by Kris Pitcher
This is a VERY exciting opportunity! Simply visit my blog following the facebook link each day this week; enjoy the blog post and search for the "contest word"; the word will have a hyperlink; follow the hyperlink BACK to facebook; enter the daily contest word in the "comments" section of the post; "like" the post; then "share" the post using the contest word from that day in the "say something about this" section; next ask your friends to share the post; you must instruct them to visit my blog and follow the hyperlink; when 5 friends have shared the post incorporating the contest word - you are entered to win! For each different page or group you share on, you are also entered. Enter as many times as you like during the week of the contest and you may WIN!
How many of these have you entered? A wild goose chase of a contest, for some silly prize. A t-shirt, a sample pack? There is no contest by the way. I simply intend to illustrate a ridiculous set of instructions for which I usually drop off after the first two sets of instructions.
I'm not doing all of that! And who ever wins this stuff anyway? Not me! But I did help them market their jeans/pre-workout/stack pack/what nots...
Maybe someone does win. I know a few people who seem to win these types of things on a regular basis. Me, nada. Nothin'. Empty handed. So, to get this straight - there is no contest word because there is no contest.
We sure are suckers for this stuff though. And how many t-shirts do you have in that pile in your closet? I know, a lot. I don't need another one either. Custom jeans, yeah I did want those because jeans never fit me. But I didn't win them...
So, I'm saving myself the letdown by not entering in the first place. I will not be going on any social media wild goose chase to "like" and to "share". When I like and share stuff, it's because I like it and want to share it. No contest.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Friday, April 12, 2013
Beast Out!
by Kris Pitcher
I realize you are probably not going to like me after this...and it's ok. Who knows, maybe you'll love me, even more.
Sit down because we need to talk. Every now and then I get a little fed up, and it's not always on my no carb day. I put myself in check, and even in time out. But this time that wasn't enough...I needed to have this talk with you. Here goes.
Everyone cannot be in BEAST mode. What is this mode? A self-proclaimed bad ass? Here's the thing, (get ready for a run-on sentence) you've got your weight belt on and you're head phones, and you are grunting away in your cut out shirt exposing your entire (fat) mid-section, nodding and fist pumping, chest bumping away...with your pants on...
Meanwhile, I am also working back and I'm waiting for you to stop dancing around and get off the plate loaded pull down so I can have a turn. And guess what? I'm pulling as much weight as you. No grunts. Oh, and I'm actually using my lats.
Beast? Who, you? You are in dork mode. Let's look at leg day big guy. Oh you don't do legs. Hmm. Well I'm the one with 7 plates on the leg press to burn out before I squat. Take your pants off! Beast?
Have some humility. Get your diet in order. You think you're big? Sure, you're big. You are fat. You've got your estrogen out of control and you've been eating Cherrios. Figure it out. I'm a third of your size, 12% body fat, prepping for a show and out lifting you. And I'm 43!
Stop with all this silly beast mode business. Stop posting pictures of yourself all "pumped up", we don't even know what we are supposed to be looking at? Is there a muscle there? Stop contorting your body and calling it a "pose" - what pose is that?!
I am sorry but I am fed up with the posers, the poster children and the weight room beasts. Do something serious and let's see some changes in your physique. Stop professing and start doing.
Everyone starts somewhere and we all have improvements to make. We all want to be enthusiastic and believe in what we are doing. We have to be focused and "into" this or we wouldn't do it.
For those of us who actually live this, and have been around awhile...we know the BEASTS never last very long. So get it out of your system and come down to earth and join the rest of us. We'd like to see you succeed. Beast out! No, really, get it out.
I realize you are probably not going to like me after this...and it's ok. Who knows, maybe you'll love me, even more.
Sit down because we need to talk. Every now and then I get a little fed up, and it's not always on my no carb day. I put myself in check, and even in time out. But this time that wasn't enough...I needed to have this talk with you. Here goes.
 |
| Really? Even this guy? |
Meanwhile, I am also working back and I'm waiting for you to stop dancing around and get off the plate loaded pull down so I can have a turn. And guess what? I'm pulling as much weight as you. No grunts. Oh, and I'm actually using my lats.
Beast? Who, you? You are in dork mode. Let's look at leg day big guy. Oh you don't do legs. Hmm. Well I'm the one with 7 plates on the leg press to burn out before I squat. Take your pants off! Beast?
Have some humility. Get your diet in order. You think you're big? Sure, you're big. You are fat. You've got your estrogen out of control and you've been eating Cherrios. Figure it out. I'm a third of your size, 12% body fat, prepping for a show and out lifting you. And I'm 43!
Stop with all this silly beast mode business. Stop posting pictures of yourself all "pumped up", we don't even know what we are supposed to be looking at? Is there a muscle there? Stop contorting your body and calling it a "pose" - what pose is that?!
I am sorry but I am fed up with the posers, the poster children and the weight room beasts. Do something serious and let's see some changes in your physique. Stop professing and start doing.
Everyone starts somewhere and we all have improvements to make. We all want to be enthusiastic and believe in what we are doing. We have to be focused and "into" this or we wouldn't do it.
For those of us who actually live this, and have been around awhile...we know the BEASTS never last very long. So get it out of your system and come down to earth and join the rest of us. We'd like to see you succeed. Beast out! No, really, get it out.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Disappearing Act
by Kris Pitcher
"Oh my God your boobs are disappearing! You look great!" she said with a huge smile. Only a good friend, a competitor friend, can say this to you and mean it as a compliment. Not only was it said with enthusiasm, it was said with enthusiasm in the middle of the gym on a busy night, with cupping gestures.
I love my friends! And she's right! They are going, going, gone! Back fat? Nonexistent. And anything in the front, going as well. Bye ladies.
That's just part of the process, we lose our fat. We lose it from where we want it, and where we don't want to lose it. We don't get to decide, how, or when.
Someone said something about losing it from their "saddle bags" and Jacques said, "I'm not a surgeon." True, we don't get to spot reduce. It goes from where it wants to go. This is why we start early and go slow.
It's also why we buy padded bras, smaller sports bras, and inserts for our suits. There's just nothing left. Smoke and mirrors...and padding. It's all an act!
I'll keep getting smaller, all around, as the contest gets closer. We're slowing things down just a bit to keep on track and are in a great place. What I love the most about the disappearing act is as I get smaller...I look bigger. It's all relative.
For all you dieting with me, keep your head in this game. You're shedding off your fat, and keeping all that hard earned muscle. You might be getting smaller, but the disappearing act makes you look so different.
You're on the downhill side, you'll climb back up. But for now, we can all say good bye to our disappearing boobs!
"Oh my God your boobs are disappearing! You look great!" she said with a huge smile. Only a good friend, a competitor friend, can say this to you and mean it as a compliment. Not only was it said with enthusiasm, it was said with enthusiasm in the middle of the gym on a busy night, with cupping gestures.
I love my friends! And she's right! They are going, going, gone! Back fat? Nonexistent. And anything in the front, going as well. Bye ladies.
That's just part of the process, we lose our fat. We lose it from where we want it, and where we don't want to lose it. We don't get to decide, how, or when.
Someone said something about losing it from their "saddle bags" and Jacques said, "I'm not a surgeon." True, we don't get to spot reduce. It goes from where it wants to go. This is why we start early and go slow.
It's also why we buy padded bras, smaller sports bras, and inserts for our suits. There's just nothing left. Smoke and mirrors...and padding. It's all an act!
I'll keep getting smaller, all around, as the contest gets closer. We're slowing things down just a bit to keep on track and are in a great place. What I love the most about the disappearing act is as I get smaller...I look bigger. It's all relative.
For all you dieting with me, keep your head in this game. You're shedding off your fat, and keeping all that hard earned muscle. You might be getting smaller, but the disappearing act makes you look so different.
You're on the downhill side, you'll climb back up. But for now, we can all say good bye to our disappearing boobs!
Monday, April 8, 2013
Can You See Baltimore From There?
by Kris Pitcher
To be ten weeks out and put a posing suit on might seem brave. But, I need to know what I'm dealing with here. Plus, I've got an exciting new project to work on...but that's for later!
I raced home after working out to try on the suit which had arrived in the mail. It fit! I put my shoes on and went to the kitchen. Naturally?
Waiting for my husband to get home I was prepping my meals for the next day thinking to myself, "I hope the neighbors can't see in here." Who's cooking eggs in 5" heels and a sparkly suit?
Well, I was! And then he finally rolled up. He came in the kitchen and made a very respectful comment about the way I should always dress when I'm cooking, hugged me close...then I did some quarter turns.
The suit fit well so I fished, "How do I look?" He said I looked good. "What about this stuff?" I said reaching around and grabbing the stuff attached to my adductors.
"Well, we don't want to see Baltimore through there." he said. I laughed. Baltimore?! I suggested it was all fat, and he corrected me that it was muscle and some fat. It was good.
Why do women think we should be able to see space between their thighs? Space is no good. Being able to see a city through there is no good. Especially Baltimore! So, yes...hopefully your thighs DO touch one another.
I think last year I had a bit of space there. This means progress. Muscle is progress. Yes! Hopefully you've got some muscle to create shape on the inside, and outside of your legs. And by all means, we hope we can't see Baltimore!
To be ten weeks out and put a posing suit on might seem brave. But, I need to know what I'm dealing with here. Plus, I've got an exciting new project to work on...but that's for later!
I raced home after working out to try on the suit which had arrived in the mail. It fit! I put my shoes on and went to the kitchen. Naturally?
Waiting for my husband to get home I was prepping my meals for the next day thinking to myself, "I hope the neighbors can't see in here." Who's cooking eggs in 5" heels and a sparkly suit?
Well, I was! And then he finally rolled up. He came in the kitchen and made a very respectful comment about the way I should always dress when I'm cooking, hugged me close...then I did some quarter turns.
The suit fit well so I fished, "How do I look?" He said I looked good. "What about this stuff?" I said reaching around and grabbing the stuff attached to my adductors.
"Well, we don't want to see Baltimore through there." he said. I laughed. Baltimore?! I suggested it was all fat, and he corrected me that it was muscle and some fat. It was good.
Why do women think we should be able to see space between their thighs? Space is no good. Being able to see a city through there is no good. Especially Baltimore! So, yes...hopefully your thighs DO touch one another.
I think last year I had a bit of space there. This means progress. Muscle is progress. Yes! Hopefully you've got some muscle to create shape on the inside, and outside of your legs. And by all means, we hope we can't see Baltimore!
Friday, April 5, 2013
By the Numbers, My Weight on the Scale
by Kris Pitcher
With a solid 11 weeks under my belt and ten more to go you might be surprised to know, I don't usually know my numbers. I don't know what I weight, how much my body fat percentage is, how many grams of protein I eat...none of it.
I don't know. I just do the work. My coach assesses my progress and we make adjustments, or not. When things are working, you don't change them. But at the point we are now, we are working to slow things down.
How? Well, we can do lots of different things. And one of the things we thought was important was to look at the numbers so we could assess how those changes impact me. If we cut a day of cardio, how does that impact me?
Or, if we add carbs...what does that do to my numbers? We needed a baseline. But it had literally been weeks, a month, since we'd done a body comp.
Why? Because it doesn't matter. If I look different, I look different. The trained eye can see the differences each week. Then every other week we may even have my husband's coach look at me. Two coaches starring me down...
But those of you still getting on the scale every day, enough already. Change takes time. Solid time, day in and day out doing all the right things. You won't see big swings, or progress in just a few days, or a week even. You need lasting changes to make lasting shifts.
This is a long process, and eventually you're splitting hairs looking at the numbers. Is that skinfold 6mm, or 5mm? Will it change to 4mm? Eventually, it doesn't matter. What matters is how you continue to look.
Do you look like you're making progress? Are you losing fat? Are you keeping your muscle? Are you flat? Are your muscles staying full? Do you look stringy? What happens when you refeed with carbs? What do you look like?
If you're 10% body fat and you don't look right, what's the point? You could be 13% and look phenomenal. Great! But if the number trips you up, would you be unhappy? My 12% will look completely different than yours. We can't compare our numbers.
The numbers, after a certain point, don't matter. If I could be 10 pounds heavier and hit the stage looking tighter, great! I have no preconceived notion of what I'll weigh this year based on my stage weight last year. (I won't be 10 pounds heavier, maybe a couple.)
And you should let the numbers go too. They don't matter, they are holding you hostage, they are playing the ultimate head game. Your scale weight makes no difference to anyone. When was the last time anyone even asked you how much you weigh?
I left my 12 pound Dansko shoes on the last time I was at the doctor's office because the whole thing is just a joke. OK, maybe they aren't 12 pounds...but they are heavy. No one cares what you weigh. And frankly, neither should you.
Your goal should be to be as heavy as possible with the best body composition. That means carrying the most amount of muscle and the appropriate amount of fat. Get over your numbers and get over a mental hurdle that is keeping you from making progress.
Start letting the way you look, how you feel in your clothes and the way your body feels tell you if you are on track or not. You are not a number on the scale. Me? I'll go without knowing my numbers for weeks from here on out. You can do it too!
With a solid 11 weeks under my belt and ten more to go you might be surprised to know, I don't usually know my numbers. I don't know what I weight, how much my body fat percentage is, how many grams of protein I eat...none of it.
I don't know. I just do the work. My coach assesses my progress and we make adjustments, or not. When things are working, you don't change them. But at the point we are now, we are working to slow things down.
How? Well, we can do lots of different things. And one of the things we thought was important was to look at the numbers so we could assess how those changes impact me. If we cut a day of cardio, how does that impact me?
Or, if we add carbs...what does that do to my numbers? We needed a baseline. But it had literally been weeks, a month, since we'd done a body comp.
Why? Because it doesn't matter. If I look different, I look different. The trained eye can see the differences each week. Then every other week we may even have my husband's coach look at me. Two coaches starring me down...
But those of you still getting on the scale every day, enough already. Change takes time. Solid time, day in and day out doing all the right things. You won't see big swings, or progress in just a few days, or a week even. You need lasting changes to make lasting shifts.
This is a long process, and eventually you're splitting hairs looking at the numbers. Is that skinfold 6mm, or 5mm? Will it change to 4mm? Eventually, it doesn't matter. What matters is how you continue to look.
Do you look like you're making progress? Are you losing fat? Are you keeping your muscle? Are you flat? Are your muscles staying full? Do you look stringy? What happens when you refeed with carbs? What do you look like?
If you're 10% body fat and you don't look right, what's the point? You could be 13% and look phenomenal. Great! But if the number trips you up, would you be unhappy? My 12% will look completely different than yours. We can't compare our numbers.
The numbers, after a certain point, don't matter. If I could be 10 pounds heavier and hit the stage looking tighter, great! I have no preconceived notion of what I'll weigh this year based on my stage weight last year. (I won't be 10 pounds heavier, maybe a couple.)
And you should let the numbers go too. They don't matter, they are holding you hostage, they are playing the ultimate head game. Your scale weight makes no difference to anyone. When was the last time anyone even asked you how much you weigh?
I left my 12 pound Dansko shoes on the last time I was at the doctor's office because the whole thing is just a joke. OK, maybe they aren't 12 pounds...but they are heavy. No one cares what you weigh. And frankly, neither should you.
Your goal should be to be as heavy as possible with the best body composition. That means carrying the most amount of muscle and the appropriate amount of fat. Get over your numbers and get over a mental hurdle that is keeping you from making progress.
Start letting the way you look, how you feel in your clothes and the way your body feels tell you if you are on track or not. You are not a number on the scale. Me? I'll go without knowing my numbers for weeks from here on out. You can do it too!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Chipped Off!
by Kris Pitcher
Despite the fact that I need massive cuticle treatment, hydration and possible transplant...I am pretty chipped off. I ebb and flow between wanting to be girly and needing to be utilitarian.
Our dishwasher quit working, I don't know, a year ago. Hand washing all the way. And that really doesn't bother me because in a household with two people filling a dishwasher is silly. We would run out of dishes before it was full. Then what?
So, my hands get a lot of abuse. Then there are the workouts. That takes a toll as well. I don't baby them either. I put lotion on but there's no way to keep up with the constant trips to the bathroom and the hand washing to follow.
A dry climate, lots of water and you're going to have dry hands. Realizing I'm hard on polish, I almost never paint my nails. Then I got a girly bug and went for it. Sunday night I painted following best practices.
Soak, cleanse, push back, trim, base coat, two coats of color, and a top coat. Plenty of dry time. I didn't even do any dishes that night. Then came Monday morning. I got ready as usual. And this is what I saw.
Are you kidding me? Chips on every single finger? Every one! What gives? How do you women keep your nail polish on?
I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? Not even one day of wear from my polish. Not one day.
So much for my ebb toward girly prettiness. I will now flow back toward my natural nails. Bare nails. No paint nails. At least I know they'll last me a week. And I won't be, chipped off.
Despite the fact that I need massive cuticle treatment, hydration and possible transplant...I am pretty chipped off. I ebb and flow between wanting to be girly and needing to be utilitarian.
Our dishwasher quit working, I don't know, a year ago. Hand washing all the way. And that really doesn't bother me because in a household with two people filling a dishwasher is silly. We would run out of dishes before it was full. Then what?
So, my hands get a lot of abuse. Then there are the workouts. That takes a toll as well. I don't baby them either. I put lotion on but there's no way to keep up with the constant trips to the bathroom and the hand washing to follow.
A dry climate, lots of water and you're going to have dry hands. Realizing I'm hard on polish, I almost never paint my nails. Then I got a girly bug and went for it. Sunday night I painted following best practices.
Are you kidding me? Chips on every single finger? Every one! What gives? How do you women keep your nail polish on?
I don't get it. What am I doing wrong? Not even one day of wear from my polish. Not one day.
So much for my ebb toward girly prettiness. I will now flow back toward my natural nails. Bare nails. No paint nails. At least I know they'll last me a week. And I won't be, chipped off.
Monday, April 1, 2013
A Look In My BIG Bag!
by Kris Pitcher
Phone charger, wallet, prescripion bottle, coin purse, tiny notebook, Shelly's posing suit, a seam-ripper, 2 chapsticks, 2 lipsticks, 3 lip glosses, some feminine hygiene items, 2 pens, hand lotion, an envelope with an email address on it, several receipts, a package of kleenax, a spice bottle with fennel seeds in it, nail file, bracelet, two rings, only 1 pair of earrings, a (clean) pair of socks, zipper baggie with ricola, mini medicine cabinet pouch, dental floss, 2 phones, and 3 loose business cards...
This is what's in my purse right now. There's still room for a meal. Wow. That's a lot of stuff. What a jumbled mess!
Is it a wonder you can find anything in your purse, your gym bag, your car, your life?! We sure do need a lot of stuff. This purse is my home away from home. And I'm away from home, a lot.
Over the course of the week most of my jewelry ends up in there as I strip it off at the gym and throw it in. The nice thing is, it's there when I need to accessorize. That's handy.
My computer bag is less of a mess. Because everything is in my purse! My gym bag, another disorganized matter. It's probably a bacterial nightmare. I'm lucky I don't give myself MRSA.
Well, I'm not sure what the point is here. It wasn't to brag about my bag. It was to illustrate all the stuff we carry around. Stuff we need to put away, stuff we'll file later, stuff we ought to throw out. Stuff, stuff, stuff.
The clutter overcomes us and overwhelms us. It's spring, clean out, clean up, and clean house! Get rid of the stuff. Put it in it's place. Take it out of your purse. Clean it out of your car, your gym bag...your life.
Simplify. Stop stuffing stuff in, and de-clutter. It will feel really good. Now, what am I going to do with all this stuff?! I'll start by cleaning out my purse. I can certainly throw out this envelope with the email address. Done!
That does feel better! Now you try it. Enjoy spring and get a handle on your stuff! Time to clean up. Lighten your load and let go of the stuff that's dragging you down. Let. It. Go!
Phone charger, wallet, prescripion bottle, coin purse, tiny notebook, Shelly's posing suit, a seam-ripper, 2 chapsticks, 2 lipsticks, 3 lip glosses, some feminine hygiene items, 2 pens, hand lotion, an envelope with an email address on it, several receipts, a package of kleenax, a spice bottle with fennel seeds in it, nail file, bracelet, two rings, only 1 pair of earrings, a (clean) pair of socks, zipper baggie with ricola, mini medicine cabinet pouch, dental floss, 2 phones, and 3 loose business cards...
This is what's in my purse right now. There's still room for a meal. Wow. That's a lot of stuff. What a jumbled mess!
Is it a wonder you can find anything in your purse, your gym bag, your car, your life?! We sure do need a lot of stuff. This purse is my home away from home. And I'm away from home, a lot.
Over the course of the week most of my jewelry ends up in there as I strip it off at the gym and throw it in. The nice thing is, it's there when I need to accessorize. That's handy.
My computer bag is less of a mess. Because everything is in my purse! My gym bag, another disorganized matter. It's probably a bacterial nightmare. I'm lucky I don't give myself MRSA.
Well, I'm not sure what the point is here. It wasn't to brag about my bag. It was to illustrate all the stuff we carry around. Stuff we need to put away, stuff we'll file later, stuff we ought to throw out. Stuff, stuff, stuff.
The clutter overcomes us and overwhelms us. It's spring, clean out, clean up, and clean house! Get rid of the stuff. Put it in it's place. Take it out of your purse. Clean it out of your car, your gym bag...your life.
Simplify. Stop stuffing stuff in, and de-clutter. It will feel really good. Now, what am I going to do with all this stuff?! I'll start by cleaning out my purse. I can certainly throw out this envelope with the email address. Done!
That does feel better! Now you try it. Enjoy spring and get a handle on your stuff! Time to clean up. Lighten your load and let go of the stuff that's dragging you down. Let. It. Go!
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