Butt lift workout ;)

Few weeks ago me and my little sister had a workout with my masseuse Risto Santala, who also is a personal trainer. And I promised I will tell about the workout.

But firs,t I will go back to that Fitness contest I saw in April.. On my way home from the contest, I had one thing in my mind; I really need to work on my butt (glutes)!
Even tho I am not a professional, I could still see the big difference with someone who really had been working on their glutes and with someone who wasn't..

See for yourself. I bet you will be able to tell the difference too. ( This picture is not from the contest I went to)

I decided that I will really have to work on my glutes, because I don't want to walk out on the stage with a flat ass!

So Risto made a "butt lift workout"  for us.
We did a circuit type of workout. 4 exercises in a row, then 1-2 minute break.

1.  Buffalo bar hip thruster

Here is a link to show how it's done. Buffalo bar hip thruster
You have to keep your back straight the whole time. Do not bend it! The weight can be heavy. Push up hard and hold 3 seconds and tighten your glutes the whole time.

2. Single leg stiff leg deadlift

Keep your glutes tight, let your hamstring stretch when bending over. Controlled movement! 

3. Back extensions

Keep your back straight, tighten up your glutes. Controlled movement. Hold a plate against your chest to get more weight.

4. Glute extension machine

Now with this exercise I used to have problems. I could never get the feeling in my glutes!
I was just doing it wrong.
I used to bring my leg up so much, that my knee would almost hit my chest and then push it back.
But the movement don't need to be that "big"
You keep your glutes tight, and when you bend your leg (second pic) you only bend it a little bit, as far as you can still keep your glutes tight and then push it back and straighten your leg, GLUTES STILL TIGHT!
If you bend your leg more and bring your knee closer to your chest, the glute muscle will relax.

We did these 4 sets, 4 times. I can say it really had my glutes burning!
You should add this workout to your weekly workout routine and see if you will get any changes.. ;)
I bet you will!

Ps. If you try this, let me know what you think about it.

Ciao

 

New workout plan

Two weeks ago my Coach told me to get my shit together and come see him after one week. Reason he said that because I was eating stuff I wasn't supposed to and I wasn't following my meal plan..

Last week I followed the order and I met him last Thursday.

"You don't look as bad as I thought you would look"

That's what he said after checking my condition. 

I was happy to hear that but, I was little bit upset.. First thing that came in my mind was; If I didn't eat all that junk after my surgery I would have been in even better shape than what I was now. But, oh well.. 

In the other hand I got to enjoy a little ;) So, I don't have any regrets.

He gave me a new workout plan. I started it today and I got to say that It was hard as hell.

4 superset workouts per week + 30min walk before breakfast 5 days a week.

30 min walk was nice today, I walked my son to school, so I got some one on one time with him.

The actual workout in the other hand was something else!

superset for Back

4 sets of

Pull down                         10-15

Machine row reverse grip 10-15

Machine row narrow grip 10-15

Bendover row w barbell  10-15

  2 min break

After the first set I was like, Damn! 

After Second set, I thought that, I don't really like my coach right now.

After all 4 sets my body was shaking! I enjoyed the workout tho. 

I was waiting to get a new workout and to do something new. 

I'm still not back in the shape I was before the surgery but I'm getting there...

After that; Some dead lifts and another super set but for biceps..

I needed some motivation so I bought these cute and really comfortable capri pants from Body Action store in Tampere last week.

Summer is finally here! I hope everyone is enjoying it, BUT no matter how pretty it is outside, DON'T SKIP YOUR WORKOUTS! ;)

For Military Spouses

As my readers know that I am a military spouse, which in my case means that I am married to an active duty Army soldier. 

We got married in November 2007, we been married now for 4 years. I know it's not too long yet, but in these 4 years I have had a wonderful change to get to know some amazing people from around the world. And today I wanted to take time and talk to all military wives and why not husbands too.

Living military life is really mind opening, you get to move from  place to place and from one country to another. You get to Experience different life styles and cultures. But It has it's negative side too. 

Some families move in every 2-3 years, so It's hard to leave your friends and family over and over again.

Just when you get to know people, get new friends and get close to them, it's time to move again.

Here is my son, looking out the window right before moving out from Italy. Looking at the park and places where he always played with his friends. While tears running down his cheeks, he asks, Why we have to move again?

(now I'm crying here.. just of thinking about that day and the friends we left behind, we really miss them)

Okay, back to the story.. 4 years ago we first moved in Arizona, USA for about 6-7 months, then we moved to Naples, Italy and from there, me and the kids moved to Tampere, Finland. We going to stay here while my husband is deployed for 18 months.

We lived in Italy for 3 years. In those 3 years we moved couple times from one house to another. So trust me, moving is my worst nightmare, I hate it! 

I wanted to talk to military spouses today because I saw it myself, that how hard it can get sometimes.

You fall in love and start a family, and next thing you know, you have to leave your own family and friends to keep your "new family" together. Your mother, father, sisters, brothers and friends. Not only that, but we leaving our jobs too. No matter how much you love your husband and wife, you will still miss your family. 

I remember when I moved to states, I was heartbroken! I kept thinking about my family and friends ALL THE TIME! I thought I would never get over it.

But then you get to know people and get some friends and they become your family out there.

Most spouses are unemployed. I personally couldn't get a job because I didn't have my visa yet. So I became a stay home mom. Cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids, grocery shopping, waiting for my husband to come home from work, fix dinner, cleaning up again and the list goes on, and you repeat it day after day.

I really didn't have anything that was for me. Yes I know I had my kids and I love them very much, but I still felt that I wasn't happy with myself. I felt like I didn't have anything that was for me.

He has his career, but I was home everyday.

Since I wasn't able to get a job I had to find something to do, something that was for ME.

I started working out.

I felt great being at the gym and doing something to made me feel better. 

First I questioned myself; "Am I being selfish for doing this, this is time away from my kids and from my husband?"  I realized then that I am not doing anything wrong. I am trying to be healthier and look the way I want to and be happier. And I know y'all heard the saying "Happy wife, happy life"

I think it's so true!

Your kids and your spouse are not going to enjoy being with you if you don't feel good about yourself.

After losing all the rolls and the fat, I was happier about myself and wasn't tired all the time. I have more energy.

I saw that some spouses were getting depressed from living so faraway from home.

Living a military life is hard, especially when your spouse gets deployed and you stay by yourself with your kids and your family is not there to help you and support you.

  That's why I think it's so important that people would support each other, help each other and be friends to each other. 

Workout together, set yourself a goal for something.

Running a marathon, losing weight, fitness contest or something else.

While you working hard for your goals, it will help to keep you busy and you will have something else in your mind beside that; "I wonder if my husband is okay out there." or "I miss my family so much"

I am so happy now that I decided to start training for fitness contest, because it is keeping me busy.

Even tho it takes only 1-2 hours to get to the gym and back, I also have to think about eating right and  planning different things. Now that I have this time  to clear my mind of the fact that my husband is in war, I don't stress all the time and I'm also able to spend some quality time with my kids. I think it's more important of how you spend the time with your kids and family instead of how much.

It is not much, if you take 1-2 hours a day to do your workout and go to the gym. It'

s really worth it.

If you can't take your kids to day care or if you don't have anyone to watch them.

I know there is always someone else who would also need that "me time".

You could watch your friends kids while she go do her workout and she could watch yours when you go do your workout. I did that few times with my friend and it worked great for both of us.

I wish they would get a "kid park" at the gyms on military bases.

Kid park is an area at the gym where you can leave your child to play with toys and games under a supervision of an nanny. It's like a day care but just for an hour or little over.

I bet parents would love to even pay a dollar or two for that.

They have places like that here in Finland, and I think they are awesome!

Plus my kids liked it too, to be able to play with other kids and get out of the house.

So, don't think that you are not a good mother or a wife if you want some time to yourself and take care of your body and your wellbeing.

I hear parents say that; I live for my children, I personally can't say that. 

I live WITH my children. 

If any of you military spouses need any workout tips or ideas, feel free to ask and I will do my best to help.

I wish strength to everyone and god bless.

Ps. I am now here with my family and friends but now I miss my new friends that I met in Arizona and Italy!! I love you and miss you all!! 

 

 

 

 

Feel Free To Hate

Hey Everyone! 

WARNING: In this post, I am going to be using language that is not suitable for kids, or sensitive ears.

I'm sorry I haven't been writing in couple days. I made a Twitter and Instagram accounts for my blog, soooo, I kinda got lost into these two.. Facebook bought Instagram for 3 BILLION DOLLARS, so I had to check whats the big deal about! And obviously I'm in the wrong business.. Shiiit, 3 fucking billion dollars!!!

My little sister, My Mom and Me at the gym!! You can follow me on instagram @memyselfandalona And you can follow me in Twitter @JelenaMalone or you can click the Twitter logo on the right

In my last post I told you guys how my coach told me to get my shit together. I followed the order, I have been doing my workouts and been following my meal plan the way I need to.

One thing I did do tho, I went out on Wednesday night..

I didn't drink, only water and diet coke! But the thing about going out and staying up late is, you won't get enough sleep and rest! Which means your body can't fully recover from your last workout and then you can't workout the same way if you had your 8h sleep.

 When I woke up Thursday morning, I was tired as shit and first thing that came in my mind was; "Fuck, I have a leg workout today!" I had no energy what so ever! 

I knew I still had to go to the gym, but I was seriously afraid that I would pass out or get trapped in the leg press machine or something..

I was laying down and going thru my new twitter account and trying to find out whats the big deal about it. I posted my first tweet. "Tired as shit, I'm going to regret going out last night while I do my leg workout. "You can't be a rock start and a bodybuilder " -Phil Heath" 

Minute later, I get a tweet back, from Phil Heath!

"You'll pay for it!!! Get after it"

 I know most of my readers know who he is but if you don't. He Is Mr.Olympia 2011

I am not even going to try to front and act like I wasn't excited about it!

 The fact that he hit me back gave me a huge motivation for my leg workout! 

Especially when right before I was about to start, he said; "No mercy on the weight!"

I really got motivated and I gave my all! Every time I was thinking about stopping I did 2 more reps just because Heath said "Get After it!" I was hurting tho, it was a holiday and for some reason the gym was packed.

 The gym was hot as hell!! Real "tropical" weather out there.. I was sweating my ass off and I thought I was going to puke!

I have thanked my readers and supporters here many times, but let me take a minute to talk to my haters now. I know y'all out there too. Even now you out there reading and thinking that "this bitch is stupid" "getting excited about Phil Heath and shit"  "That's all steroids anyways" 
I don't give a fuck how much steroids you use, If you don't work your ass off at the gym, it wont do shit!

(It was not until 2002 that Phil Heath pursued bodybuilding and began to compete in events. His hard work paid off in 2005 when he won the overall title at the NPC (National Physique Committee) USA Championships, earning the right to compete as an IFBB Pro. "The Gift" immediately made a splash in the IFBB, winning his first two pro events in 2006, The Colorado Pro Championships and The New York Pro Championship. -wikipedia)  

I'm gonna tell y'all something about me now.
 I don't give a fuck who you are or how successful you are or how on top of the game you are, If you act like you better than everyone else! But if you got to the top and you are still humble and respect others and care about your fans, then I respect that, and I am not ashamed to support people like that!
If I see someone that looks good and has worked hard for it, I will walk up to you and say "you look awesome and keep up with the good work!" Instead of just staying back and be hating..

For example, I have followed Phil Heat for a couple days on Twitter now, and I see he takes time to reply to his fans, and that's awesome!
These days it's so sad to see when someone makes it and becomes famous, they forget where they started from and think they better than everyone else now.
Now if you work hard and you make it but you still have your feet on the ground, then I respect and support that!
So S/O (shout out) to Phil Heath!!
 I hope he makes new record and wins Mr.Olympia 9x in a row!!

Okay, back to you haters..  Yes I know I have some too, but it's okay, we need haters! Like Katt Williams said, "Haters hate good shit!" And like Kevin Hart tweeted, "Haters only Hate the people that they can't have or the people they can't be!!!!" 
But I want to thank my haters the same way I thank my supporters! You motivate me to continue and do my best!

 

Get Your Shit Together!

I woke up this morning, tired as shit. 

My head was hurting, my nose felt funny and my muscles were aching.

I'm sick again! At of all the times, why now.. I was going to workout hard this week.

See, I saw my coach yesterday. 

I told him straight up, "I haven't been following my meal plan like I was supposed to, I keep forgetting to take my pills, I keep skipping meals and snacking on stuff that I'm not supposed to." 

I couldn't really explain to him that what was going on with me.. For some reason, when I had my surgery, I was so upset that I couldn't workout for so long, that I just didn't care no more.

I was still trying to follow it, at least a little bit, but I didn't care if I didn't have the right amount of food or if I didn't eat it in the right time. I was also snacking on things that I was not supposed to.

I really thought It would all stop when I get back to the gym, but it didn't!

I have gained some weight and I was really hoping that I wont have to show him my condition (meaning; pose in bikini).

The pose is not exactly the same, but I tried. And this is not no shit where in the other pic I'm sucking my stomach in and in the second one not. Look at the love handles, it's not like I could suck that in, plus you can see that my face is swollen too. Anywho.. The picture on the left is about 6 weeks ago, and the picture on the right was taken today.. Like I said, I really need to get it together and stop slacking!

Coach asked me; "What are we gonna do with you now? How we going to get you back on track?"

I really didn't know what to say to that. I just asked him if he could make me a new workout plan and maybe that would motivate me. You know, something new to do... 

He said he is not going to do any changes until I get my shit together! He told me to do my workouts and give my all and follow my meal plan and stick to it! Then next week come back and then we'll talk again. 

He didn't say much but he said just enough! 

I really have been doing everything I need to, and I don't even want any sweets or anything else no more.

That's why I'm so pissed that I got sick right now. Oh well, I don't care, I will still do it. I can still workout as long as I don't get a fever.

I am also slowly starting to lift same weights that I did before the surgery. I had to start with much lighter weights at the beginning but I'm getting there... Slowly. :)

Since my mom was working out with me, I had planned on taking pictures of my Shoulder + Chest + Tricep workout and post them here.. but my Mom is probably THE worst picture taker in the world, so out of ALL the pictures, these were the only ones that were not blurry and where I was actually in the picture. :) ( Love you Mom)

Maybe next time..

But I will try to go and get some rest, hopefully I wont be sick for too long.

Good night guys!

Massage

Hey Everyone!

Hallelujah, my legs feel so much better. Thanks to the best massuse in Tampere! 

Risto Santala at Zense.

He had read my post I wrote about my Ass ( Glute ) workout. ( My friend told me that I can't call it an
"ass workout" I said, it's my blog and I can call it whatever I want :) )

Anywho.. Since he had read about it, he was kind of expecting me to come for a massage.

My legs were super tight, my glutes were fine, but my thighs were really tight and my left leg, the inner thigh, was still bothering me. 

He said I was right about the fact when I said that I should have not done a workout like that yet, and that it was good that I stopped my leg workout on Thursday, because more then likely it would have gotten even worse, or in the worst case, the muscle would have ripped.

Since I wasn't able to do my leg workout on Thursday, Risto said that he could help me to do a glute workout this weekend and show me some good glute exercises. He also coaches and does personal training too. In figure competitions it's really important to work on your glutes! I know I definitely don't want to get on a stage with a flat ass!

This workout was very different from the one I had week ago.

I liked it tho. I learned few new tricks and I can say that with this workout I really felt it in my glutes.

I personally have hard time sometimes getting the "burning" in the right spot, but with these workouts I did.

We also noticed that my left glute is much weaker than the right one. I'm going to have to work on that.

We did a video of the ab exercise I told you guys before about. This time he showed me different ways of doing it, the easy and the harder version.

I will post them as soon as I go thru with all the pics and videos.

But here is just few sample pics..

This exercise really got my glutes burning!! 

But like I said, I will write about the whole workout as soon as I get a change.

Ps. Happy Mothers Day To All Mothers Out There!!

Religion, Politics & Training Methods.. Something in common?

Today I was supposed to work on my legs. 

I was hoping to do a good workout since my legs were not sore anymore. But as soon as I started doing my first exercise, I noticed this strong and sharp pain in my inner thigh. I don't know which part of the Adductor muscle it was.. Brevis, longus or whatever, shiiit I don't even know if it was any of that..  

All I know that it was hurting like a motherfucker!!

I could have dealt with the pain, but I was scared that if I would continue working out, it would get it even worse. So I just did few exercises with really light weight..  

 

I know some of y'all might be thinking now that; "well you should be stretching and getting massages"

 I did stretch before my workout And between my sets And after my workout. But then the next days, when my legs were hurting, there is no way in hell I would have went to get a massage or stretch shit!  

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my massuse, which means more pain, but I know I will better afterwards. And Saturday I will do my leg workout.

Since I had a little break from working out after my surgery, I think that my Fridays workout was a bit too hard to start with. I should have just taken it easy and then slowly get back to my regular workout routine. 

I haven't been working out for long, I'm still a rookie in this "business", but I am learning how to "listen" to my body. I have noticed that after an intense workouts like that, I always have something bothering me.

First it was my shoulder in January, then It was my forearm and  now my thigh.. 

So, maybe these type of workouts are not for me.. we are all individuals, so what work for one might not work for others. 

I will continue like I have done so far and continue working out with my trainer but I will also continue "listening" to my body and see how it goes...

 

 
As we all know, Religion and Politics is a sensitive subject for conversations between people.

There are always people with their own opinions and everyone always think their opinion  is the right one.

I think Training methods fit right in the same category. 

Just think about it. How many personal trainers and coaches and nutrition therapists is out there..? 

The list is endless, and everyone think that their technique is always the right one.

I have worked out in few different gym's and I have already noticed the little "friendly" battle  trainers have.

They might not say that to each other face to face, but I had several people come up to me and ask:

Who is your coach? Why you do this like this? Why you don't do it like this? 

You should eat this and not that..I'm just saying.. 

They always "just saying"..

This even happened when I was in Lithuania, where I didn't know nobody.

I was just doing my workouts and people out there came asking me that: What I workout for? Weight lifting? And said that my coach must be a man because of the way I workout...

Asked me that what part of my bicep I was working on while I was doing bicep curls...

I usually just smile friendly, listen and say thanks for the info and go back to my workouts. I am not even trying to start the never ending conversation with them. Same goes with religion or politics.. never ending.

Say what you want, but it's true! 

Everyone these days think that, their training method is the right one, that their meal plan is the perfect one.

Wanna know MY opinion? 

There is not such a thing that one right way! 

There are many good coaches and personal trainers out there and it's good that people do different things, that way we have options to choose from.

People just need to find what fits them and their lifestyle the best.

I'm just saying ;)

Family Affair

Where to start...?

When I started going to the gym, I had a little hard time at first with some people around me, they didn't really understand my passion for the gym and working out. I had to explain several times that why I still go to the gym even tho I already lost weight...

Don't get me wrong, I had people supporting me too, I am not saying everyone was giving me hard time. 

I have talked about this before, so I don't want to get stuck in this issue..

The point is, that to be able to change your lifestyle and change your way of living is hard as it is, so the support of your family and friends is REALLY important! 

You are already fighting with yourself to get your ass up and get moving, so you really don't want to hear people asking you; "why you going to the gym again, didn't you go this morning?" 

Or, when you craving for something good to eat and you want it soooo bad, but you are holding yourself down. You definitely don't want someone around you asking you all the time, "can't you just come out to eat once? Just this one time, it can't be that serious?" 

Or, bring a hot pizza right in front of your nose when you laying down and going to sleep and say "want some?".. ( my lovely brother did that to me this weekend :) )

Like I said before, I was scared if people around me wouldn't get it or think I'm crazy to weight every single food I eat. But lucky me, my family and friends have been more than supportive.

They have actually joined me in this crazinnesss!  

My best friend started working out with me as soon as I got here!! She has lost so much weight already!! 

(I need to show y'all some pics)

My sister started working out too, she is training for figure competition in juniors league, her contest is in September 2012.

( I understand now, why they say that you shouldn't train your family members... she is driving me nuts sometimes with her 101 questions a day.. Got to love her passion tho!) 

My brother started working out with me too. He is trying to get in shape by summer :)
And now, you will never believe this. My Mother, who is 46 years old and has never really workout in her life, joined us too!! I guess we have our own Family Affair now!

I really have to tell this to you guys!

On her second day, we did a leg workout. <Now, even tho I might look like a mean bitch sometimes, I still have to say, I am a nice person and I really can't hurt the people I train the way my trainer does... YET!>

So, since it was her very first workout ever, I was being nice and just warming up her old legs..

My mom is a trip, so it didn't take too long when all the attention at the gym was on her...

She was making all kind of noises and faces and she was so shocked that, why does it hurt so much?

After the workout I was waiting for my mom at the gym cafeteria, and I wish you guys could have seen this!

When she walked out from the locker room with her heels on ( She wearing heels ALL THE TIME! remember we Russians), she was holding on to the wall and lockers and everything she could lean on! Her legs were shaking and she looked like a new born baby horse!! Everyone in the cafeteria started laughing! Mom was trying to get to the table but laughing at the same time too. She was asking me that "what is she supposed to do now? She has to go to work but she can't walk in her heels?" 

I had to give her my flats and walk home in her heels.. 

Today she came to pick me up to go to the gym, she was wearing sneakers and she said that she was going to wear them to work too because they are only flat shoes she has. I've been laughing my ass off at her! 

I know, I shouldn't laugh.. Shiiit I was just icing my legs last night, so I should know how she feels. 

Over all, I am happy that she joined us and she finally listened to me, when I kept telling her that It is never too late to start working out!!  

Ps. I have to say that I am really happy to hear stories from you readers! When you say I motivate you, I feel like I have to keep doing this. If not for just Me but for all of you guys! I have days when I really don't feel like doing this but when I think of you guys, my family and my friends, I get motivated myself!

No Pain, No Gain?

"No Pain, No Gain"

Now this is a saying that I am really starting to question...

I had a leg workout on Friday, It is Monday now and my legs are still killing me!

I can barely walk.. and lets not even talk about sitting down, not on a couch and definitely not on a toilet seat.

I don't care, I said it! Sitting down on a toilet seat hurts! 

 I am not saying that I want to stop working out, hell nah! But when I workout on my own and do my regular leg workout, I can push myself and I give my all, and my legs are sore the next day or maybe two. The difference between the workout I do by myself and the workout I do with my trainer is that after my workout I can still live my life as a mother and do stuff and WALK! 

What I'm thinking right now is that do we really have to go this far, to build muscle?

This is me right now, writing my blog and icing my thighs.. Notes the bruises on my knees.. did a FEW walking lunges and knees had to touch the ground!

I don't mind the bruises on my knees, honestly the walking lunges that I usually hate, was actually the easy part this time. But the pain in my inner thighs is something else! 

<I'm trying to remember what we did on Fridays workout...>

I told my trainer I wanted to work on my ass.. so we started with 

1x50 reps per leg on Glute machine exercise

Then 1x50 reps on adductor machine

Then 1x50 reps on abductor machine

After these exercises he gave me dumbbells and told me to do some walking lunges, if I remember right, probably around 20-25 per leg.

After that I had to do two exercises in a row.

First step ups, 20 reps per leg ( 20 reps in a row on right  leg after that 20 reps in a row with a left leg)

Right after the step ups I had to do some leg curls (laying down)

This combo of two exercises we did 2 or 3 times, can't remember...

After this we started doing leg press with a really wide stance.

With the leg press I really don't remember how many reps we did, but he put some weights on both sides and after I did 6 reps he dropped one weight, and after another 6 pers he dropped the weight again. He kept dropping the weight till there was no weights left, After that the same thing continued but this time he kept  adding the weight.

6 reps and add weight, 6 reps and adding another weight. He went back and forth like this few times.

After leg press we did a hack squat with a really wide stance.

On a hack squat we did many reps too. First I started with 12 reps, then 10, 8, 6, and 4. And after each set, he would add more weights. 

During hack squat I had a little moment... I was tired, in pain and pissed, so I had to think to myself that either I would get up and leave or stay and finish. I was thinking about my goals and how I kept watching those motivational videos where people train hard, I just said to myself that I can do it too and I finished while tears were running down my cheeks..  I gathered myself and I was actually feeling stronger and I didn't want to quit any more. 

After all these exercises I had to do more walking lunges. Probably 50 per leg. At this point my legs were so tired that I couldn't control my legs no more. Since my knees had to touch the ground, I hit them on the floor pretty hard few times, this explains the bruises on my knees.

I know I'm always mad after I have a leg workout with my trainer and I always say that "I wont ever do another leg workout with him ever again" But I always go back. I guess it's true what some people say; "You have to be little bit crazy to do this sport" 

But I still wonder that do we really have to do it this hard? This is something I am going to find out!

I might do a little experiment in some point..

Ass workout!

Yesterday I had my first workout with my trainer after the surgery. I can't believe that I was actually waiting for it. I kept watching motivational workout videos and thinking to myself that "I can't wait to get back to it and work as hard as they do". Shiiiiit, right now I don't know what I was thinking... Missing this pain!? We did an Ass and hamstring workout! Don't even want to go into all the details because it's still too fresh but all I can say is that we did many reps of everything! Lunges, steps, leg press, leg curls, hamstring and more lunges..

The workout it self wasn't super extreme (I have seen worse) but it was really hard for me now because A. I promised I won't complain, argue with my trainer or bitch about anything he ask me to do, B. My legs was hurting bad. I wanted to say some shit to him again and just leave but I can't do that no more, and when I'm hurting and all these crazy thoughts are going thru my mind, I get emotional.. Sooo what happen was I shared few tears..! I know, I know.. Cry baby, but at least I did what I had to and I am getting better with it, well that's what my trainer said.

I was so tired after the workout that I wished I could just jump in the bed and sleep for the rest of the weekend, But I can't.. got to get up and get moving, it's my sons birthday party today!

I hope you guys enjoy your weekend!!

Questions and Answers

Q&A: 

I get many questions from you guys and I decided to post some of them here. Here is one frequently asked question.

Q: Alona, help! How to get motivated? I'm starting to get lazy and tired to workout at the end of the day after my kids go to sleep. How to motivate myself?

A:  For the last few weeks it has seemed that everyone is talking about motivation. I have told about my motivations; How I watch different motivational workout videos or I have different kind of fitness pictures on my computer or on the fridge.

 To that question, first I want to say, try to find time in the morning or during the day to workout. After spending a day with your kids you are really tired and at night it is easy to think that "I will just do my workout tomorrow"

 But there is this one thing that I think is really important and could help many of you guys to actually get up do your workout.   

Get A personal trainer or a coach for you!

Seriously, just listen for a minute and then think about it. 

If you would have a personal trainer or a coach who would tell you how to workout, when to workout and who you would have to give your updates about how your workouts are progressing. You would not just stay home and skip your workout as you do now.

Especially if you have an appointment with your trainer, you know he/she is waiting for you to come to the gym and if you want to skip, you would have to call and then come up with a reason why you not coming. Are you gonna come up with a crazy lie each time?

 Because I bet you are not going to say; "Well, you know what, I just don't feel like working out right now"?  I am a coach, I have a coach and my coach have a coach.. That's how it goes.  

I bet you already have something you would want to say right now.. "Getting a personal trainer or a coach is expensive."

Okay, lets say you would pay your coach 400-600  a year. That's about 33-50 per month. 

Think how much you have spend money on junk foods, sodas, alcohol and what not..

You just have to think about the pig picture here, how bad you really want to get in shape?

 Many of us want a six pack or a nice toned body, but are you really willing to work for it and be committed to it?

If you don't want to pay or you can't afford it, then you can always talk to the staff at your gym, ask for advices. Some gyms give their clients a workout plan. Then you have to make that commitment and follow it thru.

 But no matter what you do, you are the only one making the decision to either get your ass up and get moving or keep sitting down and wait for that miracle pill that hopefully someone would someday invent, that when you eat it, you will magically get your dream body! 

Hair Dummy

I know that I'm supposed to be writing a fitness blog, but to be honest, my life is really not all about working out and eating healthy. Shit, especially for the last 4 weeks, it's been everything else but working out and eating healthy! Since I haven't been able working out, I haven't been eating right either. But, I don't wanna talk about that right now, I will just get pissed of again...

 I want to tell y'all about this great hair place that I found.

Prime Hair and Beauty

As everyone might have noticed that I mostly like to rock this sleek pony tail. 

Reason I keep my hair on a ponytail like this is because I workout 6 days a week, so I thought it's crazy for me to do my hair everyday, just so I can go to the gym and get it messed up and then do it again the next day. Also, my hair is super thick and I have so much hair that I could sell some. ( Just kidding, not thinking about selling shit) So, pretty much it's really easy and I like the style.

I always think to myself that I would love to have my hair open, have it smooth, silky and wavy sometimes.
Every time I try to fix my hair and curl it or make it wavy, by the time I have to leave the house, it's already pretty much straight and flat. My hair is so heavy that it never stays wavy.  And  reason I don't like to go to hair salons is, because 95% of hair salons that I have used, have always fucked my hair up!
I seriously just gave up.
Don't even let me start about trying to let someone color my hair black... I swear, every time I let someone dye my hair, I would have my skin covered with black spots for few days after.

When I started working out at the WFC, I saw this girl who's hair looked always so nice. Later I found out that she has her own hair salon. Right away I noticed her dark hair, so I thought that she must know how to dye dark hair without messing it up.
This Friday I decided to try it out and get my hair done before going out with my girls.
I was little nervous because my schedule was pretty busy, and if I wouldn't be happy with it, I would have been in trouble. I can honesty say that I was super happy with the results!!
That's not all. She thought me things that I had no clue!
Before I tell about everything I learned, I want to tell first that how nice they were!
They were super cool and friendly, and I don't even wanna start about their Friday afternoon jokes!
I swear, I almost peed on myself laughing at their jokes! 

Umppu was my hair stylist. She dyed my hair black, and I had not a single black spot on my skin, very clean job. Then I asked her to cut it into a U shape and style it.
I wanted big wavy curls and I told her that I wish my hair wasn't just laying flat on my head, but I didn't think it would last till the end of the night no matter what she would do. She just said, It will, trust me!

She told me step by step how she did everything, I'm hoping I can someday do it myself.
Now here is the thing that confused the shit out of me. She said she styles her hair once a week! She said that If I use the right products, the style will last for days, and after couple days or after gym I could use dry shampoo. That day I learned about ..

Dry shamppoo

"Root Iron" ( don't know what's the right name in English but this is what she used for my roots to give some volume to them.

Volumizing and texturizing hair powder. I got this sample, so I could give it a try myself. I can't wait to try it!

Ok, I lie to you not! I got my hair done at 16:00 on Friday, it's 12:30 am on Sunday, and my hair still looks awesome!

This is how it looked after I left the salon. I felt like a super star! I was walking and just smiling. People probably thought that I was either crazy or that I just got laid...

This pic was taken around 2am that night, and my hair is not flat yet! Amazing! ( I don't like to carry a purse when I go out, so I definitely don't like to carry my camera either..  The Iphone pictures are not that good.. )

The next morning when I woke up and started getting ready to take my son to the movies. I notes that my hair was still looking good! Of course after sleeping it was little tangled up, but I brushed the curls and it looked great. Didn't do anything else but brushed the ends!

Before the movie

After the movie

I swear Umppu is the first one who had managed to style my hair and make it last!

When I woke up this morning, I was ready to rock my sleek ponytail again, because there is no way my hair would still look good on a third day. Believe it or not, it did!
Today I brushed it all the way, not just the ends.

I really am not a pro in the hair area, I swear they actually asked me if I ever been in a hair salon before :D
But I think tomorrow I could have used some of that dry shampoo and fix it a little, and I could still be working this look! All I know, if she managed to make my heavy ass hair stay in a shape for 3 days, I can say that she is awesome and I will definitely go back!

Ps. To my Finnish blog readers, I also found out that the White Trash Disease blogger Nata uses the same place...