Home Gym, Yeah it IS Possible

Home gym, yeah it IS possible

I have long been a gym lifer. I friggin love being at the gym (I am a huge people watcher so that comes into play). I feed off of competing with whoever is working out next to me (yes, if you are next to me, we are in a serious competition, believe it!). And of course all the nice equipment, gym selfie mirrors, and sharing other people’s sweat. Yep, I adore the gym. But what I have a hard time doing is carving out the time to be there. Work + 5 kids + husband in school at night = NO TIME to be away from the house.

So the answer was to build our home gym in our garage. In what is way less expensive than what I thought, we have most of what you need to get a serious workout in daily. How? Piece by piece people.

We maintained our gym memberships while we slowly got the main parts needed to get a pump on at home. We started with the weight bench that included squat & leg press capabilities. Then we got free weights, punching bag, huge tractor tires to flip & pull X 2 (got those for free! Just hit up your nearest tire company that services big tires. They will willingly give you the big tires that can no longer be used!) elliptical, stair climber, mats, medicine ball, etc… you get the picture. Pretty much the basics everyone needs.

The equipment isn’t the best. It certainly isn’t all gym grade stuff, but it works and that works for me.

We got a lot of it from Academy. We also got some of the pieces from ebay (my husband is a huge ebayer) and Craigs List (elliptical!!) which has really helped to keep the cost down. Then you can always get things like sandbags to do weighted carries with (you have to cover it in duct tape though or the bags leak sand everywhere! NICE! L).

All we need is a pull up bar mounted to the ceiling and some jump boxes (in the works right now) and we would be our own little crossfit gym!

Once we got what we felt like we needed, we dropped our gym memberships. Kind of a sad day for me. No more secret competitions. But I have since learned to push myself harder. So yay! Winning! LOL

We are always looking to add to our gym. Jump boxes, more free weights, my football playing son wants a smith machine, etc. So it will likely never be done, but it works and we love it.

Now if I could only figure out how to NOT referee the kid’s arguments while I am trying to make gains, I would be a completely happy #girlswholift / mom! 

Too Much Estrogen, huh?!?!?

Little bit of a different blog post here…..

I usually talk about fitness and throw some truths in while also laughing. It’s the way I like to write. But this time, it’s going to be a little bit more serious (maybe).

Little health background on me:

I have long suffered from damn near debilitating fatigue. It started not long after the doctor said I had mono. I never actually had mono the illness but my blood work showed I had had mono about 3 months prior. It seemed like a strange diagnoses but I went with it. After all, he is the doctor and I am just some professional accountant who looks at too much webmd. So the fatigue carried on and I was told to assume it would get better over time.

Yeah, no, it did not get better over time.

It was about this time I got very into fitness. I have always been an athlete, but got lazy in the midst of having 4 kids (almost in a row). So I started eating better (went vegan for a year). And I spent time trying to figure out what combo of nutrition and workouts would work best for me to lose weight while retaining and building muscle. But my body would not lean out, no matter how I trained. (muscle changes, but the weight was still there.) 

I also started suffering from hair loss, migraines, cold like symptoms (on and off …relentlessly), strange menstrual cycle issues, and acne. (Hello?!?! I am in my 30s, acne?) There are likely some symptoms I am missing, but those were the major ones that went with the never ending fatigue.

Finally, about three years later…..the answer I have been looking for….

I am estrogen dominate. That is what is causing all these issues. Who knew the hormonal imbalance I was experiencing could cause so many other things to go wrong?!?!?

I eat things daily that help balance my hormones. I take DIM (which is found in things like broccoli) which has made a huge difference in helping me feel balanced and “normal”. I have so much more energy. I don’t constantly feel like I am on the edge of sleep at any given moment. And I am already seeing the effects of all my hard work in the gym.

It is nothing less than a-freakin-mazing!

I am also getting checked out with imaging by my doctor to make sure there is no reason I am so estrogen dominate. This is key here people. (not the same doctor that told me I had mono and I would get over it, obviously)

Ladies, if you are having multiple symptoms with no seeming connecting factors, have your hormonal balance checked. It could bring new light to your life!

Things My Fitness Journey has Taught Me....

The things that my fitness journey have taught me…

YOU CAN & YOU WILL…. No matter how badly something hurts or how much it sucks or how much doubt you build up in your head, you can. Then, when you do, never doubt your badass again.

It IS possible to workout & cry at the same time…who knew.

They aren’t looking at you, they could care less. Sometimes, because being on your journey makes you feel a little vulnerable, you think people care what you look like while running or lifting. They don’t…just don’t fall down, that they will stare at. #TRUTH

Those are free weights, they won’t bite you! And you can learn how to lift them in a million different ways. (hint: youtube!)

Go for a run before you bite their heads off. It all works out better in the end.

Skipping your workout whilst eating chocolate cheese cake will make you feel guilty. CHEATER!!

Flexing in the mirror when no one is looking and actually seeing that little muscle coming along WILL make you feel like wonder woman! Keep going princess of power!

Working yourself into a sweaty mess is all worth it when you post an awesome gymselfie! LOL ….but seriously…

You should never wear light grey workout pants/shorts. Sweaty ass = looking like you peed yourself. Just don’t do it.

Take a hard class at your gym… those other girls sucked at this class once upon a time too. Most of them are rooting for you to make it through….

Putting on boxing gloves and going to town on the punching bad will make you feel better. Sometimes you just have to beat the hell out of something. It works. Trust me.

Some people are yoga people and some people aren’t. That shit is hard, don’t fool yourself!

Having your own mini gym at your house IS cool….until your 5 kids pick your workout time to talk to you or fight endlessly with each other.

No matter what, pull on those workout clothes, drink that preworkout and just do it. Get shit done. LIKE A BOSS! 

Let's Be Honest....

Okay, let’s be honest here…..

I’ve had to sit back and take a seriously look at why I am still fat. (you know fat, not PHAT which means something totally different!) What is happening in my life? I mean I am addicted to Instagram. And I see all these transformations that happen in like 4 to 8 weeks. WTF am I doing wrong? Where is my banging ass body in 12 weeks? Huh?

Here is what I think I am doing oh so wrong….

Let’s start with my eat plan…. Actually it would likely be more accurate to say what eating plan at this point. I was doing protein/veggies/fruit for each meal (some brown rice or sweet potato after leg days) with two snacks of nuts or protein in between meals (if hungry). Well, that is not what I have been sticking to lately. Cheat meals have turned into TREAT YOUR SELF every single day. Yeah, that is not going to get rid of this fat. So, it has to go. No more cheating and a lot more sticking to the plan.

More water of course…. Yadda yadda yadda….

Now the fitness plan….I am sucking at a couple of things here.

A.    Going through the motions. I can say I have not been fully focused in on each workout or each rep. I am guilty of punching my gym time slot and calling it a day. That is not going to get me to my goals.

BE MORE PRESENT DURING GYM SESS

B.    Cutting my lifting sets short. I think I will use mental fatigue here, but I have been cutting my sets short instead of slowly building up my volume. Not going to help at all. I’ve got to get out of my own head and stay with the program.

C.   Cutting my cardio short. Talk about going through the motions until I just feel like giving up. Man, I have been sucking at getting all my cardio in every day. I am trying to lose weight so the daily cardio is where that is going to happen.

FINISH STRONG

D.   My gym sessions have felt like a job, not the relief from it all like it usually has been to my life. I have to remember my health and feeling good in my own skin is very important. It touches every other part of my life.

BE HAPPY YOU ARE ABLE

E.    Not remembering that being healthy is 100 % my responsibility. Being healthy or unhealthy is not something that just happens to you, you have control over it completely. Time to remember who is in control here.

TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR OUTCOMES

These tweaks will make a huge impact on my overall outcome. I E: how fat or not fat I am.

If only all yummy food was either actually good for you or didn’t taste so friggin yummy.

A girl can dream…..