Tag Archives: gym

Pregnancy and Fitness!

January 8, 2016 mahamabidtalent Leave a comment

❤ I’M BACK ❤

Pregnancy is such a complex, multi-faceted experience. I think if I could come up with one word to describe the process, it would be “vulnerability.” Something as private as your body becomes a public spectacle. Well-intentioned people begin to make comments about how you’re growing, if you’re growing, and whether or not that growth looks “good” or “bad.” Also, pregnancy is a time period marked with companionable, but unsolicited advice. Out of care and genuine curiosity, people seem to want to bond over this experience. It’s such an exciting time, and I think people, generally, are eager to share that excitement with you! They want to connect, and tell you about their experiences when they were pregnant, what worked for them and what didn’t’ work for them. Even strangers at the grocery store are eager to grant you their two cents on what you should or should not be doing, eating, not eating, craving, feeling etc. Though I agree that this advice comes from a benevolent place, it can sometimes be a hard to accept with an open heart.

I’m working on this, and on clearing my heart. I am trying to look at these advances as an opportunity for connection. What may seem as unsolicited advice may just be an attempt for others to find common ground. They are connecting with me, and giving me an opportunity to connect back. I won’t lie, however, thinking about advice this way is going to take some work. When someone criticizes what I’m doing, a natural resistance arises out of my human heart. I’ve witnessed this, specifically, in terms of others criticizing my running and physical activity.

I would go as far as saying that there is a universal taboo on physical exercise during pregnancy. It seems as if, regardless of culture, there is inaccurate information circulating about a suspected increased risk of miscarriages and birth defects associated with over-activity. This myth is especially exacerbated in the Indian/Pakistani culture 😦 The tricky thing in terms of defining what you can/cannot do in pregnancy is defining what “over-activity” means. I believe that the preceding definition is so subjective, and relative to the individual. For someone that has never walked a mile before, running 5 miles/day during pregnancy is probably alarming and unfavorable. However, for an ironman or triathlete, running a marathon might still be below their personal “over-activity” threshold. I guess the point I’m trying to make is: it is all relative. Nothing is 100% wrong or 100% right; in fact, my lovely OBGYN ran through eight months of all of her pregnancies! Pregnancy is a unique experience and no human being experiences it identically. Our bodies are also unique in their unparalleled capabilities, training and consequently, in the thresholds of intensity they are able to tolerate. From what I’ve gathered (mostly from my doctor and other OBGYNS), the rule of thumb seems to be the following: avoid trying new regimens that you haven’t been consistently pursuing before your pregnancy.

As for me, running and physical activity are the two practices that have kept me emotionally balanced. Everything seems to be subject to change in pregnancy, and I, for one, am still working on trying to tolerate change—much less, embrace it! Being pregnant is such an odd, lovely change! On one hand, there is this sense of blooming love and overwhelming excitement that I’ve never felt before. Then, on the other hand, I experience waves of terrifying fear and crippling vulnerability. “What if I screw this up?” “What if I mess up, and that ends up destroying my daughter’s life?” “What if I’m unable to provide her with enough stability to feel safe in this unpredictable world?” I think that is my biggest fear-that I will somehow “ruin her”. I don’t want to mess up her beautiful, fragile life. I suppose this fear is one that many parents have. I’ve seen the consequences of careless parenting one too many times, and I wouldn’t wish them on anyone. With all these thoughts ruminating in my mind, the addition of the vicissitudes of hormones and my own body changing can make me feel completely ungrounded. I can forthrightly and wholeheartedly say that the ONE thing that has helped me feel like myself is physical activity. Fitness, running, and working out are all activities that I enjoyed long before I was pregnant; they have been stable, persevering components in my transitions from childhood, youth, to adulthood. To me, physical activity serves as a hope for normalcy; it makes me feel like myself and gently reminds me that there is a beautiful end to these nine months of persistent change—that at the end of this process, my most sought out dream will come true; I, Maham Abid, will be a mother.

Running has provided me with a sense of consistency throughout this changing process. And of course, I’m terrified that one day I’m going to go the doctor and they will tell me that I have to restrain from all physical activity, and become bedridden because they’ve detected some sort of risk. Ah! how could I authentically claim this entry without the resurfacing of my ever-familiar tendency to catastrophize? I try to soothe these fears by reminding myself that so far, everything is normal, healthful and unimpaired. I do not know about tomorrow, but today, I have no reason to believe that this fear will manifest itself into reality. And if there ever comes a day when I do have to deal with this fear, or any other fear, for that matter—then, I will deal with it when it arrives in the present. But, not one moment sooner.

Today, I will choose something different.

Today, I will celebrate, because today I am pregnant with my beautiful baby girl. Today, I can of share my joy of running and other physical activity painlessly and effortlessly with my beautiful daughter. Today, I am carrying a sweet little child in my changing body, and that is miraculous. It is all I’ve longed for since I’ve been old enough to walk.

I was reminded of this in my new years trip with my family.

As we were hiking in Chattanooga, we passed by a wishing well and my sweet husband offered me a penny so that I could make a wish. When he suggested this, an indescribable emotion surged through me with immense power. I paused and with eyes full of grateful tears, I looked up at my kindhearted husband and said: “Alhamdullilah (by the grace God), I have nothing to wish for. All my wishes are coming true.”

I am happy, healthy, loved, and able to extend love.

And now, (iA), I will soon be a mother to a sweet, angelic baby doll.

There may come a day when my little girl grows up and feels dejected, and like the world has let her down. She may begin to doubt her own dreams, passions and aspirations, whatever they may be. And that day (and every other day), I’ll look down into her beautiful eyes, and point out that SHE, in her very existence, serves as MY constant reminder that dreams really do come true.

Thank you so much for reading my blog! I will definitely try to keep posting, as it is a highly therapeutic experience for me ❤ I plan on talking about my fears, changes in my workout routine, nutrition, pregnancy and other ramblings. Comment below and let me know if you’d like to know more about something else!

❤ ❤ ❤

Fitness

PART I: Tips for Endurance Athletes

October 24, 2014 mahamabidtalent 3 Comments

Hi beautiful beings! ❤ It’s so wonderful writing to you again 🙂 Eeep. I love you!

Okay, So! I am so flipping excited about this blog series because it is near and dear to my heart! If you haven’t figured it out already, I LOVE CARDIO!!!!!! I’m not kidding, “the runners high” is a real thing. It’s the closest thing I get to meditation 🙂 If you are wanting to get into cardiovascular exercise, this extended blog post is going to be your best friend! I have twenty-two total tips for ways to enhance cardiovascular endurance, so…without further adieu, here are the first eleven 🙂

1. No stretching before working out: Contrary to popular belief, I recommend that you do not stretch before you embark on your endurance endeavor. Eee! You see what I did there? I used lots of words that started with an “e.” Yay for alliteration. Okay. So little things amuse me. Prior studies have shown that acute static stretching impairs muscle force and torque. In simpler terms, this means that that muscle strength is decreased when it is lengthened. Notice how they said static stretching.

Dynamic stretching- means movement stretching (like taking a walk before you’re going on a run) or warming up slowly on a bike before you’re about to go finish a spin class.
Static: the traditional type of stretching “ex: sit and reach”

Thank God for such a thing as muscle memory! The term refers to a common phenomenon in which various muscle-related tasks seem to become easier to perform after previous practice. When you train in a specific way for elongated periods of time, your body will adapt to the stress so that the task is easier to perform next time. There is some consensus among the runners I’ve spoken to in that some amount of “tightness” in muscles is actually beneficial. Retained tightness is necessary for proper alignment. With that being said, trust your body. If you want to reduce the risk of injury, I do highly recommend dynamic stretching.

2. Cross-training! I cannot emphasize this enough especially for beginners! When we, as impatient human beings, want to do something, we want to go all into it. But that’s a sure way to disaster. Seriously, I’ve experienced this myself so many times. I call myself an “endurance athlete” and not exclusively a “runner” because I train in several different ways to enhance my cardiovascular strength. I swim; I do elliptical training; I take spin classes; I do plyometric movements and I also run. Cross-training not only reduces the risk of injury and over-training but it also allows us to diversify training. Through cross-training, we are able to work out different various muscle groups so that we remain beautifully symmetrical and proportionate.

I think both bodies, and all bodies are beautiful. It really is up to personal preference.

3. So this one is going to be a little controversial: I would advise NOT to “bodybuild” or strength-train areas you don’t need excess mass on. The reason for this is that when you’re running longer periods of time, you don’t need excess mass to slow you down. The lesser the mass, the lesser the impact of the surface on your joints, J as an endurance athlete, I find that the only muscle groups I really NEED strength in are my legs and abdominal/back muscles. I don’t like strength training my legs because I find that my cardiovascular exercise already provides them with adequate tone. I do strength train my abdominals/back muscles to help with balance and alignment throughout the exercise.

4. Shorten your stride! Research From Dr. Bryan Heiderscheit of the University of Wisconsin (and others) demonstrates that a shorter, quicker stride reduces impact on knees and hips. This is greatly beneficial especially if you’re wanting to do long-duration endurance work. There is a tip I’d like to share with you: when you’re landing, try to put your foot down BEHIND you. Of course, this is not actually what’s going to happen, but it will help make you conscious of shortening your stride as much as possible.

5. STAY AS ERECT AS POSSIBLE. Do you think you’re standing AS tall as possible? Good. Now, stand even taller! Seriously. This is one tip that I think can apply to EVERYONE. It is so important!!!! Probably the most important one that I have to offer. If you are on the elliptical, or if you are running, STAND as TALL as possible. You should be able to draw a straight line throughout your body. Here’s my tips for ensuring that your posture is correct:

Your shoulders should be relaxed, slightly pushing down away from your head. Chest should be expanded and raised (think proud Tarzan!) Your abs should be contracted and almost pushing your ribcage UP so that the weight of your upper body is being supported by the back/abdominal muscles instead of the legs, which are already doing their share of work!

6. Arms and legs should be loose and as relaxed as possible! “So my abs are supposed to be completely tight, but my legs are supposed to be loose?” Yes. I won’t lie. This is going to feel super awkward at first. But, I promise with time, you will get better at “isolating” certain muscle groups. This will help you contract/relax different parts of your muscle groups more easily.

7. Run on an even surface. There is a reason that treadmills and running track were created the way they are! They provide an extra “bounciness” so that the overall surface impact on the knees and joints decreases. This is exactly what we need if we want to run longer periods of time!

8. Do have a speed day! This is commonly known as HIIT training. HIIT training will help strengthen the major muscle groups in the lower body. It also burns a ton of calories and adds variety to the fitness regimen

9. Do have ONE day of full rest (not active rest). Please take a day off from endurance training altogether. I promise; it helps out so much!!!! When you’re doing endurance work, rest is essential to recovery and prevention of burnout.

10. Have yourself a cool-down. No! Cool-down does not equal stretching. I take at least 5-10 minutes to cool down. When you are working out and have your heartrate elevated, your blood vessels are dilated, and your heart is pumping blood rapidly. Having an adequate cool down allows your body to return to a state of homeostasis or balance. This will ensure that you don’t get that weird jittery/ “I’m going to pass out” feeling after working out. 🙂

11. Avoid (or USE caution with) hip openers and pigeon poses in yoga: Like I mentioned before, there is an element of tightness that is necessary for hip/body alignment when it comes to endurance work (especially running/and elliptical training). Be very careful in hip opening poses because we don’t want to get “too open” or “too loose” to wear we will be at a greater risk for injury the next time we run!

I hope these were somewhat helpful to you! And, I hope that you know how loved and cared for you are 🙂

And don’t forget, tips 12-22 will be coming soon in Part II: Tips for Endurance Athletes ❤

❤

Fitness

Why am I not getting results?

October 15, 2014 mahamabidtalent 5 Comments

Are you frustrated because you’re still not seeing results?

Well, take a read of my 20 top reasons you may not be seeing results.

1. Unclear goals. I believe that this is the number one reason people fail to see “results.” The way the human body works is quite simple–it adapts. It will make necessary changes and adjustments in its own physiology to better adapt to whatever stresses are being placed on it. In our case, the added stress is related to how/when/how often we are training. Often times, we do a bunch of different things, in no particular order or time and expect the body to respond in a specific way. Randomness is never going to lead to a specific outcome. So my #1 tip is to figure things out. What do you want? What type of body type do you desire? Are your goals to gain strength, gain muscle, lose muscle, loss fat, etc? Once you’ve established clear cut goals, do some research on it. What types of exercises do you need to do? How often? At what rate do you add a greater load your workouts?

Now, I want to tell you guys something really exciting. Eeep are you ready?

This blog post is only the first one in a SERIES of blog posts to come. So what are my next blog posts going to be about? In light of the fact that I think most people do not get the results they desire DUE to unclear goals, my next THREE blog posts are going to be a series of tips pertaining to three distinct fitness goals

Tips for increased muscle tone (bulking)
Tips for simultaneous fat loss and muscle tone gain
Tips to lose weight and excess bulk

ARE YOU AS EXCITED AS THE CAT?!?! Me too!!! ❤ giggles.

2. Misinformed post workout nutrition: you may not be eating at the proper time or the proper foods for your goals. For example, if your goal is to increase muscle tone and definition, it is a good idea for you to fuel up on an isolate protein snack within 30 minutes of a weight lifting session. On the contrary, if your goal is to lose excess bulk or muscle (ie; bulky quads), you should be avoiding ALL food at least forty five minutes after a moderate intensity cardio workout. This way the body is able to utilize the glycogen stores and then, and only THEN begin to burn through some of the excess muscle storage. More information about appropriate post workout nutrition in relation to your fitness goals will be posted in proceeding blogs.

3. You are overtraining the muscle you want to see shrink. This is a close #2 mistake I see women making. Numerous research has shown that even though women do not get as “bulky” as men, their lower body is more responsive to hypertrophy than any other part. This means that some of us may end up with bulkier legs than we prefer. When this happens, so many of us run to the cardio machines (stair master, elliptical, treadmill, stationary bike etc) in an attempt to burn more calories so we can lose muscle. In theory, this may work. However, what most girls forget is the “use it or lose it rule.” Intense forms of cardio are STILL working your leg muscles. If you are doing cardio everyday, you run the risk of overtraining the very muscle you want to see shrink. “Use it or lose it” applies everywhere. Train the muscles you want to see definition in to fatigue (for me this is arms, and abs). I steer away from training my legs to fatigue as I do not want the bulkier aesthetic for myself.

4. Not drinking enough water! This may be causing you to eat more, and retain more water.

5. Doing too much of the same thing: If you do what you have always done, you’re going to get what you’ve always gotten. That Robbins was a smart cookie, eh? A lot of issues can come up in your training if you continue to do the same sort of excercise day in and day out. First, your muscles will adapt to the load and therefore, it will be much harder for you to attain a “good workout” (I mean “good” in terms of effectiveness). Lessened variety of excercises within your regimen will force hypertrophy (growth) of certain muscles and ignore other muscle groups. This means that you may have more definition in one area (the area you are training), while completely lacking definition in other areas (the areas you are ignoring). Please include cross-training in your regimen. It has saved my world. Seriously. Please. Do it!

6. Nor resting enough: the next few reasons are going to come from the same basic background: that you are putting your body under a ton of stress. When your body feels excessive physiological stress, it begins to produce higher levels of cortisol to allow conservatory metabolic changes to occur. When there is a sustained increase in cortisol levels, your body may start to hold onto food as fat stores. So where does rest come into play? Lack of adequate rest can elicit your body to begin elevating its levels of cortisol! So be careful and take a rest day. 🙂

7. Creating too large of a caloric deficit: you may be working out like crazy and may have simultaneously cut your calories a little too much. Though this will eventually lead to weight loss (I’m talking months, people), the primary reaction is going to be one of stress. In fact, you are probably going to see the opposite results of what you want, initially. Your body will start retaining water like no other, which will lead to an overall “bigger” appearance as you will display signs of puffiness, inflammation and bloating. Furthermore, your body may decide to shift to survival mode and start storing everything you put in it into adipose tissue (or fat). My tip to avoid this from happening is: do as a turtle would do. Slow and steady wins the race. Also, creating too large of a caloric deficit and continuing to work out is a sure way to get injured.

8. Not getting enough zZzZzZz: Let’s talk sleep. If you are not getting enough sleep, you are putting your body in the “elevated cortisol” phase once more. It is under stress, and consequently, it’s going to start retaining water, become inflamed and react as if it is under attack. Also, as you all know, staying up at night can lead to binging on extra snacks, which may not be the best, depending on your fitness goals. So please don’t trade sleep for working out. It may be counteractive.

9. Getting too much sleep: Ah. Here’s that “moderation is key” mantra again. Too much sleep can affect your results too. 6-8 hours per night is optimal. Any more than that and you risk entering a robotic phase of what I like to call “sleep coma.” You know what I’m talking about. Those days where you feel entirely lethargic and tired throughout the day even though you slept a million hours. Getting too much sleep throws off your body’s natural circadian rhythm, pushing it off balance. We don’t want this.

10. Not instilling a proper warm up or cool down: When you are getting into the gym, chances are you haven’t been training for a marathon the whole day. This means that your muscles have been in a static phase. They need time to become “warm” and ready to go. So please take AT LEAST (and I mean, at the very least) 5 minutes to warm up the muscle group you are planning to work out. I, personally, take about 10-15 minutes to conduct a full body warm up. Numerous studies have shown that a proper warm up can also aid in injury prevention. AFTER you are done with your workout, a cool-down needs to take place. Your heart will be pumping blood like crazy; everything is rapid, and your blood vessels are dilated keeping your body at a hyper-alert stage. It is important to take time to cool down, and allow your body to return to homeostasis. A proper cool down can ensure that you don’t faint or begin to feel sick after your workout. Personally, I like to cool down for about 10-15 minutes– until my heart rate gets down to 100 level.

11. Overestimating expenditure: You’ve probably heard the saying– “a one hour workout is just 4% of your day.” Though this statement is meant to motivate, it does hold subtly important information. A one hour workout, regardless of the intensity, is just 4% of your day. A lot of us are guilty of going to the gym, giving it a 110%, and then remaining completely stationary for the next 23 hours. This can lead to an overestimation of expenditure, or how much we think we are burning. The more you move, the more you burn. For an average-sized woman, a one hour shopping spree (walk at the mall) can result in an additional caloric loss of 300-400 cal. My advice to you is: try not to remain stationary the entire day. I know that workouts are tough. Sometimes, you just don’t want to move after them. It is okay to sit/lay for a little bit to recover. However, try to stay on your feet most of the day and move around 🙂

12. Not tracking your food intake. This can lead to an underestimation of how much we are truly eating. Truth be told, calories are hard to burn. They really are. But they are so EASY (and yummy) to ingest. Regardless of your goal, I think it may be a good idea to track your food intake for a few days to see how much you are really eating. This way, you can tweak your workout program and nutrition regimen to optimize results. On a side note, PEOPLE! DRINKS COUNT AS CALORIES TOO. A few lattes from starbucks per day can result in anywhere from a 600 to 900 calorie gain.

13. Not having proper meals. Are you snacking all day? Every few hours? Yes, there has been research done that demonstrates that snacking frequently can rev up your metabolism, allowing you to burn more throughout the day. Though that is true, most people forget to mention the flip side of this phenomenon! When you “rev” up your metabolism with a snack, it means that your body is probably going to feel hungrier and want MORE food. So unless you have the discipline and self-control of a superhero, I recommend that you stick to 3 proper meals, and snack 2-3 times a day.

14. Yo-yo dieting and random working out: Like I said before, randomness will never lead to specificity. If you are not consistent in your method, you are not going to see consistent results. Doing too much, too often throws your body into confusion. So though, some variety is good, too much variety is chaotic. It will take a little bit of time for you to find that balance for you, but I promise, through practicing gentle curiosity and patience, you will discover it.

15. Rewarding yourself with food: There are so many things wrong with that statement. I literally cringed as I typed it up. First of all, food is not a reward. The mentality of using it in a punishment/reward system is very risky. This type of thinking is the root backbone of eating disorders, and compulsive eating behaviors. So, no, food is not a reward. You are not a pet who needs to be bribed with a “treat” to conduct a certain task. Food is fuel. It is a necessity that you need to sustain yourself and all the wonderful things that you accomplish. Please don’t use working out as a means to allow yourself certain foods. Coming from that place of motivation is highly stressful and distorted. (alright, alright, I am getting off my soap box now).

16. Sipping on popular sports drinks during workout: The popular marketed sports drinks are high in calories and sugar. Depending on the drink, you may, literally, be drinking all the calories you are burning. So take notice of what you put in your body. If you tend to get dizzy and want to make sure that you are replenishing your electrolytes, I would stick to plain water, and just mix in a packet of Emergen-C powder!

17. Taking too many breaks during your workout: Sometimes, we work out really hard for 5 minutes, and then start to look at our phone–“oh look, our best friend texted us with a funny picture of a cat eating noodles. Haha, how cute! We need to reply to this. Wait, why just reply in a text message? Let’s one up her! Let’s google funny pictures of cats and find an ubber hilarious picture and send it to her!” 15 minutes later…you’re still on that phone. Sound familiar? Put that phone down!!! Heart rate is changing number ya’ll. In order for it remain elevated, it needs to be maintained with consistent activity. Let’s make the most out of the 30 minutes-1 hour we are dedicating to ourselves and our bodies at the gym.

18. Got (no) patience? : So many of us need immediate gratification. We need to see those changes! And when we don’t, we are quick to walk out on the process. This is one of the simplest reasons we may not see results. If we’re not sticking to working out and seeing the process through, we’re not going to get the results. Sucks how that works, right?

19. Not listening to your body: On the contrary, you may not be listening to your own body . Are you trying really hard to make yourself into another transformation? In that process, you may be neglecting what your body is telling you. The truth is that you are not the same person as any of the other girls in the “transformation pictures.” No, I don’t care if your body may resemble hers. You are NOT her. This means that no work out program is going to be smarter than your own body. If a regimen that’s supposed to make you lose weight is actually making you gain weight, then you may want to change it up. But so often, we just keep going— hoping that with enough time, it will magically make us lose weight. The entire time, we ignore the signs that our body gives us. So, let your body be the primary judge–your primary guide. If you are hyper-vigilant and super aware of your body, you should see SOME change in 4 weeks. If it takes you a little bit longer to notice changes, you should see some by 6 weeks for sure. Again, notice that I said some results. They are probably not going to major life changing ones, but they should be enough to give you insight on how your body is responding to a certain regimen.

20. Don’t forget to love yourself: Alright, so this tip may not be the most “scientifically” correlated with seeing results, but I had to put it in here! It would feel inauthentic if I didn’t! 🙂 Take time to love yourself throughout the entire process–through the injuries, the messups, the falls, the small victories, the big wins, and all the rest. You are trying and you are human. This means that you are going to get there a little bit a time, not all at once. Take time to honor your body and what it can do for you, and most of all, trust it 🙂 It does so much to support you!

I love you all so much! I hope this was helpful ❤

And don’t forget, this was just the first post in a series of posts to come. Watch out for these next three blogs ❤

Tips for increased muscle tone (bulking)
Tips for simultaneous fat loss and muscle tone gain
Tips to lose weight and excess bulk

❤

Fitness

Drop it like it’s hot!

August 10, 2014 mahamabidtalent 4 Comments

Here’s a little background on my journey. Prior to getting married, I had always been in the 110-115 lb range at my near 5’5 frame. I was living at home, eating home-cooked food, and consequently, had some regularity in my meals and, therefore, my weight.

Recent picture in the same outfit (different jean size of course)

After getting married and moving to a bigger city, I was introduced to drive-thru krispy kreme’s and smoothie places. Needless to say, it was lust at first sight.

Another thing working against me was that I did not know how to cook especially well; this meant going out to eat a lot. And, frankly, come on! I moved to New Orleans- the city of Cajun friend food! So, I ate. And I ate. And I ate.

A few months after getting married, I went back to my hometown and started getting a few remarks about how “chubby” I had gotten. This was a new thing for me, as my whole life, I had never been told that I was “chunky” or “chubby.” I became especially self-conscious, and decided to step on a scale for the first time in months. 131 lbs stared back at me. I had gained 15-20 lbs in just three months! ~~WHAT????????~~

Yeah, Okay! I know that’s not overweight. I realize that its not “too much.” But, I didn’t like the way I looked, and more so, I didn’t like the way I felt. So, I set out to make a few changes.

Over the next year, I went from 131 lbs to a fragile 96 lbs. I didn’t realize that I had plummeted to such an unhealthy weight range, until I visited my primary care physician for my annual check up. I was unaware of my weight loss, because I had stopped weighing myself. I was only tracking my progress based on measurements and the way my clothes fit.

Needless to say, after that doctors visit, I kinda freaked out. (shoutout to my patient husband, who picked me up and calmed my bawling self down 😉 ). I, then, set out to return to a state of balance, remaining careful in my journey, as I wanted to gain the weight back in muscle mass. I did not want to pack on lbs of fat as I had done before. Consequently, I added weight training into my predominantly cardio regimen, and began to incorporate more protein sources into my diet. I steadily gained muscle over the course of the next 6 months.

This brings us to current times :). I haven’t weighed myself in a few months. However, the last time I was keeping track, my weight seemed to stay between 104-108 lbs (this was in late April 2014). I don’t like weighing myself anymore, as that is a slippery slope for someone like me, who tends to get trapped in the “perfectionism” cycle easily.

Notice that my pre-wedding weight was around 110-115 lbs; this is close to the 104-108 lb range I was in a few months ago.

Look at how different the recent pictures look from the very first pictures in this post. That should be a testament to the fact that weight isn’t everything. 110 lbs of predominantly muscle looks starkly different from 110 lbs of predominantly fat.

I wasn’t always able to jump around from bench to bench like a lemur. I wasn’t always able to do pushups, or chin ups. I was not always able to run for an hour. So what is my secret? What did I do? Well, read on!

Change #1

I cut out almost 60% of refined, processed WHITE carbohydrates. This was probably one of the biggest, and initially one of the HARDEST changes I made. Don’t you love how those two things usually go together? Anyway, I stopped eating white rice, white bread, doughnuts, cookies, etc. Please note that this did not happen overnight. I did not go “cold-turkey” or shift to an all-or-nothing sort of mindset. In fact, I am munching on Lorna Doone shortbread cookies as I write this. PS- they are delicious.

Personally speaking, I do not think quitting something entirely is sustainable, or even “healthy”. It may be more healthful for the body, however, I don’t see this restrictive type of thinking as beneficial to the mind. As someone who already struggles with perfectionism, it is extremely important for me to steer away from the “nevers”,”always” and “forevers”; It is truly a minute-to-minute struggle to remind myself to live in moderation.

Anyway, I simply began to reduce my intake of “white carbohydrates.” I remember that, at first, I replaced them with brown rice and wheat bread. As time went on, I replaced the brown rice with quinoa and I actually stopped craving bread altogether. If I had to choose, most of my weight reduction was a result of this change.

Change #2

The first “excercise tool” I purchased was not some fancy sportswatch; instead, it was a $5 pedometer. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what that is, it is a simple tool that counts the steps you take each day. I began by tracking how many steps I walk in a typical day, and started to increase that number the next day. So, each day I was walking more than the day before. The key to this is holding yourself accountable. I remember that some days,I had to drag myself out of bed to go walk around the house one more time, so that the number of steps I took was at least 1 step greater than the day before. Since this was an active goal, it inadvertently led me to park further in parking lots and to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Change #3

I started a food journal! I started recording the calories in the foods I was eating. Since weight loss, at its basis, results from a caloric deficit (taking in less than you burn), food logging was very helpful. Now, I do have to say that this can easily become obsessive, so I have a tip for you. I want you to to start thinking of caloric deficits on a weekly instead of daily basis. How many calories are you eating per week? How many calories are you burning per week? After you’ve answered these questions, try to create a deficit of at 1300-2500 calories in the number every proceeding week. Continue this, till you have reached your target body type. The reason I recommend doing this on a weekly basis is for enhanced sustainability. It becomes really hard not to beat yourself about having a “bad day” if you focus too much on daily calories. There will be days where you eat more. There will be days where you eat less. Consequently, it is more sustainable and healthy to assess your nutrition progress weekly.

Change #4

Oh this is going to be a kicker for so many of you–guess what? I stopped weighing myself. Take your measuring tapes, and cameras out, and throw your scale out the window (don’t do this if you live on the 2nd or 3rd floor lol). Weigh-ins can become really depleting, and may lead you to feel dejected. Sustainable weight loss is slow. The reason I said “sustainable” is because people can starve themselves for a few weeks, and drop tons of weight, however, once they start re-feeding, the gains will be back. True, lasting, weight loss is slow and steady, especially if you are trying to maintain it. If you weigh yourself, and don’t see that “magical number” we all create in our heads, it can become sadly easy to give up, and return to old habits.

Change #5

Only after making the above-mentioned changes, did I get a membership to the gym, and make any active attempts towards exercising. The first exercise program I ever tried in attempt to lose weight was Sean T’s Insanity. Yes, I did lose weight on it, however, it is an extremely challenging fitness program. I felt like I was going to die during the WARMUP. I finished Sean T’s insanity, and joined the local gym. There, I began to walk on the treadmill for an hour a day. This also assisted in further weight loss. As I felt more comfortable , I started venturing out to the elliptical machines, and began to take spin classes. These were all very helpful. I will say this, however: if you decide to take spin classes, please be careful about raising the resistance too high, as this may cause your quads/thighs to bulk up.

Important Point: Long-duration cardio (>25 minutes) is going to be your main arsenal when it comes to weight loss. This is predominantly all I did when I first started my fitness journey. The thing with cardio is that it will initiate you losing “weight”; this means that you’re going to be losing fat but also some muscle.

Important Point: Spot reduction is not possible. We cannot say: “doughnuts go to my butt, and cardio, subtract from my belly.” It simply does not work that way. When the body loses weight, it loses weight evenly. You can do ab excercises all day and night, and have a 6-pack. You will not be able to see that 6 pack, unless you employ cardio to help decrease the layer of adipose tissue, or fat, that covers that muscle group.

Change #6

My heaviest “carb” meal, to this day, is still breakfast, or my “pre-workout meal”. This way, I utilize most of the food that I eat throughout the day. For dinner, I have mostly protein and vegetables. I don’t need heavy carbs during the night, as my activity level is going to be low.

Change #7

Portion sizing goes a long way! Simply reduce the portions you take- even if it is just by a little bit. Subtracting a ton of “little bits” eventually add up to a lot of weight loss. Rule of thumb: the amount of grainy carbs you eat in one meal should be, at max, the size of one fist.

Change #8

Alright, alright. Warning! if you are a healthnut reading this, you are not going to like this change. When I first started on my fitness journey, I started “replacing” foods solely based on the caloric value. I didn’t care if the replacement was all natural, organic, vegan, gluten free etc. Since my initial goal was weight loss, I was only concerned about taking in a lower amount of calories. Consequently, I started replacing normal cookies with 100-calorie Lorna doone packets or 90 calorie special k cereal bars. I started replacing whole milk with unsweetened almond milk. I replaced sugar with stevia, and white bread with low calorie multigrain crackers. I’ve gotten more health-oriented now, however, this post is not about me now, it is about when I first started.

So, here you go. This highly-requested blog post is almost done. I haven’t told you guys my #1 secret though.

So, here goes: There is no way that I would have been able to do this if I had come from a place of extreme self-loathing. It is one thing to WANT to change; it is another thing to hate yourself through the whole journey.

You will NEVER be able to accomplish anything if your motivation is from a hateful, critical place. It is not sustainable. How far can a horse run if you keep whipping it harshly across the back? It may run faster, at first, out of fear and shock. In the long run, however, it will slow down, and eventually, fall to the crippling pressure. So, please, don’t set yourself up for failure.

I love you ❤ Please remember to love you too!

Fitness

Kayla Itsines BBG: Slimming bulky legs

August 6, 2014 mahamabidtalent 10 Comments

As most of you know, I completed Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide program. I’ve gotten tons of direct messages, as well as questions embedded in comments regarding my sentiments on the guide. Do I recommend it?

In short, the answer is YES. I do. It is a wonderful guide that includes tons of new innovative fitness ideas. I can easily say that my approach towards fitness has been changed forever, because of it.

So, the million dollar question: how did my body change?

Well first, I did take pictures along my journey, however the reason you haven’t seen these progress photos is because it is against my religion to show my bare stomach/legs. I can tell you that after completing the guide, I had more tone in my arms, abs and back than I have ever had in my entire life. The muscle tone I’m referring to is the lean, petite, defined look, as opposed to the bulky muscular look.

I truly think that when Kayla released her guides, she called them a “GUIDE” for a reason. It is simply a set of her recommendations that could be helpful in attaining a certain body type. HOWEVER, YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOUR OWN BODY, because it should be the primary reference and teacher in showing you whether or not something is working. So although, I recommend the guide, I do NOT recommend it as a replacement for trust in your body and your own experience.

This leads me to talk about something so many of you have questioned me about: slimming down muscular legs. A few weeks into her guide, I found that my thighs/quads were gaining more muscle than I preferred. So, I tweaked a few details, to help reshape my legs to the way I desire.

I have to say this one more time! I don’t think that Kayla’s intent for creating the guide was to provide a “foolproof” way to get the body you want; there is no ONE way that can work for every single girl in the world. Her guides are lavished with helpful guidelines and tidbits of knowledge, so please don’t doubt the validity of your own experience with another’s suggestions–not even mine!

In my journey, I discovered that I’m an ecto/mesomorph breed, which means I tend to pack on muscle like no tomorrow. I can see it, and I can feel it. This works in my favor when it comes to abs/arms and back definition. However, my legs tend to become disproportionately bulky. What do I mean by that? Well, my calves/lower half of my legs do not budge in size, whereas the upper half of my legs start bulking, and it looks a little strange to me haha.

A few blog posts ago, I gave you general tips regarding slimming bulky legs. But so many of you have been questioning me about how to incorporate these tips into Kayla’s guide. In short, the question seems to be: what types of changes did I make to ensure my leg size did not increase while I was doing Kayla’s guide?

Now, as far as the SPECIFIC guide…

On M,W,F

AM: I’ll do LISS in the morning (power-walking) for 45-60 minutes.
PM: I’ll do the desginated workout from Kayla’s guide

On T, Th

AM: I’ll do moderate intensity cardio (jogging/ellipitcal) for 30-45 minutes.
PM: I will stretch or do vinyasa flow yoga for an hour.

Saturdays: LISS only

Sunday: Rest day

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I had to incorporate more LISS-MISS to for longer bouts of time. Why? Because the only time that there may ever a need for your body to turn to your muscles for fuel is in the late stages of extreme endurance running. When glycogen or carbohydrate stores are depleted, your body will turn to the only fuel source left — amino acid proteins in your skeletal muscles. Only then, will it turn these into glucose for fuel.

So please note that losing muscle is HARD. Our bodies do not, naturally, want to do this. So be patient with yourself during this process.

An example of my favorite/most effective workouts that I did on Tuesdays and Thursdays is this one: I would start by jogging at 5 mph on a treadmill. I would then increase the spped in increments of 0.3 mph every minute. So, each proceeding minute, I would jog at 5.3 mph, 5.6 mph, 5.9 mph, etc. I would continue doing this for a total of 5 minutes.

Minute 1: 5.0 mph

Minute 2: 5.3 mph

Minute 3: 5.6 mph

Minute 4: 5.9 mph

Minute 5: 6.2 mph

Once I reached 6.2 mph, I would start coming back down in 1 minute increments. So…

Minute 6: 6.2 mph

Minute 7: 5.9 mph

Minute 8: 5.6 mph

Minute 9: 5.3 mph

Minute 10: 5.0 mph

I would keep repeating this circuit for a total of 30-45 minutes.

This is ONE example of training at a moderate-high intensity. Remember, in order to train at a moderate intensity, you must determine your heart rate training zones. Working at a “low” or “mod” or “high” intensity is not defined by the specific workout you do. It’s defined by how “hard” your heart has to work to maintain the workout. I could simply be doing the elliptical for 30 minutes at a speed of 9.0 mph and this would still constitute as moderate intensity training for me, as my heart rate falls in between the moderate training zones.

I also incorporated yoga into my regimen. I cannot emphasize how much yoga helped with elongating contracted muscles! It’s counterintuitive because it’s generally a low impact/low intensity activity, and consequently, does not burn as many calories. However, it has really worked wonders for helping me stay lean and long.

Now, as far as the specific “LEG day” circuit, I made a few adjustments

I only did 1 round of the entire circuit! So I did Circuit 1, and Circuit 2. Each circuit is 7 minutes, so I only did 14 total minutes, and stopped. I did NOT repeat both circuits a second time around. Instead, what I did were these excercises:
I replaced all weighted squats/weighted lunges. Whenever the guide instructed me to do jump squats/weighted squats, i would turn them into plie jump squats.
Whenever the guide instructed me to do weighted lunges/jump lunges, I would replace them with the lunges shown in this video. Please fast forward to 5:26 to watch the move!
NOTE: if you find that your legs are still remaining “bulky” even with the above-mentioned replacements, start replacing those exercises high intensity full-body plyometric movements. This way, you are incorporating more of the entire body and therefore, no longer targeting quads and hams. Some replacements you can try include: jumping jacks, star jumps, plank jacks, skaters, tuck jumps, hurdles, leap frogs, 180 jumps etc. Here is a video of common plyometric exercises you can browse through and choose:

In summary, the above-mentioned recommendations are what helped me return less muscular-looking legs. You know the famous saying: “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” Well, remember it and use it to your favor. If you’re not using the muscle, while eating at a deficit, you WILL start losing muscle (the time it takes each person varies, but I promise you, that it will occur). The reason I made these replacements is because I did not want to target the leg muscles. Full-body plyo movements cause power to be generated across a larger surface area, and therefore allow the entire body to become more evenly engaged. Whereas, squatting and doing lunges unevenly distribute power to target the legs. Think about it, if someone is doing lunges and squats in the “proper form”, their upper body is as close to still as possible. As mesomorph ladies trying to lose muscle, we do not want to overwork our leg muscles, causing them to hypertrophy.

Fitness

Bend ‘n stretch!

August 5, 2014 mahamabidtalent 1 Comment

Lets talk stretching. So many poses. So many stretches. Ya’ll have probably heard the importance of stretching in injury prevention, and in elongation of tight muscles. So, I won’t bore you with information you already know, but I do have to say this: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAKE TIME TO STRETCH!

I use my legs quite a lot, as the workouts I do are either a)cardio, or b) high intensity plyometric movements (AKA lots of jumping). Consequently, most of my stretches are centered around….tada…my legs!

In my workouts, I usually stretch twice. The first time around, I stretch after doing some light cardio (5 min walk/jog to warm up). I also stretch after finishing my workout. When I’m stretching, I hold each pose for about 30-45 seconds! You should feel a slight pull, and some healthy tension. This is good, as it may be indicative of you increasing your flexibility.

However, it should not HURT or ache in any manner. Please be careful. Don’t go pulling your pretty little muscles!

Without further delay, here are some of my favorite stretches!

This is your basic reach. I repeat this with each leg, and I finish with putting both legs together, and touching my toes!

This is the pigeon-pose. I cross one leg underneath my tummy, and stretch long with the other one. Repeat on the other side.

Hey guess what? You can also get an awesome quad stretch by altering the pigeon pose just a little bit! Yay!

This is a modified version of the basic reach again. Since you’re positioned vertically, this time around, it’s really working the backside of your legs!

Dancer’s pose ❤ Great for an overall leg stretch!

Modified lunge!

The butterfly pose! This is a great inner-thigh stretch! Just hold both feet together, and push your tummy closer to your thighs. Most people do this stretch ineffectively, as they want to get their foreheads to touch their toes. I did this too, until my yoga instructor told me otherwise! The best way to stretch the inner thigh or adductor muscles is to lean your hips/lower tummy towards your thighs. This way, your back remains straight, and unrounded.

This one is great for the hip flexors!!!!! I discovered it recently and I fell in love with it! Cross one leg over the other. Make sure that both of your sit-bones are touching the ground! Now reach as far as you can. You should feel the best kind of pinch in the back of your hip. Bahh. is it obvious that I’m kinda sorta obsessed with this one? And, on the plus side, I feel like a cat doing this pose.

Yay! Now go stretch!

Seriously.

Go. Your muscles will give you little kisses.

❤

Fitness

Slimming down bulky, muscular legs

August 1, 2014 mahamabidtalent 16 Comments

These are both pictures of my legs at different times

I feel like this deserved a blog post on its own because this is probably my most FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION.

Okay, so by “rarely” I mean that I do not do repetitive leg exercises that target isolated leg muscles such as lunges/squats/calf raises. I may do a set here and there, however that’s really it. If I do decide to do the above mentioned isolated exercises, I tend to make them plyometric movements. What does this mean? In simple terms, this means: “ADD A JUMP”. Jump lunges, jump squats, jumping calf raises. I do these as fast as possible without causing fatigue. As soon as I feel the burn coming on, I STOP and rest before repeating.

As a mesomorph with a relatively low body fat percentage, I TEND TO GAIN MUSCLE LIKE NO TOMORROW. Even slight increases in muscle size look quite noticeable, as there isn’t a substantial amount of subcutaneous adipose tissue (fat) covering them.

So MIIT/MISS is my ARESNAL for training my legs! I’ve found that, personally, I cannot go wrong with this type of training. So, what is this?

MISS: moderate intensity steady state cardio: stay at a moderate heart rate zone for > 25 minutes.

MIIT: moderate intensity interval training cardio: train at a moderate-higher intensity heart rate zones, step off to the side/slow down to allow your heart rate zone to drop into the moderate/low training heart rate zones. Speed up again to push heart rate back up. Make sure you are not staying at your high intensity zone for too long. You should barely be entering it.

These are my heart rate zones. To figure out YOUR heartrate training zones, visit this page, and follow the directions: http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/heart-rate-calculators/hrzone

This post is about actively losing MUSCLE. So this post is mainly geared towards lovely people who feel that that their legs feel excessively “hard”/lack cellulite/feel bulky. If you find that you have more fatty tissue, you must do all types of cardio/eat at a greater deficit to decrease your overall body fat percentage and weight.

I recommend doing cardio with a very light meal prior to it. I, personally, can’t do fasted cardio, as I feel faint, and dI have passed out from it before. So why a light meal? Well, the only time that there may ever a need for your body to turn to your muscles for fuel is in the late stages of extreme endurance running. When glycogen or carbohydrate stores are depleted, your body will turn to the only fuel source left — amino acid proteins in your skeletal muscles. Only then, will it turn these into glucose for fuel.

So please note that losing muscle is HARD. Our bodies do not, naturally, want to do this. So please be patient with yourself during this process.

By the same token as above^^, we don’t want to rebuild this muscle, as we are looking to LOSE some bulk. I recommend simply having a carb instead of protein so that you can refuel your glycogen stores. Snack on these carbs in moderation, as once your stores are replenished, the excess will be stored as fat.

The cardio i do is usually my mixed cardio routine posted a few slides ago. Sometimes it’s purely MISS/MIIT depending on my body, energy level, and lethargy. I want to quote something I read on wayofgray’s profile yesterday

Actually enjoy the foods you’re eating and workouts you’re doing. I love HIIT and my predominantly plant based diet, and that’s why I stick to it. If you hate running on a treadmill, try something else! I promise that you’ll find something you enjoy!

It is so important to LISTEN to your own body. So, if you get anything out of this post at all, please let it be the following: DO NOT KILL YOURSELF TRYING TO ADAPT TO THIS PROGRAM. This is what worked for my particular body type. You are SO wholeheartedly encouraged to tweak my recommendations to help YOU achieve what you desire.

You got this 😉 Please remember to stretch! This will be key!

❤ yourself. Because I love you!

Fitness

Current fitness routine

July 23, 2014 mahamabidtalent 2 Comments

“WHAT is going on with Allie/Maham!?”

“Isn’t she doing Kayla Itsines’ bikini body guide again?”

“Wait. No. I thought I saw a picture of Sophie gray’s Plyo Madness e-book on her page!”

“Yeah. She’s definitely doing the plyo madness e-book.”

“WAIT WHAT!?!?!?? she just posted a picture with Kayla’s workout!”

If you find yourself thinking those things going through my instagram, you are not alone. I would be thinking the same thing!! So what is my current fitness routine?

Well, it’s so funny that you ask that, my love, as my answer to that is: “I’m in the process of finding it out!”

As most of you know, I did Kayla Itsines’ bikini body guide! I finished all 12 weeks, and for the most part, I absolutely adored it! Consequently, after completing it, I decided to do it a second time around.

But, then, I stopped. Why?

Though her guide was a beautiful investment for my body, my mind had other ideas. To no fault of the guide, I found that I was becoming far too rigid in my thought processes regarding working out. “Robot Allie must do 1.25 hours of LISS today.” Working out became so mechanical and sterile, and frankly, I was working out far too many days!

I didn’t like that so much. So I stopped.

This brings me back, full circle, to my new years resolution I made for this year: BALANCE. The deepest parts of me know that the best results are acquired in a state of balance. I don’t know how I “know” this; I suppose it is because I FEEL it. It just feels like a state of concordant harmony would provide the most fostering environment for noticeable and DESIRED differences to appear.

How am I supposed to stay LONG and lean if I consistently keep doing high intensity exercise that causes my muscles to shorten and contract 6 days of the week?

So, I trusted my universal intuition. I actively verbalized my intention to our beloved universe.

“Like night has day, and summer has winter, I want balance. Lead me to it. I surrender to the delicate balance You maintain, and I desire to be in harmony with it.”

And, Voila! I came across Sophie Gray’s page! I loved that her workouts were only four days of the week and that she emphasized the importance of REST in her program–not just “active rest”, but really, true, “give yourself a break” rest. I tuned my attention to my mind-body-spirit connection and realized that this was a workout plan that my body AND my mind agreed upon. So, I purchased her e-book.

I’m only on week 1 so it’s a little premature to supply ya’ll with a detailed review. I will say, however, it is CHALLENGING. I cannot get through all eight rounds of the circuit YET. Consequently, I am only doing half of the rounds. To improve my cardiovascular strength, I am doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity on the treadmill/elliptical after completing the four rounds! All this in my limited 4 days.

I will keep you guys updated. I will say, however, that taking these rest days is really tough. I’m fearful that “all my hard work will go down the drain” if I allow myself 2-3 rest days instead of 1. Cognitively, I realize that this thought is distorted and inaccurate, however, emotionally, I am quite frightened.

It’s change. Change is scaryexcitingwonderfulnotsowonderful.

But my intuition has never led me astray. Where intention goes, energy flows. So, I’m currently amidst a balancing act. Meow!

Love ALWAYS!

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abidmaham

Tag Archives: gym

Pregnancy and Fitness!

PART I: Tips for Endurance Athletes

Why am I not getting results?

Drop it like it’s hot!

Kayla Itsines BBG: Slimming bulky legs

Bend ‘n stretch!

Slimming down bulky, muscular legs

Current fitness routine

Learning to stay human.

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Learning to stay human.