article up now about Kai from Season 3 and how the show gave her an eating disorder (ED). It is a lot to take in, given that I've been a Biggest Loser watcher for a LONG time, before and after I lost the bulk of my own weight. I don't agree with the show and their methods, I've been pretty vocal about that in the past. But in a lot of ways I feel it can help give people that push of motivation to make small changes in their lives (join a gym, watch their portions, etc). It is not realistic at all to function in "normal" day to day life like they do on the ranch... and I watch the show clinging to that grain of salt. I won't lose 12lbs in a week and most of those contestants aren't truly losing 12lbs a week either. There are dehydration and game tactics at play. It is a reality competition show. They are competing for a prize at the end of a set time frame. A few of the articles I had read today mentioned that the show should reward the "winner" as the person who exemplifies the most knowledge about a healthy lifestyle that has reached a healthy goal weight. I would watch that show. It would make the contestants and process come across as more relatable to the viewer.

It is strange to me the things our society chooses to explode over, like whether or not Rachel went "too far" to win the show. I can certainly think of a laundry list of other topics people should get riled up and noisy about in our society, but Rachel's BMI isn't one of them. As I continue to deal with my own disordered eating issues on a daily basis, I see it when people that I don't know stop me at work and point at my stomach and tell me they can see I'm slimming down. It makes me feel proud that people can see the changes that my disordered eating prevent me from seeing. But it also makes me feel vulnerable, that if people can see the changes going down, will they still make comments if they see me gain it back?

It is a lot to think about and I'll probably be thinking about it and reflecting on it for a while.


I'm going to leave the links for some of the articles I read through this morning for reference.

Jezebel Article on Rachel's Win

Jezebel Article on Kai's Eating Disorder

Huffington Post Article on Reining in Outrage over Rachel's Win

FitSugar Article on Rachel's Win

Strength Training

In addition to taking a "Super Set" class twice a week that focuses on total body strength training, I've been starting to add some body weight and other strength training moves into my weekly routine. I have found that I really love squats. So I do a LOT of them and in different variations throughout the week. I also have added in pull-ups (assisted) and chin ups (assisted) to my routine, thinking of those backless wedding dresses! Today I am going to be working on a total body superset on my own.

Here is my routine for today:

2 sets x 15 reps

SS1: Pull Up/ Push ups / Chin Ups / Push up hold (holding push up position at the bottom with elbows bent)

SS2: Roman Chair: Reverse Fly / Deadlift / Reverse fly w/ deadlift / Reverse fly / Deadlift

SS3: TRX + Knee Hangs: Pistol Squats* 2-2 / 3-1 / 1-1 / 1-Jump / Hold ----  Knee Hangs

*I've never done Pistol Squats before, but I made it a goal for 2014. Starting by doing them assisted using the TRX and the numbers refer to the counts - so 2-2 is 2 counts down into the squat and 2 counts up out of the squat, 3-1 is 3 counts down into the squat and 1 count up, etc. The Knee Hangs I will jump up to the pull up bar and steady my body, then complete my reps of lifting/bending my knees close to my chest.

This workout will work my arms, shoulders, back, hamstrings, glutes, core - all of it! Really excited to see how my first try and pistol squats go.

Tonight I'll head to a class called 20/20, where the split is 20 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of strength work, broken up into different intervals.

Tomorrow, nothing but cardio baby! Hitting the gym for 60 minutes of fasted cardio on the treadmill, rowing machine, and summit climber.

Here's to finishing out the week strong!

Snow Day Workouts

Well our area got hit with a pretty big snowstorm on Tuesday... dropped over a foot of snow on Philadelphia. Definitely not something the city folks are used to dealing with... but we made it through! Work got shut down early on Tuesday and lucky for me all I had to do was walk home - no driving for me.

Since I didn't get to make my usual lunch time and after work trips to the gym I decided to see how hard I could push myself at home. I started with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and did the Level 2 workout. Then I followed that up with my old favorite JCore! Did the Cardio Core 4x4 workout from that set and was extremely sweaty by the end. I was full of adrenaline though and wanted to keep my sweat going, so I threw in Dance Central 3 for Xbox (Kinect) and danced my tush away for another hour. My body was sore by the end but I felt pretty good and had a fresh wave of adrenaline to get me through the rest of my snow day.

I went to bed Tuesday pretty set on the fact that work would be closed again Wednesday, but packed my gym bag just in case I had to go in. I didn't have to, luckily, but decided to put those gym clothes to good use again and did another great at-home workout, although slightly shorter than Tuesday's monster session.

Wednesday I did JCore Fire Fit followed by a 40 minute Super Set which I did using free weights (5lb, 10lb), a mat, a resistance band, and an exercise ball. It was a full body workout include leg work (I love squats!), arm and upper body work, and abs.

I had a tougher time over this last weekend motivating myself to get my workouts done, so I was really happy and proud that I had such motivation on my snow days to get some good at home workouts done.

I've found a lot of new motivation through Instagram, which kind of surprised me. I found some people who have had major transformations that completely renewed my sense of determination that I can continue to better myself mentally and physically, and also a bunch of fun fitness accounts that post workout videos and ideas.

Since I went for a run on Monday, and did a lot of cardio in my at-home workouts, today I focused on strength and did a lot of body weight work including some new moves pulled from Instagram! After a ton of circuits of pushups, pullups, and dips, I am even more grateful for my new lifting gloves.

It feels good to know that no matter what mother nature throws at me, I can still find ways to work in some fitness.

Workouts Around the Flu

After over 5 years of a clean record, the flu got me this time around pretty badly (okay, so I didn't go to the doctor so I'm not 100% sure it was the flu). I had a fever, body aches, dizzyness, congestion, coughing, sore throat, the works!

What kills me is that this came on quite suddenly last Wednesday after quite possibly the best treadmill workout I've had since the evil bursitis took its hold on my hip.

The workout was pretty simple:

3 minutes hard effort (I was going at a 6.5mph pace since I haven't been running lately)
1 minute sprint (I was at a 8.5mph pace)
1 minute recovery (I was recovering between 4.8-5.0mph)
Repeated this cycle 4 times (total 20 minutes)

I was really happy with how it went, I got over 2 miles done in my 20 minutes which was amazing after not running the last couple of months at all. Plus, no hip pain during or after!

The rest of the weeks workouts did not go as planned, since I was in bed or on the couch from Wednesday night through Sunday.

I got back in the gym this morning though, ready to sweat out the last of the germs. It was a pretty simple circuit I threw together, nothing too crazy since I had been pretty sick.

Warm Up - Jump Rope 5 minutes
10 Pull Ups (assisted)
10 push ups
10 chin ups (assisted)
10 push ups
Repeated that block 3 times

10 second plank hold on upside down Bosu
10 mountain climbers (each leg)
10 Russian twists
10 pull throughs
Repeated that block 3 times

After that I was pretty much beat. Wasn't a whole lot but it was enough to really make me sweat and feel like my muscles are coming back to life.

Sharing Workouts

Well after an 8 month break from posting here, I'm back! This time to share some workouts that I've been doing to build up cardio endurance as I rehab my hip back from a bout of bursitis (inflammation) that has sidelined me from running too much.

A few people have approached me about what kind of work outs I do and I figured this would be an easy place to share. Most of my at home or on my own workouts that I do I get from a good friend who is a fitness specialist working at a few different gyms. She is an amazing motivator. Other workouts I snag from the Internet and places like Pinterest and FitSugar.

My favorite cardio/body weight workout as of late is Tabata style workout. A tabata is a 4 minute block of effort, broken down into 8 rounds. Each round is 20 seconds of hard work and 10 seconds rest. I have purchased Tabata music from iTunes that has the countdown built in, or you can use an App like "Seconds" which has Tabata or Circuit timers you can program.

When I do a Tabata workout I keep track of how many reps I complete in each round, trying to constantly improve the number of reps I do in each round.

Here are 3 Tabata style workouts that I have done recently:

Exercise	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8
Jumping Jack
Squat Jump W/ Heel Click
Push-Ups
Split Lunge
Burpee + Tuck Jump
Mt. Climbers
Skaters
Thruster + Tuck Jump (record pair)
Alternating V Ups

Exercise	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8
Star Jumps
Dribbles
Skaters
Squat Jumps
R Side Plank
L Side Plank
R Side Crunch
L Side Crunch
Plank

H-HH-HHH + Tabata

H = Hard (40 seconds)
HH= Harder (30 Seconds)
HHH= Hardest (20 Seconds)
Rest 10 seconds
Repeat H-HH-HHH series
Tabata (8 Rounds)

Example: 1. Dribble, 2. Squat Jump w/ Heel Click, 3. Tuck Jump – Repeat those 3 again – Then complete 8 rounds of Squat 180 Jumps, then move on to Round 2

10 Min Treadmill/Elliptical Warm up

Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4
H –Dribble	H- Burpee	H- T Push-ups	H- 4 High Knees + 4 Mountain Climbers
HH – Squat Jump w/ Heel Click	HH- Push Up	HH- Side Plank (alternate)	HH- Skaters
HHH- Tuck Jumps	HHH- Thrusters	HHH- Side Plank w/ Pulse	HHH- Air Jacks
Tabata- Squat  180 Jump	Tabata- Single Leg Burpee (4 R/ 4 L)	Tabata- Tricep Dips	Tabata- Split Lunges

I am going to go through some of my stacks of workouts I have printed at home and share some more of my favorite at home workouts. All of these that I shared today can be done at home without any extra equipment (maybe a mat if you are working on a hard floor).

Thanks for checking in!