Surprise visit

I was needed in Logan on Friday, so I couldn't resist stopping by to see a few people. I sneaked up behind Tamera at her desk right during lunch time (I promise I wasn't just trying to be mean) and guess what she was eating? - a grilled chicken breast out of a zip lock bag! I was thoroughly impressed. None of you are surprised I'm sure, but I continue to be amazed and surprised by the level of commitment I see from all of you. Tamera inspires me.

A word on pain...and more words on how amazing you all are!

I have been focusing on finding answers to your pain questions for the last month. I have asked wonderful coaches, physical therapists, athletes, and researched questions on the internet, in my medical books etc. The more I ask and learn, the more I realize I know so little. But isn’t that how all learning is?

I have a few answers for you. As we’ve discussed, muscle soreness means you worked the area, it needs to recover (rest, good food), the muscle will grow stronger and as it does your body will burn fat and your shape will change (in a good way). Pain, on the other hand, is to be avoided and when it occurs, it should be dealt with quickly.

Many women (not all) who are experiencing knee pain (including myself when I first started) may be doing the movements incorrectly. If you dip forward as you squat, bending at the knee, you are placing too much load on your knees with the repetitive and/or full range of movement. When you dip backward first as you squat, bending at the hips and leaning forward with your shoulders/chest, you are sharing the quadricep load with your glutes/hamstrings and shouldn’t feel knee pain.

One of the best lifters in our Team PINK group was having shoulder pain because of a slightly incorrect position holding the bar overhead. With a minor correction in positioning, it appears we may have eliminated her shoulder pain.

Shelli recently posted a comment I’m adding to the front page: “I have had painful heel spurs for the past year. I had a cortisone shot, shoe inserts and bought elevated blocks to stretch the heel and calf but nothing really helped until now. My main source of exercise has always been walking but I had to stop. I believe everything with the PINK program, the nutrition, stretching and exercising, has helped my feet immensely. I really enjoy the PINK workouts three times a week and I have just realized that I have been without heel pain for the past three weeks. I can actually get out of bed in the morning and walk without any pain.”

Positioning on these lifts is critical. Oh let’s get real, positioning on anything whether your trying to get big arms with bicep curls, or walking down the sidewalk with a bag a groceries, is critical. Improper positioning even in sitting, typing on the computer or sleeping, will create pain and more problems down the road. I see the end result here in the hospital – surgery. Improper positioning in the olympic lifts will be felt quicker than you can say “jerk it”!

Let’s review: Shoulders back (further than that! I can see you!), upper back tight, chest up high, face forward/up, back arched, butt out (further than that – I can still see you!), bend at the hips – stick butt out first as you bend. Do this with every movement – as you approach the snatch, the clean, the jerk, squats, as you sit down to eat, as you bend to get your pencil!

I am so impressed with your commitment level. You have persevered in spite of not only soreness, but pain! You group of ladies are amazing. I thought every one of you would quit when your feet started hurting…then the knees…but when I saw Jodi and Shannon lift in my gym the other night – I was almost in tears. You have really become beautiful olympic-style weightlifters! Absolutely beautiful. There are 4 female olympic lifters in Utah. Probably less than 100 nationwide. I believe it’s because no one has shown us this way to work out - provided a way for us to do this without leaving our families at home - and hidden from us how cool and beautiful these lifts are. You are supporting my theory every day. Your enthusiasm in learning these lifts and then doing them so beautifully – you are truly amazing. So thank you Icon and Scott Watterson for believing that more women than just little ol’ me would fall in love with this type of workout and for putting this program out there for everyone!

You are the coach!

You have probably learned how valuable it is to share your knowledge (the K. in P.I.N.K.) with others. It not only helps them, but helps you become aware of what you are doing and why because you are now the coach.

We have a new team member. Here is a comment she made today: "I just did the first workout on the DVD this morning to see how it was. I used a wooden dowel that goes in my sliding door. ;) Okay, so [the workout] was really short, which I LOVE, but I don't think I could have gone longer anyway, my quads were SHAKING!! I had to grip the banister to get downstairs, it was funny. I LOVE IT!" - Beth

You've all been there. What is your advice for her?!

You will love this homework

Now that you are a team of self-disciplined, hard-core weightlifters and have complete control of what you put in your body at every moment, you have developed the control and knowledge necessary to sit in a restaurant, surrounded by lists and plates of amazingly yummy food and make perfect choices for fueling your body. Here is your homework for the week...go out to eat! Here is how I recommend doing it this week:
1. Decide where and when at least one day in advance (2 days even better).
2. Log it in your book in advance.
3. Decide what general protein and what general carb (chicken and greens or fish and brown rice etc.)
4. Decide how much EXACTLY you will eat during the meal and how much you will take to go.
5. Decide in advance that you will not eat the bread/chips that come and how you are going to succeed in doing that.
6. Avoid breaded, fried, marinated meats. Avoid sauces, dressings. Ask for your dressing on the side and dip (ever so gently) your lettuce tips in for flavor.
7. As you look at your food once it comes, think of it as two meals and remember to take home what you have decided you would.
8. Post your comments and let me know how you did!!!

My choice - Ruth's diner up emigration canyon. I order the wonderful BBQ salmon salad that is very smart. Then I have to take the mile high biscuits home with an order of chocolate malt pudding I order off the desert menu and have them on my high-calorie day. Sooooo worth the wait.

You crack me up

I love you guys!!!

First things first - Ryan knows more about hair than anyone, so unfortunately (and I hate giving in to Ryan) I will have to reanalyze the whole mousse thing - or maybe I should just argue with him for the next 2 months - come to think of it that's more my style.

Secondly - I own the place! Shannon your kids are welcome in my gym if you ever have the inclination to bring them! I have a trike, plastic basketball hoop and baseball T, computer/internet and raisinettes on hand at all times. (I have a 3 yr old and a 17 yr old remember - the trike is for the 3, the computer for the 17 - they fight over the raisinettes). Don't leave them behind - include them - kids are why we are designing this workout for your home - they're our babies!

On that note - I can workout either Thursday afternoon before 6:00 p.m. or Friday anytime during the day or into the evening if that works for you all. Please, please all of you come! I love people who are as serious about working out as I am. Let me know soon so I can arrange my day job!

Mary Kaye - I'm not that smart. I really was just talking about Mousse. However, in thinking about it since, I've got even more craziness for you - mousse the food item is overrated as well! I mean really, if you are going to eat a yummy dessert, who wants a puffy, wimpy, barely-there dessert - give me something I can sink my teeth into! I want to be able to chew my chocolate! As you can tell, I take my high-calorie days seriously as well Shannon!

Teresa - keep it up girl!
Maleesa - anyone doing strength training should eat about 1 gram of protein per bodyweight per day - so a 200lb man should be around 40 grms protein per meal. And just like I've told you, he can go crazy on the dark green veggies. He should try to stay around 1 C. of brn rice or sweet potato, etc. for his carb per meal, but supplement with dark veggies. This, and increasing the protein intake should take care of that hunger thing. And don't get mad at him when his body morphs quicker than yours - he has a big metabolism/hormone/and lean muscle mass advantage. But the turtle won that hare/turtle race so you keep it up and beat him in the end.
Mona – I’ve asked Mary Kaye to follow up. You look great! Keep it up!

Completely unrelated

I’d love to hear where you’re at physically and mentally now that we’re in the thick of the program. I am eagerly awaiting your comments/posts so we can talk. In the meantime - here’s my thought for the morning….I’ve decided mousse (as in the hair product) is overrated. I’ve tried to give it the respect it deserves over the years. Everyone is making it and everyone is using it so it must be necessary. But this morning after 40 years, I decided to take a stand and be done with mousse. I really can’t see a difference in the end result whether I go curly or straight that day – no difference. So I went mousseless this morning and I’m totally liberated. Not as liberated as when I had a pixy haircut as short as a boy’s – that, my friends, was the best. Men are totally right in keeping hair to a minimum. But since I choose to have hair these days, I stand by my decision to abandon mousse. What else can I say goodbye to? – Any advice? :)

So what if I throw out the invitation again to come train with me in my gym? Any takers on making a trip to SLC in the afternoon or evening some day this week or next and workout together? I’d love to get to know you better and workout hard.

Get comfortable with the snatch grip

Thank you all for your input in designing this program. It's difficult to slow down the learning pace when I see you performing so well. But doing just that, slowing the learning, is going to work beautifully. This will give your bodies and brains time to program these movements and make them automatic. It will also allow you to continue to build supporting muscle before asking your joints to pick up the slack. And last, but definitely not least, it will allow your knees to rest from the clean and jerk and olympic squat. Next week's workout should go like this:

Getting Comfortable with the snatch grip

1. Wide grip press 10 reps (bar behind neck, press up to locked position)
2. Hang, 1/2 snatch 10 reps (lower bar along thighs to knee, bring bar quickly up along body to a locked position overhead; body fully upright in final position)
3. Hang, power snatch 10 reps (lower bar along thighs to knee, bring bar quickly up along body with a power jump to a locked elbow position overhead)
4. Overhead 1/2 squat 10 reps (elbows locked overhead in snatch position, back chest and butt position perfect, slow controlled squat above parallel)
5. Pole twist 10 reps
6. lower back stretch (clean grip - hands outside thighs narrower than snatch - lower bar to knee with perfect positioning of your core, 1/2 squat and stand back upright)

Repeat for 3 or 4 rotations; rest before doing overhead squats if fatigued - or eliminate them in your last rotations

Here is a recipe that you will be receiving with many others via email:

Grilled Chicken and Vegetables on the Barbie
Marinate 1 chicken breast (boneless, skinless) in equal parts of Lite Soy Sauce and Liquid Smoke.
Slice the following vegetables and place them on a grilling pan or broiler pan insert (spray with Pam): mushrooms, zucchini, onions, ½ tomato
On a BBQ grill, place pan with vegetables and let them cook. Place chicken on the grill and cook.
Drizzle vegetables with sauce:
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. Red Wine Vinegar
1 packet sweetener
herbs and spices as desired

Broiled Eggplant
½ c. brown rice, measure before cooking, prepare according to package directions
½ eggplant, cut length-wise and cut off ends
½ can of diced tomatoes
½ tsp. minced garlic
½ onion, chopped
1/3 c. chopped red or green pepper
1 tsp. olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Sautee vegetables (except eggplant) in olive oil, salt, pepper. Add brown rice. Cut-out an oval from the eggplant. Place sautéed vege’s and rice in the oval. Place in baking dish. Cover with foil. Cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Practice clean & jerk

Hello! After performing last week's workouts with you, I think we should have more exposure to the clean & jerk before moving on to the snatch. As I told you on Thursday, your form and technique look very good for having learned these movements so quickly. Reinforcing those correct movements for another week will make this whole program go more smoothly for you. And in the meantime, since your body is primed from last week, repeating what you already know this week will benefit you in gaining strength, lean muscle development and fat loss. You should be somewhat comfortable with the workouts, so really focus on correct positioning and explosiveness. When I see you again, I will be very excited to see your competition-ready clean & jerk.

I am interested in knowing what I can do for you regarding weightlifting and nutrition, so either email your team leads or respond to this posting under comments. I will be "resting" (that's kind of a laugh) this week since I will be competing at Utah Summer Games this weekend - so I'll be watching the blog site to see where I can help out with your goals. How are you feeling regarding your progress? How are you feeling regarding the nutrition plan? The new style of working out? The end of the school year approaching for your kids? Planning summer vacations? Anything!! What are you all up to and how are you feeling?