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“All Star” Liz of NJ
Posted by buffmother in Fitness on August 29th, 2010
“All Star” Liz of NJ
Have you ever been awe inspired by the site of very pregnant woman working out? Well this story reflects just that! Liz is a true success story in that she regained a great level of fitness during the third trimester of her pregnancy. Here is Liz’s final summary for a contest we had in the Team BuffMother Rally Room starting May 2007~
at 29 weeks At 39 weeks! NOW- 4 months later!
My Reflections on The 10-Week Quest for ConsistencyBy: Liz of NJBuffMother! Since 2005
At the conclusion of this Quest for Consistency Challenge, I am about to deliver a baby any day now and I am in the best shape of my pregnancy! At the beginning of the QFCC I was at the beginning of my third trimester, not weight training or eating particularly well and had just returned to the Rally Room a couple of months earlier from a hiatus due to remodeling my home. Having been uprooted from my usual diligent routine of weight training 4-5 days a week, I had become complacent about exercise and lacked the necessary enthusiasm for this challenge. I had never participated in a challenge in the RR before and was not sure I was prepared at 7 months pregnant to do so, yet I attempted to “psyche myself up for it [QFCC].” Then fellow BuffMother!, Debra Golding, also pregnant and further along then I, posted that she was doing it and that I should too. I thought to myself, “Well if she’s doing it… how could I not?” She planted a seed and that was all it took. I decided to join in the QFCC and I am so glad I did because I accomplished more that I thought I would in 10 weeks!
My opening thoughts were (as per my blog):
Day 1: “…I’m scared. Consistency is not a strong point of mine: …any break down in my “scheduling” can frazzle or de-rail me.”
Day 2: “I can do this!!! I feel GREAT! I wish I could bottle this [the excitement & energy]! Rather than worry too much about the outcome, I am just enjoying nourishing & energizing my body.”
What changed from one day to the next was that I walked into the gym with a plan and a mission. The QFCC was so well planned out with time frames, goals, mini-challenges and PMA (positive mental attitude) that it made it easy to “just do it!” I survived the first day back at the gym. My “test times” were not what they once were but I left the gym feeling GREAT!
And so as the QFCC progressed, I picked up steam. At first I was really tired and napped a lot! But as time went on I started feeling energized from my workouts. By week 4 I was hitting “pregnancy personal bests,” some of which exceeded numbers I hit BEFORE I was pregnant. Team BuffMother! encouraged me the entire way and by Week 8 I felt invincible even given “my biggest obstacle to overcome” over the 10 weeks: Almost constant lower back pain. Given this particular obstacle, the mini-challenge that I am most proud of, which I completed 100%, was the “100 lunges each day [for a] week.” I believe that was when I really picked up momentum.
Week 8 was a monumental one during the QFCC because at that point I was gaining in strength beyond what I thought was possible and realized my body’s capabilities were tremendous. I can only relate it to having attained a “runner’s high” because I was going into the gym and stacking on weights with such ease and determination that it was blowing my mind. Then at the beginning of Week 9, I found the balance that ultimately I am always striving for in my life. I was determined to finish out the QFCC while enjoying the last few weeks before I gave birth. I intuitively knew I had achieved a powerful lesson regarding my body, its capabilities and my attitude regarding CONSISTENCY: If I could be consistent, realizing that in doing so that my goals are attainable with such a natural flow that do it any other way was an injustice to myself, I could accomplish anything! And that my body is a powerful tool designed by nature to function optimally when nourished and strengthened properly and its driving force is determination and positive mental attitude!!!
Again, what changed my initial attitude regarding this challenge was a BuffMother!, who simply planted the seed of PMA that the QFCC could be done even in our third trimesters. If one simple statement could have such an impact on me that it changed the course of my pregnancy in such a POSITIVE direction, imagine the possibilities of encouraging other women. It is that simple! Michelle Berger has always said, “The Key to your Motivation is to Encourage Others.” Well the dynamic of what occurred in the Rally Room to encourage me to follow through with this challenge clearly proved that point! I sincerely hope that my involvement in the Rally Room has had even a small positive impact on others compared to the tremendous positive impact the women of the RR have had on my life! Thank you for the 10 most energized & empowered weeks of my pregnancy!
Weekly Consistency Report Final Summary
How many weight/strength training workouts did I complete: average 4 per week
How many cardio/interval training sessions did I complete: average 2 per week
How many days of the week in total did I workout: average 4 per week
What obstacle did I overcome in order to get it done? Lower back pain
Who did I encourage? BuffMother friends
“All-Star!” KQ Smith of SC and CT
Posted by buffmother in Success Stories on August 3rd, 2010
“All-Star!” KQ Smith
Well Where do I begin… I had the pleasure of meeting KQ over 5 years ago via www.buffmother.com. She’s been a member of TEAM BuffMother~ almost since we began!
KQ is one wonderful, motivated, fun, excitable lady!! We got to “meet” in person a little over a year ago and I knew then that this lady was truly destined for big BEAUTIFUL things in her future-and FYI- she is Strikingly Beautiful herself!! Over the years, KQ has been on a journey…one filled with a few potholes here and there, but the one constant in her life has been her commitment to become her BEST! and to surround herself with the BEST! KQ is truly an “All-Star”. Please follow her as she preps for the next stop in her journey. the Fitness America Pageant in SC on Aug 14th!! She will be rocking the stage for SURE! I love this lady!
Connect with KQ:
Follow her BlogSpot: http://kqfitness.blogspot.com/
Friend her on FB: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1346161964
“Emerging as Wonder Woman and helping you find your inner Super Hero along the way!!” ~KQ
I’m a 33yr old mother of 1, I work 2 jobs, I have a LIFE and I STILL GET IT IN!! I work hard, I play hard & I train EVEN HARDER!!! I make NO EXCUSES and I’m not holding anything back . . NOW IS MY TIME TO LIVE MY DREAM!!!
~~~~~~~
A DREAM COME TRUE~! KQ Competed at the Fitness America (Atlantic) in April of 2010!!
Her first show~ She is GORGEOUS!!
~~~~~~10 week www.BuffMother.com SSS contest results (Fall of 2009)~~~~~~~
Name: KQ Smith
Number of children and ages:
Age: 32
Why did you enter the SSS contest by BuffMother?
I entered b/c I am a BUFFMOTHER at heart and I wanted to use this competition to help me get back on track and continue working towards my goal which is competing in my first competition along with moving towards my goal of doing fitness modeling. This challenge has really helped me get myself refocused and I was able to start a Bootcamp at home and really get my personal training going.
What tactics did you use to stay focused and engaged for the entire 70 days?
I decided I was a winner and I was tired of complaining about my weight gain and I knew I had the ability to lose the weight and get myself jump started again. I have just really been taking this time as a reevaluation period and it has been WELL WORTH IT. I also used my boyfriend as a motivation. He believes in me completely and has stayed on me hardcore when it came to some of my bad habits like my snacking. I also used his desire to get back in shape to help me to b/c I have to keep myself on track if I’m going to help him get on track. I also refocused on hormonal timing again and getting paying close attention to my cycle and weight gain. How do you feel about your success? I am truly excited and overjoyed about my success. At one point I thought I had really fallen off the wagon and I was so hard on myself about getting back on but this challenged allowed me to focus and obtain my goals.
What obstacles did you have to overcome in order to attain your goals?
During the 70 days I experienced some great highs and some terrible lows by having crazy weight gains every now and then. I struggled with my issues that I call “drive-by snacking”. It’s not that I eat bad I tend to pop in the kitchen and grab some nuts, a piece of this, a piece of that and that all adds up unfortunately. I have also been traveling a lot during these last 70days and I have really worked hard at staying focused and on track by running and doing my workouts at the house, hotel or any gym I could find.
What would you like to tell the world about BuffMother ?
You already know I am a BUFFMOTHER thru and thru and I will preach it from the roof top. As I stated earlier I have really refocused myself on hormonal timing again. So much so that I know what CD day it is just by how I feel without even looking at the calendar. That is one of the best parts about this challenge which is KNOWING YOURSELF mentally & physically!!! That has to be one of the best parts of Buffmother besides creating the bonds with the other ladies who are going thru the same things as you are. Another great thing is the challenges b/c it forces you to have a starting point and to track your numbers that way you are able to see your success first hand b/c sometimes without the numbers and pictures we would drive ourselves nuts thinking we’re not getting anywhere and that’s exactly what I had been doing in the past. Most of all I will tell the world that I LOVE BUFFMOTHER AND I LOVE MICHELLE for bringing it to us!!
STATS beginning vs. after 10 weeks
Today’s Date:____9/14/09 11/21/09 ____ height:___5’10 still 5’10___ weight:__165 158_ age:___32 still 32___
Today’s cycle day-
Please list the following measurements:
Bust (around breasts the biggest part): 34 33.5
Chest- relaxed (just under armpits above breasts with arms down at your sides):33.5 33
Chest- flexed back and chest (just under armpits with arms down at your sides): accidently forgot this one in the beginning
Waist- relaxed (the smallest part): 27.5 26.5
Waist-sucked in (the smallest part): almost 27 26
Hips (the largest part of your butt): 38.5 37
Shoulders (around the outside of your shoulders with your arms at sides): 41 1/4 40
Biceps (relaxed at midpoint of upper arm): 11.5 11
Biceps (flexed at midpoint of upper arm): 12.5 12
Thigh-mid (about 8” above knee cap): 21 3/4 20.5
Thigh- upper (about 12” above knee cap): 24 rt=23, left=23.25
Calf (about 7” below knee joint): 15 15
Bulgarians / Single Leg Squat
Posted by buffmother in Fitness, Legs, video on July 23rd, 2010
BuffMother — September 18, 2009 — How to do a Bulgarian or Single leg squat by BuffMother, Michelle Berger www.buffmother.com
Category: Howto & Style
Tags:
squaqt single leg squat bulgarain exercise how to butt
Outline:
What’s in a Name
Basics First
Setup & Form
Balance
Variations
Switch Starting Legs
Transcript: Bulgarian or Single Leg Squat – no weight
Hi. The interesting thing about a lot of exercises that you deal with in bodybuilding and weight training is that there are several different names for basically the same exercise. It all depends on what you grew up calling it, what your friends call it, what your colleagues call it. There’s definitely, with the Bulgarian, there’s a lot of different names for this exercise. You can call it a split squat, a one leg squat, a Bulgarian. Then there’s different variations you can do of the same exercise. So just because one person does it one way doesn’t mean that’s the only way to do it.
Now there’s definitely safer ways to do it, there’s more effective ways to do different exercises. And what I like to teach people are the basic ways to do the exercises first. And stick with the basics at first. Then once you get a certain level of fitness you can tweak them, do different variations, and your body will be ready for those variations. If you don’t have the base core strength, the base leg strength, the base back and upper body strength there’s certain exercises you should not be doing – certain variations of certain exercises that you should not be doing.
So, I’m going to show you just the basic Bulgarian or single leg squat. Now the way that I start is that I have a bench behind me and I step out in front of the bench about 2 to 3 feet. So a good way to start would be to actually have something to hold onto when you’re first starting to do this exercise. I have the stand right here by me. Now simply just place your leg behind you on the bench. You know the bench is there, just lift up your leg and go behind you –you’re holding on so you shouldn’t lose your balance. Then just lower down. You want to lower down to where your knee does not extend over your toes. So you want to have your lower leg pretty much perpendicular to the floor, over your ankle if possible. So you lower down kinda going back, pushing our butt back. Then as you push up, push up through your heel.
So, we can hold on during this just to keep our balance. Because it is, it very much works your balance – your balance of your ankles, hips. You don’t really want any weight pushing through that back leg, you want all of the weight on the front leg. So think about this (front leg) as the leg doing all of the motion. That’s just back there to help you, for your balance and help you isolate this front leg.
Now, if for instance you want to do a variation of this exercise you can take a bigger stance. And typically I do mine with a bigger stance – I like to really stretch my glute. The closer in you come the more you work your quad. As you stretch out – say for instance if I add a foot out in front of me this way you can see that I stretch more in this area. It will activate my hamstring and glute more. And you can come straight up and down – that’s one variation. Or you can come forward. Like, if I have dumbbells I’ll come forward like I’m a sprinter getting ready to start my race. This will activate your glutes even more. Alright, so that’s a Bulgarian with a couple of different variations.
Now, you want to start with opposite legs each time you do a set so that you don’t overwork one leg and neglect the other. So you want make sure you do the same exercise with the other leg. So we’ll go ahead and do some reps with our left leg. When you’re first starting, like I said, you might want to hold onto something for balance, or have it there just in case. Once you get that you can move to having your hands on your hips or on your leg. This is good, it helps you with your balance. Then we’ll do a couple with the bigger stance here, leaning forward, like I have my dumbbells. You can pretend like you have dumbbells before you even use dumbbells. This is how I would hold them on this variation. That’s basic training on how to do Bulgarians.
I’m going to go ahead and take a little breather. Then I’m going to do a set with dumbbells, so I’ll be back doing that for you.
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts – Wide
Posted by buffmother in Fitness, Legs, video on July 21st, 2010
Michelle Berger, BuffMother www.buffmother.com demonstrates how to do wide stance db dead lifts- for hamstrings and butt
Category:
Tags:
- exercise
- legs
- abs
- hips
- butt lift
- running form speed
- arm flab
- weight training
- demo
- how to
- buffmother
- michelle berger
Outline:
Transcript: Wide Leg DB Romanian Deadlift
This hits this angle a little different on your hamstrings. You still want to keep the curve in your lower back and your head up high. Just til you feel the stretch in your hamstrings.
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