-
Updated: Clothing for Muscular Women – 4 Simple Rules
I was inspired to write this article after having an emotional experience with clothes. I have a history of ripping pants, long-sleeved shirts, and never finding jeans that fit my quads, calves, and waist uniformly. I usually laugh at this. It’s kind of a source of pride: knowing I’ve grown enough muscle to burst out of clothes made for average girls and having an athletic build that is not the societal norm. But around 2010, when my mom bought me a dress that made me look like a bulky mini hulk, I thought my muscles were too unfeminine to look appropriate in a dress. I had athletically-induced fashion disorder or…
-
New Skill Saturday: Elbow Carts
On Saturdays, I practice skills instead of focusing on strength or calorie burn. My goal is to attempt one new skill each week. This week, I was inspired by the show Bring It on Lifetime Network. In the last episode I watched on YouTube, the dancers had to perform an elbow cartwheel. I thought it looked cool and doable for me, so here’s my first attempt. I’ll post an update when I can land on my feet. How about you? What new skill would you like to try?
-
2020 Self-help Message
I’ve been part of a superficial industry for a long time now: the fitness world. After seventeen years of people criticizing my body shape or exercise goals, I came to realize what I wrote below, which is intended for anyone struggling with rejection, minimization, or insults regarding their health and fitness goals. The message: don’t seek validation outside yourself I’ve learned that in all areas of life, it’s important to focus on your unique journey and not what others think or say about you. Doing otherwise can lead to a negative self-image and poor mental health. Only you know all your starting points: the struggles and obstacles you broke through…
-
Kneeling Squat Jump
Below is a plyometric, functional lower body exercise. Wake your lower body and whole body up with this movement. It is a perfect exercise for the middle of a fat loss routine or as a superset move during any routine.
-
How I Raised My Credit Score as a Broke Single Mom
Financial literacy wasn’t a topic in my family home while I was growing up. By my early twenties, my mind was pretty much programmed to believe the financial odds were stacked against me. I never looked into building my credit because I didn’t understand the value of doing so, and after gross mismanagement of my first credit card, I was hesitant to ever get another. My debts at the time were composed of over $9k in student loans from a for-profit college (yes, I fell for one of those) and a $500, interest-gathering balance from my first credit card. In my twenty-one-year-old mind, I had simply too much debt to…
You May Also Like
Supporting Your Fitness Habit on a Budget
-
4 Simple Rules to Post-pregnancy Fat Loss
Pregnancy puts a woman’s body through some incredible changes to bring life into the world. As a woman’s waistline expands, it’s normal for her to get self-conscious about her figure and worry she may never return to her prepregnancy build. After delivering her child, she can be left with extra fat, loose skin, or both. But, if you’re an expecting mother reading this, don’t let that psych you out. Every year, plenty of women reclaim their prepregnancy figures (and sometimes a fitter body) through following tried-and-true principles, which I’ve condensed into the rule below, the same rules I followed to get a fitter body after having my son. Rule 1.…
-
Muscle-Up Progressions
The following progressions are just a few of many muscle-up progressions that exist. My gym has limited pull-up bars, so for me, using an assisted pull-up machine and rings for progressions is sufficient. However, your gym might have varying levels of bars, which can be more useful when learning muscle-ups. Regardless of whether you practice on a bar or with an assisted pull-up machine, the push-off and band techniques in the below video can be utilized to build up the strength to an unassisted muscle-up. The ring progression shown, however, works best on rings. I purchased the band used in the video on Amazon: WOD Nation Pull up Assistance Band…
-
Supersets Explained
A superset is strength training condensed: two or more exercises done one after the other with no rest in between. One round of back-to-back exercises equals one set. Supersets are an excellent training method for building muscle endurance and burning a lot of calories in a short workout. Other advantages — and disadvantages — of this training style are detailed below. Advantages of Supersets Cardiovascular Health By virtue of taking little rest between exercises, the body will enter an aerobic state, challenging your lungs and strengthening your heart. Doing supersets often or increasing the volume or intensity of a superset workout through increasing sets, reps, and adding exercises will further…
-
How Many Days/Week Should You Train?
Your body is a reflection of your habits. For results, you must expose yourself to the right exercises for your goal at a frequency that tells your body it’s time to adapt. In other words, shake up what your body is used to and introduce it to a new norm that it must condition itself to. That conditioning can come in the form of fat loss, muscle gain, increased strength, or learned skills – depending on how you train. Given this reality, it’s important to understand how many days of training are required to meet your fitness and body goals. Certified personal trainers often tell clients they need to dedicate…
LIFE . LONG . FITNESS
