I Sit, You Sit, Wall Sit

Wall sit. Why oh why do I have such a hard time doing the wall sit? This morning I was the only one in my camp having difficulty. Everyone else makes it looks easy but my body rebels completely during wall sit. I try my best but it all comes down to one thing: I slide.

I hold wall sit for mere seconds before my thighs start screamin' at me. If I'm really fatigued I get the leg shakes before I slide down the wall. It's like I suddenly lose all control of my leg muscles. My thighs are probably the most well developed muscles on my body but they just refuse to cooperate when we wall sit. {Side note: that does not bode well for the state of the rest of my muscles}.

So what's the trick to this exercise? I press my lower back into the wall. Heck, I press my entire back into the wall. If my feet were any more firmly planted I'd be a tree. Or at least a shrub. I even palm the wall hoping that I'll mysteriously develop Spidermanesque powers and be able to squirt super-strength adhesive from my wrists. Unfortunately I still end up in a heap at the bottom of the wall. I have wall sit impotence. I need Wallagra.

I know it's a good thing that I have an exercise that challenges me. It used to be pop squats. After that it was squat thrusts. Who am I kidding? Squat thrusts are still difficult. And if you were in my very first boot camp you'd know that I couldn't jump rope. At all. At least not without wrapping it around my ponytail. In time wall sit will become easier although I doubt that it will ever be easy.

"Nobody's a natural. You work hard to get good and then work to get better. It's hard to stay on top."

~Paul Coffey~

Why are you not losing weight?

You are working out and eating right so why are you not dropping the weight? I always see overweight people running their hearts out on hike and bike trail. I used to wonder why that is. If they are working out so hard shouldn't they be way thinner. Did you know that you could pass your fat burning heart rate in the first five minutes of your workout? Or how do you know exactly how many calories your body burns every day? Sure you can use charts and come up with a guess, but I would not trust charts that were made in a research group over 30 years ago. We simply do not eat or live the way we did 30 years ago and I have seen the guesstimates be wrong by 800 calories a day.
So what's the answer? Come do a RMR test and a VO2 max test. These tests are specific to you and pretty much guarantee results. Find out more about these tests on my website: nanazahmadi.com. I am offering these tests at a discounted price to all of you. Once you know which heart rate your body burns the most body fat, you can simply wear a heart rate monitor and make sure that every minute of your workout counts. Dinner planning will become much simpler when you know how many calories you can eat with out gaining weight.

Good Luck,
Nanaz

Knocking The Demon Down

I've always had a weight problem. No, wait, check that. I was skinny in junior high, high school and my early adult years but I didn't know it. That's because I was already brainwashed. I'd been a very skinny baby, but that doesn't count. However, when parents are faced with a 3lb, 13oz infant you do your best to fatten them up. Unfortunately, once I got rolling, I got rolling and didn't stop.

I was a chubby toddler, chunky kiddo then momentarily a normal weight teenager. The sad thing is that most of my classmates were underweight so I thought I was a heifer. They wore size 2's when I was a 6 and later in high school, they were size 6 when I was a 9...oh lawd what I'd give to be in a single digit now. (Side note: I am giving up sleeping late and ignoring that I sweat copiously to try to get down to a single digit size but I'd be Disney channel happy to be a size 10).

By the time I was an adult and actually a normal, healthy weight my self image was so poor when I looked in the mirror all I saw was chub. The demons in society had spun the lie that women aren't beautiful unless they are supermodels or celebrities and I bought it hook, line and Snickers®. Lots of Snickers®.

Fast forward to the present. I'm working hard to reclaim a healthy physique. I'm not asking to look like Stephanie McDonald. I simply want to take the stairs in my building and not be out of breath. I want to wear clothes I feel attractive in, not clothes that cover up what I want to hide. I want to break a sweat while continually whining that my skull may actually be crushed by my weights since my arms are too tired to hold them up anymore. I want to knock down the demon that poisoned my mind and made me believe that I am unattractive and unappealing.

And so in camp this week I pushed myself. I may not have done as well as others but I did my best. I have achy arm "puffs" (thanks, Michelle, for giving a name to the flesh near your armpits that pops up over your tank tops when you need to trim down). My legs are feeling every inch of the Ring of Fire, too. We had a fairly brutal Thursday workout and today's wasn't a cake walk either (because of course we aren't eating cake, are we?). And now the weekend is here and I can sleep late tomorrow, satisfied in the knowledge that I'm secure in my quest for fitness. I hope you feel the same.

"Now I know, a refuge never grows

from a chin in the hand and a thoughtful pose

Gotta tend the earth if you want a rose."

~Indigo Girls~

One Hundred Push Ups!

A hundred push ups. One hundred. One oh oh, as in Oh My God I did one hundred push ups. Awesome!! Can you believe it? New campers, did you think it was possible? I've reached the point where I stop second guessing myself in camp. I hear what we're supposed to do and just go for it. I do my best. And that's what I did on Monday.

I think I spent most of the rest of the day flashing back to camp and thinking "Holy smokes! I did 100 push ups before breakfast!". I still feel like She-Ra Princess of Power. I never in my wildest dreams imagined I was capable of such a feat. But my camp instructor did. Just another example of how someone who doesn't inhabit this body can look at me and say to herself, "Yes, she can."

More and more often I find that as I rise to the challenge of camp I not only meet expectation but exceed it. It's an amazing feeling. I'm sure you can relate. As you've gone through the last week of camp you've been racking up accomplishments, too. It's a wonderful feeling, knowing that we've had champion moments on ordinary days.

"Do or do not. There is no try."

~Yoda~

Yeah!! You Made It Through Week 1

The first week of camp is always the hardest. You're using muscles you either haven't used in a long time or, as in my case, hadn't used at all. You've been very sore but you've accomplished a lot. I had a friend tell me that she has never signed up for boot camp because she doesn't think she can do what is asked. Y'all know you can, because you did. And you'll do more in the weeks to come.

Congratulations on making it through the first week! You'll be less sore next week and you'll find yourself doing more and more and more. Woohoo!!

"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

~The Little Engine That Could~

N is for Nutrition!

And for Nanaz!

Nanaz Ahmadi graduated with a bachelor’s degree and is currently studying to become a master herbalist specializing in nutrition for cancer prevention. She is a mother and an athlete’s wife and we are confident that she has the tools to help you make better nutritional decisions. She will be working with us to expand the nutrition side of things here because as I am sure all of your coaches have mentioned, fitness is only one part of it, you must pay attention to your nutrition as food fuels the body!

Take a look at her website! She has some great offerings and a wealth of information for you! Let her know you found her through Austin Adventure as we’ve worked out some discounted services for campers!

Thank you Nanaz for that great tip and welcome to the Austin Adventure Boot Camp Team!

Weight loss tip of the week

An apple a day does a lot more than keep the doctor away. I always recommend eating an apple first thing in the morning. Apples are the best source of pectin, fiber and bulk that aid digestion and line your stomach with fantastic enzymes that will help you digest the rest of your breakfast more efficiently. Oh did I forget to mention that Apples also reduce cholesterol levels. This little addition to your breakfast is filling but not fattening and boosts your digestion up to 15%.

Happy chewing,
Nanaz

Fitness Evals Frenzy

Today was fitness evaluations. Repeat campers are comparing their stats to previous ones and setting goals, planning for more, more, more results. If you're a new camper, you're indulging in one of two different patterns of thinking. The first is "Wowsa!! I never believed I could do so well!" and the other is "Umm...do ya think anyone else did less than me?". For those of you in the "wowsa" category just hold on to the excitement. You'll be even more thrilled next time.

And those who may be disappointed in their performance or worried that you just don't have what it takes to be a boot camper, don't despair. Just by showing up to boot camp you've done more than most of Austin.

It's easy to go rough on ourselves. We are our own worst critics, after all. And even repeat campers can fall into a hole we dig for ourselves when we set a goal but don't meet it. Yeah, it happens. Don't let missing your mark set you back or bring you down. Think about why you may have done less than you expected, but do so in realistic terms. If you identify the problem (missed camp days, less than stellar amounts of sleep, poor hydration) you can work on it. If you can't figure out why you didn't achieve your goal then look at the goal itself. Is it unrealistic at this point? We want to challenge and be challenged but we don't want to set ourselves up for failure. Self-sabotage gets you nowhere.

Fitness evals are designed to get a baseline of where you are right now so that at the end of camp you can see how far you've come. Along with the pre-camp weight and measurements, the evals give you concrete evidence of a higher level of fitness. It's a simple statement but if you are giving it your best at camp and eating healthfully you will see improvement no matter if you're a workout goddess adding oomph to your normal routine or a recovering couch potato starting on her first exercise regime in decades.

So tack those numbers from today up on your bulletin board or tape them to the fridge. Own 'em. And work to move forward, to add more to what you can do. You have what it takes. You have the drive and the ambition or you wouldn't have shown up at all. Harness that and your positive thinking. Find a mantra and use it. Or use mine: "Tina Turner legs". I also like "derrière to derri-RARR!". Do your best and you won't be disappointed.

"Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture...Do not build up obstacles in your imagination."

~Norman Vincent Peale~

Snack Attack!

We've all had one of those days when you've had a great work out, been true to your healthy eathing and are feeling awesome up until the moment you see your co-workers chomping down a handful of potato chips or devouring fresh cookies. Tiff's Treats you are still my Waterloo. What to do when the snack attack hits?

I discovered this week that a bit of drained tuna in water on a rice cake isn't so bad when it's topped with salsa verde. And I've eaten sugar free Jello with a sploosh of fat free whipped topping, too. It's sweet enough to satisfy me when the candy machine has been calling my name. Peanut M&M's used to be my afternoon treat until I compared the nutrtional value and realized I was eating almost the exact equivalent of a McDonald's hamburger. It's true. P'nut M&M's and a Mickey D's burger each have the same calorie content. The M&M's have 4 grams more fat, a gram less of carbs and far less protein but far higher sugar.

These days I'll go for a high protein, low fat & low cal option and make a small bowlful of edamame. I like mine unshelled, so it takes longer to eat. I do use a bit of soy sauce as a condiment but I have to be cautious with sodium so it's more of a dash than a soaking.

It's a bit tricky working out what snack item is best for your needs. Sticking to a healthful eating plan doesn't mean giving up all good tasting foods, though. It's more of a challenge to find something that will satiate my taste buds but it isn't an impossibility. What works for you? Leave me a comment with your fav guilt-free snack.

I'm Hot! I'm Hot??

My boyfriend left me a comment on my social networking site. I had posted a new picture of me and he left me a compliment, saying I am "hot". I've never been the hot girl. For that matter, I've never been the skinny girl, either. But one of his friends also left me a comment. Since it would be poor form for him to tell me I'm hot, he wrote "smoochie smoochie". Ummm...I'm translating that to "I'm hot!". LOL

Going through bootcamp has changed more than the number of lying leg raises I can do. It's starting to transform me inside as well. I've always been the girl who ended up holding purses or standing guard over cocktails while my skinnier, cuter friends were dancing with attractive guys. I was always that girl, the one who has gorgeous friends and ends up talking to the man who's left behind when his handsome friends have escorted my chicas to the dance floor, the bar for another drink or aside to exchange numbers. I've never been bitter; this phenomenon is a fact of my life. I don't mind having sexy, beautiful friends.

What I never noticed was how much I discount myself. How often I think of myself as the "plain one" or the "girl next door" or worse, the "chubby one". After much sweating and effort I've seen the physical results of my boot camp workouts. And weeks later, I'm starting to see the emotional results. My boyfriend is right. I am hot. I am alluring, bewitching and delightful. It's not just the exterior that makes me this way, it's who I am inside. I'm enchanting! I push myself to excel, not just in boot camp but in the world. I believe life is about living, not merely existing. My desire is to enjoy each day as a fragrant taste, not as another 24 hours to get through.

My boot camp experience has helped me through a bland, oatmeal-colored vision of who I thought I was: a flabby, not young anymore female desperately holding onto any vestige of youth possible. Now I know that using slang and dressing in cute and hip fashions doesn't mean I'm trying to be younger than my age. Texting my friends "Meet 4 dnnr @ 6" and maintaining a myspace or Facebook page doesn't mean I'm attempting to reclaim my twenties. I'm 4 decades old physically and I am stronger than ever. I'm all upbeat energy in a package that may still be less than what I'd like but others are telling me loud and clear is definitely alright with them. And that is exactly what keeps me motivated to get up before dawn and go to boot camp. My BF and his friends think I am "hawt".

Stronger, Leaner & Harder

Stronger, leaner & harder. That should definitely be how you're feeling this weekend. And after Friday's workout some of you (me) are feeling the need to do some stretching. It was a great week at camp!

It's great to see muscle definition and inches loss. It's gratifiying and thrilling to know you can do more than you originally thought you could. Holding plank longer than ever, doubling the amount of leg raises and pushups you can do in a minute...these are all the end results of the hard work you've done in boot camp.

Take some time to pat yourself on the back this weekend. Spend a few moments thinking about how far you've come in a short while and envision what you'd like to accomplish in the weeks and months ahead. Some people use boot camp as a jumping off point, a kickstart to their training. Others come to camp to add to their normal work out routine, give it some sass and pizzazz. Whatever the reason, the results are what matter.

So celebrate! We spend so much time being a cheerleader for our family and friends that it's easy to overlook cheering for ourselves. Reward yourself, you deserve it!

"Some men dream of worthy accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them."

You Know You've Had a Tough Boot Camp Work Out When...

• You drive home from camp but have trouble heaving yourself out of the car once there. Briefly consider staying in the car or calling for help.
• You buy Advil in bulk.
• Your muscles are so sore that you walk slower than your elderly aunt and you're considering borrowing her walker--it has wheels.
• Your co-workers think your new perfume is menthol based.
• There's no worries over cheating on your diet. Eating would require getting up and the refrigerator is just too far away from the couch.
• Your friends discuss their favorite wine at happy hour and all you want to know is if Gatorade that's been diluted by 50% will still re-balance your electrolytes after a particulary sweaty hour of lunge-a-palooza.
• You wait for the restroom stall that has handicapped rails in it just in case you sit down and can't get back up unassisted.
• Your family asks you to wash your workout clothes immediately.
• You believe that after making it through the drills that day your body should automatically drop a dress size.
• You fall into bed at 8:30pm to watch the news but pass out before the anchor gets through the lead story.
• You are a member of Austin Adventure Boot Camp. We have a tough workout before most of Central Texas has their first cup of coffee.