Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Sitting Kills!

^ for a bigger picture...can't figure out how to embed :( fail
Interesting...so get up from that chair in front of your computer and do something!
I definitely notice that I sit most of the time when I am home, and started to realize that I could be up and doing something physical! Hello, Ab wheel! but I can only do that for so long.

I think I am going to learn how to bike (I know, I know...I don't know how to properly ride a bike yet...shhh). I want to be good enough to ride on the roads and fend for myself in the dangerous road out there! Now, that is a daunting task. It should add it to one more things on my daily to do list! Maybe not daily, but hopefully more often! It will definitely give me something extra to do this summer...and its good cardio! (which I don't like doing)

& plus, my dear Olivia, I will be putting your bike to good use! 
Which, by the way is sitting in the living room...makes us feel like you are with us...HAHA (love you!!!<3)

How about you guys? Are you taking up any extra and new activities this summer?

Love,
E

Friday, April 29, 2011

My Review of HEMO-RAGE Ultra Concentrate

Finally, a review! Thank you NutrexGuy (BodyBuilding.com) for giving me an opportunity for a review by sending me the product! Can't thank you enough! Sorry for being late on the review!

Originally submitted at Nutrex Underground

HEMO-RAGE Ultra Concentrate represents the next generation in pre-workout products: 1-scoop only formula.

Favorite!
5out of 5
Pros: Taste, No crash, Mixes well, Energy
Cons: none :)
I was recovering from an injury and was stuck in a rut while training. My lifts were suffering quite a bit! I took just 1/4th of a scoop of this hemo-rage UC and I had the greatest workout since the injury (3 months). It helped me back into the zone again! 
I have bruisin' berry and it tastes really good! I used to scoop some into a water bottle and it mixes really well. Now, I am lazy and just scoop some in my mouth and drink water with it and still mixes well. The best part is that you don't need to take so much of the product, yet feel the pump without crashing!--also the great flavor!

Flavor plays a HUGE role in the products I choose. Even if the product worked really well but tasted horrible...I would not use it again. Hemo-rage UC works well AND tastes awesome!

To add to this....
So my PR (personal record) for a squat was 205 lbs. After the injury, it was hard even to squat 135 lbs. I think the highest I ever squatted after the bum shoulder was 175lbs, barely making it. After taking this product, I was able to squat 185lbs! I was ecstatic! It's finally time to work my way back up!!!
I can't rave enough about the flavor and consistency. No gritty, powdery, plastic-y aftertaste is definitely a thumbs up for me.
I started with 1/4 of a scoop before a workout. Now, I only take it when I don't feel like I will make it in the gym, or haven't slept enough. I only take no more than 1/2 a scoop. I probably only take 1/3 of a scoop most of the time. 1/2 a scoop for...exam cramming times...which is what I should be doing right now....at 6:30 in the morning!



Haha, totally true!



Overall: 5/5

Energy: 5/5
Endurance: 5/5
Mixability: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
No Crash: 5/5

-E


Friday, January 14, 2011

Sick...

I don't know what I ate but....I have horrible nausea, stomachache...and all the goodness that comes with food poisoning.

So I wake up in the middle of the night and I am FREEZING! I cannot stop shivering starting from my head all the way down to my toes. It was so scary because I had no control of the shivering! Apparently I was burning up to the touch though. (Thank you J for keeping me alive and taking such good care of me!) I really really had to go to the bathroom too but I didn't want to just thinking about how much colder it would be outside of the bed. But I went anyway, and my goodness, that toilet seat was like sitting on ice! I shivered my way back to the bed and I kept on shaking and I think it lasted for a long time until I finally fell back asleep.
In the morning was horrible too, I was still so cold. Then my stomach hurt real bad and I was so nauseated.

Two days later, I still have the symptoms and I made a ginger tea from this recipe I found from google, because since ginger is supposed to help with digestive, stomach pain/problems. I improvised by adding jujubes and lemon peels. Jujubes are supposed to help you distress, and I felt like being fancy too. hehehe.

This is what they look like

Ingredients: ginger (as much as you want), about 2 quarts of water, Jujubes (I added 7 for luck), lemon peels
Directions: combine all ingredients into a pot and bring it to a boil and continue for 10-25 min, depending on your preference of the intensity of the ginger...it can get pretty spicy. I think I boiled for about 15...? Add honey and/or lemon juice to taste and drink up for that stomachache!

Super easy! I am going to be bottling this up and drinking it wherever I go until this sickness goes away. Ugh and I have to carry a bag with me everywhere too because I feel like throwing up so often.

You know what makes me really mad? I went to the gym and I couldn't do anything but sit on the stationary bike, pedaling very slowly, because I felt so sick to move.

I even took Nutrex Hemo-Rage Black Ultra Concentrate (Pre-Workout) and I was really excited.... ): Don't worry though, I only took 1/3 of the scoop! Ooh, by the way, got it free of charge from Nutrex, so I can write a review! Thank you Nutrex! (: So watch out for that, it should be coming soon!

I learned a lot from being sick though! I learned about pressure points that relieves nausea, which is the 'webbing' between your index finger and thumb. Theres many more, I like to call it the 'elbow pit'...or the inside of your elbows, or one finger length below your knee. I have been doing it constantly, and I think it's working! Another thing I learned is never to say I am so nauseous! Apparently it is one of the most mistaken things people say. It means that you make people throw up! haha. So you should say I have nausea, or I am nauseated.

Till next time,
E

p.s. I have one follower! Thank you Brandon Brown!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Weightlifting

I never thought that I would be the one to be lifting weights in the gym. What is a gym anyway? I never, ever been to a gym “officially.” Officially, meaning being there for an actual workout, not machine hopping the whole time I am there.
If I was choose my workout of choice (back in the day), it would have been cardio, and lots and lots of it! But…I never really stuck to that either.
Then there was that no eating phase…got tired and hungry. Then there was eat and get rid of phase…will not even talk about that one, since it didn’t last very long. I learned very interesting terminology during this time. (ana/mia, thinspiration…how clever!)
College came and there was the biggest number I have ever seen on a scale.
Summer break after freshman year, I went to the gym almost every day. I followed my boyfriend around (I love you! I will call him J!) and he coached me at the gym. Thank god, because I don’t even know what I would do. We did the standard dumbell bench, bicep curls, and machine workouts, mostly isolation exercises, meaning concentrating on one muscle or muscle group at a time.
I learned about sets and reps and felt pain in places I didn’t even know it existed.
In sophomore year, I started a weightlifting program that consisted of 3 main exercises; squat, bench and deadlift. There were accessory lifts as well, such as power cleans, pendlay rows, dips and etc. It is a program called “Starting Strength” by Mark Rippetoe. (I will go into further details in the later posts!). As the name suggests, it is a program for new weightlifters. It worked out for me really well! My lifts increased by a lot by doing this program. I also learned to count by 45s…if you know what I mean.
image
haha.
After Starting Strength, I moved on to Madcow’s 5x5. This program also focuses on the three main lifts, along with military press and the barbell row. I hit my highest PR (Personal Record) on this program and I loved it!
When I thought things couldn’t get any better, I ran into some problems as well. I injured by back while pushing myself too far on a deadlift with improper warm-up, which set me back about 2 months. I could have improved sooo much during this time! 
Right now, I am still recovering from a shoulder injury from September, 2010. I still need to go see a doctor about it instead of self-diagnosing. I will make sure I put it on my to-do list…even though it was my # 1 for a long time…Having a semi-functional shoulder really limits what I can do at the gym! I could not squat for a long time. I can squat now, but still far away from my PR, since my shoulder ends up hurting with too much weight and it really makes me sad. I still cant bench properly yet and I only recently attempted the military press, and only the bar…45lbs…gah.
I am working on rehabilitation, slowly strengthening my shoulder and focusing more on other things, like Muay Thai! I also have a long way to go to improve myself on this but I have a whole life ahead of me and I am hopeful! I am also blessed to have J by my side, who is my guide (in the gym especially), best friend, and boyfriend anyone could ever ask for.
Love,
E

First Post!

Let’s see… where do I start!
I am a 21 year old college student. I will tell you all about what I do and what I am interested in.
It’s anywhere from journaling my lifting stats, product reviews to sharing recipes and everything else!

What I am most excited about is actually being able to follow the bloggers I have been stalking on my bookmarks!!! Heheh.

Love,
E