healthy (from here on)

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Mon, 11 Jun 2012 07:58:19 -0400

fitocracy: Won’t someone please think of the kittens?!

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 07:53:01 -0400

fitocracy:

Won’t someone please think of the kittens?!

thefitty: (via imgTumble)

Mon, 07 May 2012 16:02:34 -0400

thefitty:

(via imgTumble)

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Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:04:17 -0400

I don’t know if I could handle all those peppers, but...

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:04:46 -0400

I don’t know if I could handle all those peppers, but otherwise this looks delicious to me!

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Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:06:31 -0400

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Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:07:52 -0400

jessicablossoming: I found more photos of me around my...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:02:50 -0400

jessicablossoming:

I found more photos of me around my heaviest, so here’s another progress photo for y’all. I always love finding photos of me at my heaviest, because there aren’t many, and it’s nice to see who I used to be from time to time and where I started on this journey. I’ve been hovering at 190 for months and months, and you know what, I’m okay with that. My body, and my story will forever and always be beautiful.

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Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:01:27 -0400

healthystephie: withloveminusthehandles: Another Before &...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:06:51 -0400

healthystephie:

withloveminusthehandles:

Another Before & During.

Thank you exercise and healthy eating. You have granted me a healthier body.

I love Lisa. She’s amazing.

fearlessly-fit: Give me this, and I am happy for the rest of my...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 08:04:52 -0400

fearlessly-fit:

Give me this, and I am happy for the rest of my life <3

You tell ‘em, bb.

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:07:21 -0400

You tell ‘em, bb.

healthystephie: HOLY. HOLY MOLY. OH HOLY MOLY. He looks good.

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:01:25 -0400

healthystephie:

HOLY. HOLY MOLY. OH HOLY MOLY.

He looks good.

Beginner's Guide: 6 Basic Compound Lifts And How To Do Them

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:07:41 -0400

thespartanwarrior:

The core of any good exercise program should be built around the 6 basic compound lifts. These are the basis of weightlifting, the cornerstone of muscle building, the mecca of mass, the… well, you get the idea.

Must you do all of these? No. Nothing is a “must”. But instead of wasting countless hours doing 45 degree back hyper-extensions, concentration curls, and pec-dec flyes, you should try these first. If you do these as the core of your workout you can, and you will, get stronger and see results - faster.

Now, without further ado, let’s meet these key components.

Included with each of the movements is a video demonstrating and explaining the lift. If you are viewing this post through Tumblr then the videos will be seen as small boxes. Just click the box to be taken to the video.

1. Squat

Most people begin with the Back Squat, and therefore that’s what we’ll focus on here. Start with this one, and then later you can move on to Front Squats, Hack Squats, Box Squats, one-legged hungarian death squats, or whatever floats your boat.

Keep in mind also that the style of back squat can vary greatly. Olympic high-bar squatting with a narrow stance is much different than a powerlifting style low-bar back squat. Both have their places in training and are utilized primarily based on the way a person is genetically built.

The Back Squat:

Further Detail:

Tips:

Your lower back should maintain a natural curve inward throughout the movement. Do not “bend over” and arch your back or you risk a back injury.

Go as deep as your flexibility allows. Ideally, you will squat until your thighs are below parallel to the floor. But if you lack the proper degree of flexibility, going deeper causes your hips to tuck in under you and your back to round. If this is the case, then go as deep as you can while maintaining a proper curve to your spine. Work on hip flexibility to allow you to squat progressively deeper.

Good form is key. Do not use a weight which you cannot handle with proper form. If your form is compromised, drop the weight until you can maintain good form.

Your knees should point the same direction as your toes throughout the entire movement.

Have someone watch you squat and critique your form until you are sure you are doing this exercise correctly. There are many threads on bb.com about squatting - so do your research.

Stay tight. Draw in a breath before you descend and keep your core tight throughout. As your ascend release the air.

For more information:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBSquat.html

2. Deadlift

Like Squats, there are many forms of the deadlift. The basic form is presented here, but there are also Stiff-Legged Deadlifts, Romanian Deadlifts, Rack Deadlifts, etc.

The Traditional/Basic Deadlift:

Tips:

Like the squat, make sure you maintain a natural curve in your back. Do not bend over and round your back or your risk an injury.

The barbell should remain close to your legs through the entire movement. You don’t have to drag it along your shins like a cheese-grater (unless you want the street cred), but it should remain in light contact over very near your legs.

For heavy weights it is very helpful to use an overhand-underhand grip on the barbell. (One hand grips overhand, one hand grips underhand). This will help keep the barbell from rolling out of your hands.

For More Information:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/ErectorSpinae/BBDeadlift.html

3. Bench Press

The bench press is every newbies favorite exercise. Those who claim it’s not are lying. Do this one, if for no other reason than to be able to answer the perennial gym favorite: “How much do you bench?”. FYI, I think almost everyone does this exercise “incorrectly” to some degree.

The Bench Press:

Basic Form:

Tips:

Use a weight you can control. Do not “bounce” the bar off your chest.

Do not allow your elbows to flare outward so that your upper arms are perpendicular to your body. They should be “tucked in” toward your body at an angle.

Do some research on this one too, since it’s easy to do this exercise incorrectly. Generally, you’ll be fine, but some form issues can cause RC (rotator cuff) injuries, especially at higher weights.

You can also substitute Dumbbell bench presses. These allow you to work your stabilizers, and allow you more freedom to move your arms in a natural path - use these especially if you have shoulder issues with barbell bench pressing.

For More Information:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/BBBenchPress.html

4. Rows

To fully work your back, you need a muscle-building rowing exercise. Bent-Over Barbell Rows, T-Bar Rows, or Dumbell Rows are staples.

Bent-Over Barbell Row:

Dumbell Row:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/DBBentOverRow.html

Tips:

For most rowing exercises, it helps to visualize your hands as hooks and think about pulling your arm backward from your elbow. You want to minimize the involvement of the bicep, and instead concentrate on contracting your back.

Generally speaking, think of pulling the weight upward to your hip joint or lower abdomen. In the basic form of the exercises you aren’t pulling to your chest.

5. Pullups & Chinups

Pullups (palms facing away) and Chinups (palms facing toward you), are also good muscle-building exercises for your back. We all know how to do these from grade school along with the Flex-arm-hang, right?

There’s not a lot of mystery here. Grab a bar and pull yourself up. If you can’t do a pullup/chinup (or can’t do many), place a chair under the bar and put one foot on the chair. As you pull yourself up, use your leg to assist you. When you reach the top, stop assisting yourself and lower yourself using just your arms.

Think about bringing the bar to your chest (not just eye level), and lean back slightly at the top of the movement. Don’t swing your body, or “kip” yourself up with your hips. Use slow, controlled movements.

Once these become easy to do with just body weight, you can do them weighted with a dip belt, or with a dumbell between your feet. (Or small children hanging from you).

For More Information:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/LatissimusDorsi/WtPullup.html

6. Military Press / Overhead Press

The Overhead barbell press or Military Press (the Military Press is a specific version of an Overhead press) are usually referred to interchangeably. The Overhead press can be done seated or standing - your preference.

The Overhead Press:

Basic Form:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/BBMilitaryPress.html

Tips:

Overhead presses can be done standing, seated, with a barbell, or with Dumbells. There are numerous variants including Arnold presses.

Keep the weight directly over the shoulders. As you drive the weight upward for a standing overhead press, think about moving your upper body forward under the weight.

Some people like to place one foot forward and one rearward instead of just having them side by side. They find this helps with balance. I stick to side-by-side.

Like everything else, keep a natural curve in your back.

Notes & Final Thoughts

1. The videos chosen were picked quickly to show the basics. I’m sure there are better ones out there, but these should give the basic idea of proper form. Like anything make sure you view multiple sources to get a full-spectrum of knowledge for the process.

2. This is meant to be a guide for beginners’, outlining the basic lifts, how to do them, and general form tips as a starting point. It’s not an academic dissertation on the most advanced forms and techniques.

3. If you want to know which muscles each exercise works, follow the www.exrx.net link.

4. There is a great degree of variation and subtlety that can be incorporated into each of these lifts. However, I would suggest learning the basic form first - and correctly.

5. Start with a weight you know you can handle, and progress upward steadily workout to workout. There is no need to “ego” lift and just throw as much weight on the bar as you can handle. This often leads to form errors and injuries.

Good starting programs which incorporate these lifts:

Mark Rippetoe’s Starting Strength

StrongLifts

Madcows

This post contains content by VoxExMachina from this thread on bodybuilding.com.

theskinnyveg: Omg want, somebody bring me a fruit platter and I...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:15:59 -0400

theskinnyveg:

Omg want, somebody bring me a fruit platter and I shall provide you with infinite high fives! Win/win.

thespartanwarrior: Do your squats. I don’t know who you are. I...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:03:43 -0400

thespartanwarrior:

Do your squats.

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking to do curls, I can tell you I don’t have the need. But what I do have are a very particular set of legs; legs I have acquired from working them out in the gym. Legs that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you stop curling in my squat rack now, that’ll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don’t, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will squat you.

This is most likely fake as it’s popped up on 4chan, reddit and bb.com, but it still drives the point home.

mybodyneedschangeandineedcash: GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY!!! I...

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 08:00:05 -0400

mybodyneedschangeandineedcash:

GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY!!!

I made a promise to myself after I started this weight loss journey that when I lose my first 50 pounds I would do a tumblr giveaway on my weight loss blog. Well, I can’t wait that long! 50 pounds or 5 pounds; Progress is progress! So, I decided to do my giveaway sooner. NOW! I started out at 250 and I’m down to 229 (-21 pounds). I have a long way to go before I reach my UGW of 120, But I’m proud of how far I’ve come thus far. I know how hard it can be to constantly have to pass up on your favorite foods or to miss spending time with your friends because you have to exercise. That’s why I wanted to help someone out! Hopefully the winner of this giveaway will find motivation in winning these items and use them to their advantage to stay on track, Lose weight and get healthy!
All items in this giveaway were bought specifically FOR the giveaway. Nothing is used, Damaged or previously owned.

THIS GIVEAWAY INCLUDES:

1 pink 65cm Zon stability ball w/ pump

Banish Fat Boost Metabolism DVD by Jillian Michael’s (No weights required!)

1 water bottle (700ml)

60in tape measure (Measure how many inches you’ve lost!)

1 journal (use as a food diary or to keep track of how long it took you to run that mile!)

1 Nike sports bra (color may vary)

24 count box of Tazo tea (variety pack)

Secret Clinical Sport deodorant (1.6 oz)

16oz Jillian Michael’s vanilla protein powder

Glad 8 count “Mini Rounds” (Bring a snack on the go!)

RULES:

Must be a HEALTHY weight loss/fitness blog

Likes do not count

Reblog up to 10x’s MAX (There’s nothing more annoying than logging into tumblr and there being a giveaway that says “Reblog as many times as you like” so for the next 30 posts on your dash you’re scrolling through the same giveaway of tacky hipster clothes over and over and over.)

This giveaway starts on March 10, 2012 and ends on May 1, 2012 (You have a month and a half)

BE SURE TO HAVE YOUR ASK BOX OPEN!!

If you do not respond within 48 hours of me telling you that you’ve won, A new winner will be selected. PLEASE don’t make me have to do that. CHECK YOUR TUMBLR!

I will be shipping via USPS and providing a tracking number. Yes, I’m willing to ship internationally.

I personally will be choosing the winner. “Oh that’s not fair.” Well, Would you let a random generator pick the grade you get on a test? No, You would not. I will be choosing the winner based on the content of their blog. Are you losing weight the healthy way? Are you positive? Are you kind to your followers? Do you post/log in daily? Ect…

You do NOT have to follow me. Many bloggers on tumblr do giveaways just to gain followers and get “tumblr famous”. Though, That seems idiotic at best because that does not make people like your blog. They just want you for your material items you have to offer. Once your giveaway ends, Hundreds of people will unfollow you. I am not going to manipulate you into following me just so I can have a higher number of followers. If someone follows me I want them to follow me because they actually see value in my blog, Not because I forced them to. I am doing this giveaway to HELP someone NOT to gain glory. You are free to follow me if you desire to do so, But it is of no requirement. If you chose to follow me, All healthy weigh loss blogs will be followed back.

If you have any questions about this giveaway or about any of the items included in this giveaway, Please feel free to inbox me!
WINNER: Please send me a picture of you with these items once you’ve received them and I will promo you and feature you on my blog!
If there are any items in this lot that you cannot or will not eventually use, Please let me know so I can refrain from sending them and perhaps give them away to someone who could actually use the item(s) and avoid filling your room with useless crap.
Remember you’re beautiful and good luck!

thefittestfatgirl: Day 290.

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 08:00:05 -0400

thefittestfatgirl: Day 290.:

fittestfatgirl:

Despite my slacker efforts on blogging, I figured the least I could do is owe everyone a progress photo. While I’m still ‘stuck’ at the 120 lb. plateau (yay for being able to maintain a consistant weight), I’m kinda bummed about it… but… I’m NOT bummed about the “Overall” results esp when I put it…

Best way to lose 30+ pounds in a week?

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:00:05 -0400

losing-lindsay-loo:

Step 1: Look at yourself in the mirror

Step 2: Play Eenie-Meenie-Minie-Mo with your appendages.

Step 3: Mark the one you land on.

Step 4: Get a nice big saw

Step 5: Hack the muthfucka off.

Seriously guys? Healthy weight loss takes a while. Be patient.

With a small amount of initial discipline, you can create a new...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:00:05 -0400

With a small amount of initial discipline, you can create a new habit that requires little effort to maintain. Here are some tips for creating new habits and making them stick:

1. Commit to Thirty Days – Three to four weeks is all the time you need to make a habit automatic. If you can make it through the initial conditioning phase, it becomes much easier to sustain. A month is a good block of time to commit to a change since it easily fits in your calendar.

2. Make it Daily – Consistency is critical if you want to make a habit stick. If you want to start exercising, go to the gym every day for your first thirty days. Going a couple times a week will make it harder to form the habit. Activities you do once every few days are trickier to lock in as habits.

3. Start Simple – Don’t try to completely change your life in one day. It is easy to get over-motivated and take on too much. If you wanted to study two hours a day, first make the habit to go for thirty minutes and build on that.

4. Remind Yourself – Around two weeks into your commitment it can be easy to forget. Place reminders to execute your habit each day or you might miss a few days. If you miss time it defeats the purpose of setting a habit to begin with.

5. Stay Consistent – The more consistent your habit the easier it will be to stick. If you want to start exercising, try going at the same time, to the same place for your thirty days. When cues like time of day, place and circumstances are the same in each case it is easier to stick.

6. Get a Buddy – Find someone who will go along with you and keep you motivated if you feel like quitting.

7. Form a Trigger – A trigger is a ritual you use right before executing your habit. If you wanted to wake up earlier, this could mean waking up in exactly the same way each morning. If you wanted to quit smoking you could practice snapping your fingers each time you felt the urge to pick up a cigarette.

8. Replace Lost Needs - If you are giving up something in your habit, make sure you are adequately replacing any needs you’ve lost. If watching television gave you a way to relax, you could take up meditation or reading as a way to replace that same need.

9. Be Imperfect – Don’t expect all your attempts to change habits to be successful immediately. It took me four independent tries before I started exercising regularly. Now I love it. Try your best, but expect a few bumps along the way.

10. Use “But” – A prominent habit changing therapist once told me this great technique for changing bad thought patterns. When you start to think negative thoughts, use the word “but” to interrupt it. “I’m no good at this, but, if I work at it I might get better later.”

11. Remove Temptation - Restructure your environment so it won’t tempt you in the first thirty days. Remove junk food from your house, cancel your cable subscription, throw out the cigarettes so you won’t need to struggle with willpower later.

12. Associate With Role Models - Spend more time with people who model the habits you want to mirror. A recent study found that having an obese friend indicated you were more likely to become fat. You become what you spend time around.

13. Run it as an Experiment - Withhold judgment until after a month has past and use it as an experiment in behavior. Experiments can’t fail, they just have different results so it will give you a different perspective on changing your habit.

14. Swish - A technique from NLP. Visualize yourself performing the bad habit. Next visualize yourself pushing aside the bad habit and performing an alternative. Finally, end that sequence with an image of yourself in a highly positive state. See yourself picking up the cigarette, see yourself putting it down and snapping your fingers, finally visualize yourself running and breathing free. Do it a few times until you automatically go through the pattern before executing the old habit.

15. Write it Down – A piece of paper with a resolution on it isn’t that important. Writing that resolution is. Writing makes your ideas more clear and focuses you on your end result.

16. Know the Benefits - Familiarize yourself with the benefits of making a change. Get books that show the benefits of regular exercise. Notice any changes in energy levels after you take on a new diet.

17. Know the Pain – You should also be aware of the consequences. Exposing yourself to realistic information about the downsides of not making a change will give you added motivation.

18. Do it For Yourself - Don’t worry about all the things you “should” have as habits. Instead tool your habits towards your goals and the things that motivate you. Weak guilt and empty resolutions aren’t enough.