2 Months Progress !

Progress is a slow process and although it can sometimes look like your body didn't changed, don't get discouraged, muscular definition will not appear over night. Not worried about the outcome, I pressed on with my daily routines and 2 months later here I am. If nothing else, I just want to stress the importance of taking progress pictures and setting goals. You can take 100 progress pics after every workout if you want and you don't have to share them with anyone. They are your own personal progress records. Pictures can show you progress that are invisible to your eye when you're just looking in the mirror. Seeing your progress through pictures really motivates you to continue doing what you are doing because clearly you are yielding results. More over, it's very important that you set goals, and share those goals. Whether you tell them to a friend, write them as your Facebook status, etc. Setting a goal, and sharing them with other positive people keeps you accountable and on track to reaching them. This is exactly what I do and I am very pleased with my progress. It's only the beginning of my journey, and I have a long way to go, but I'm encouraged by my progress. Good luck in your journeys and take progress pictures :)

Patience !!

Patience is a virtue ! Let me get this out of the way now, do not, I repeat DO NOT look in the mirror everyday after your workout checking to see if your butt got bigger after those squats you just did. You will not see anything. Don't even look once a week, that is still not enough time. In many situations, this discourages people and they slowly begin to fall off of their regimen after a few weeks, never fully understanding that no matter how slow the progress, it's still progress. Every day that you press on and go to your workout with the will to work hard, you are adding a brick to your own personal Great Wall of China. During your personal fitness journey, I want to foster how important patience and realisation is. I want you all to continue pressing on and realise how far in your journey you got and how much progress you made, as opposed to looking at the next person and thinking about how much more work you have ahead. Don't loose your focus worrying about how far you still have to go. This will be a long and slow journey on foot, but slow foot travel is the only way. You have to focus on the now, make every rep of every set count, and stay present. Do not look too far ahead and make sure that you are acknowledging your commitment and progress. Don't count the days, make the days count. Slow progress is still progress. One day you will reach your fitness goal and be able to hold your head high and be proud. There will be no greater feeling than to know that even when the road got tough, and you felt like turning back, you persevered and look where you ended up. It will elevate your mind, body, and soul, and teach you determination, the value of hard work, discipline, instill confidence in you, and much more. But that all starts with a little seed planted in your heart called patience. It's up to you to water that seed every day and keep it thriving and alive, or you can let it whither away and die. I challenge you to keep that seed cultivated. Push on every day even if it seems like no progress was made. One great day there will be an ear to ear smile on your face and I will personally travel to where ever you are and shake your hand. You have now gained access into an elite group that many will sadly never make it in to, and can only dream of. All because you kept your patience and determination since day 1. Press on soldier, many will start, few will finish.

LOVE YOURSELF !!! Go To The Gym For The Right Reasons

Make sure that you are working out for the right reasons. Don't just tag along with your best friend, don't go there to show off your new lime green spandex booty shorts, don't let anyone drag you there because summer is in a month and you want to pretend like you are getting in shape. Also it's very important that you are not going because you hate yourself, appearance, or life. It may sound crazy but this is very common. I want to stress to you that you have to love yourself and be content with yourself before beginning a gym regimen. Really get your mind ready to be patient, committed and content with the small progress made each time. You will not see drastic changes after every workout, but dont let that discourage you, stick with it. Now, it is totally healthy and ok to not be unhappy with your flabby belly or untoned legs. Having healthy goals to improve these things are ideal but you cant go to the gym because you hate your appearance. Self hate will not fuel you but hurt you,and blind you from seeing your progress. Your negativity will only allow you to see the "unfit" parts of your body that you hate, rather than realising that this is the beginning of something great. You have to really develop a sense of content ness and love for your self and body no matter what shape you are in. Then and only then will you be able to stick with it and begin to see changes.

Real life situation/ post inspiration: I know a girl who is 5'3 and 240lbs. She absolutely hated her weight and appearance so she decided she would go to the gym. For 2 weeks she ran her heart out on the treadmill, elliptical, bike and even joined some of the classes at her gym. Every day she would look in the mirror and not really see a change, it was too soon but she was too eager. She hated her appearance so much and wanted change so bad that she did not develop the patience it takes to wait for change, which resulted in her becoming depressed and quitting. She felt like it was an embarrassment to workout, be extremely exhausted after her workouts, sweating like a raining cloud, and not see the results. She felt like she was working hard, but her poor self love and self content drove her away in two weeks. Two weeks is not enough time to see results but she didn't love herself enough to be patient so she accepted failure and defeat. See my logic now ?

When you love yourself already and train yourself to be patient, you will only see the positive aspect of everything, and succeed. Don't look to see if those 100 abs you did just gave you a six pack because you will be disappointed. Progress comes over time. Getting fit is a long, slow process but a strong mind is crucial and will make the process a little easier. The way I want you to think about yourself is the way Mary J. Blidge sings in "my everything". Every workout, you have to bring out your inner beast and tell her "my darling only you can make my dreams come true, and every night I pray you never go away, I promise I will try until the day dies, to treat you like a QUEEN, cuz you are my everything..." You have to throw away all negative, and lazy mentalities, and really cherish your inner strong girl and commend yourself for getting out there and making a difference. Don't give up and make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. Are you motivated to strive towards a fitter, healthier, happier, and sexier you? Just because of the simple fact that you deserve the best body possible, you should be amped to get out there and work for it. Malcolm X once said "The future belongs to those who prepare for it today". Reconfigure your mind, get motivated, and get to work. Your best body is waiting for you in the future, but you have to work for it today. You have full control over what your body looks like. If you dont like what you see in the mirror, change it. But to change your body you have to first change your mind. Love yourself, and do it for nobody but you. Create the kind of self that you will be happy with for the rest of your life. Take charge of yourself and your life, theres only one you, make it the best you. Did you start this fitness journey for the right reasons ???

Off days are still good days

Today I was super tired and wasn't really feeling it. Do you know that the thought of not going to the gym flashed through my head today? Yes it did, but take a wild guess at what happened.. Yes sir ! I pressed on and went anyway. Today was my chest day and a killed my workout as best I could. Now, I was still tired and a little off during my workout but I didn't focus on that and I completed everything I went there for which is always the goal.
Now I'm not superwoman and I don't always have great days, and this is why it was important for me to share today's experience with you. I say all this to say, don't worry about if you are having a sluggish, or off day. The fact is that you made it out to the gym and put in your best. The only bad workout is the one that didn't happen. So smile and commend yourself for another dedicated trip to the gym :) #onestepcloser. Even off days are yet another stair added to the staircase to greatness. Stars cant shine without darkness, the dark and slow days define your character and determine where your mind is. You are much stronger than that person who didn't make it out today and said "tomorrow". You didn't make excuses. Every day will not be the best day, but the fact that you still pushed on says a lot about your character, and is the preface to your award winning fitness journey book. I don't always have superb days, and neither will you, but the fact that we did out best is all we can do. Give me an *e-high five* champ. We will make up for today by kick tomorrow's workout's butt ! Hooorahhh ! I'm going to drink plenty of water, and get a great nights rest so tomorrow I am rejuvenated and ready to demolish my back. Till next time.

Stick To Your Routines, Reach Those Goals

The best way to stick to a workout plan is to set big and small goals, and create a weekly regimen. People who plan ahead and set goals usually succeed because they know exactly where they are headed. It's not as effective if you randomly go to the gym and fit it in your schedule where ever it might fit. If you create a routine and you go to the gym or your workout classes at the same time every week, it becomes a habit, you are staying consistent, and you will see results. Plain and simple. It's commitment and perseverance that will set you apart from the rest. Aside from creating a regimen, it's very important that you stick to it as well. Progress is a slow process, but since you've started already it doesn't make sense to give up now in the middle. Every time you stop you will have to start over from scratch. Don't give up, delay, or procrastinate your fitness journey. These are the worst things you can possibly do to yourself. You are stunting your own success and wasting you time if you are not ready to get serious and commit to yourself. Don't be lazy, get up, and get to the gym ! And don't miss one day, not even for bad weather. If the gym is open, you are there. Consistency is key. You can either feel sore tomorrow or feel sorry tomorrow. Don't let it be the second option. You have an obligation to your body so create your regimen, set your short and long term goals and achieve them ! A year from now you will wish you started today and didn't quit. Quitting is an action of the weak minded. Elevate your character and promise to be more dedicated, determined, and disciplined. You will go a long way and be very proud in four months when you look back and see all your consistency paying off.
My current regimen is:

All purple is my workout schedule. I go to yoga 3 times a week, I go to the gym and workout specific body parts 4 times a week. On Tuesdays I go to my school gym between my classes and do 45 mins of cardio and focus on my abs for 20 mins. And of course I do my morning routine every morning

My goals:
Short term (by the end of March): 15 non assisted pull-ups straight, 50 push-ups straight, 15 pistol squats on each leg.

Long term (by September ): Walk in a handstand for more than 30 seconds, be very lean and cut, weigh a healthy 130 pounds, and have my CPT certificate.

I am very excited and motivated to reach beyond my goals. Of coarse I will update you on the progress. It will be slow but I will not be discouraged and neither should you. Everyday is a new chance and if you weren't able to lift the weight or hold that yoga pose today, you definitely put yourself closer than you were yesterday. You never know what tomorrow holds for you so stick with it and persevere. Put every strand of determination, every ounce of self love, every inch of commitment into furthering yourself on the road to your goals every time you step into the gym. Go to the gym and own the place, know why your there, be confident, and complete everything you went there for. There is a first time for everything so maybe tomorrow you will complete that 5k race, or be able to do a split. Never give up, you have all the power inside you, you just have to grit your teeth and bring it out. I believe that you can do it, make sure you believe in yourself and your workouts.

So get out there and add another brick to your Great Wall of China. Good afternoon and well wishes on those workouts :) Im headed to planet fitness to do my back workout as my schedule says. Namaste.

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful -Eric Thomas

Snacks on Snacks on Snacksss !!

I am always eating, don't let my slim figure fool you. Sometimes I feel like a fat person at heart. All day every day I am snacking, but they are healthy snacks ! This post is for all of you who uncontrollably eat junk snacks, then wonder why you are not seeing results from your workout. Ideally, we should be eating small portions of healthy foods 5 to 6 times a day. Yes you read right, 5 to 6 times daily. Now I am by no means condoning pigging out 5 to 6 times a day ! Don't come back ready to kill me because you thought I gave you the ok to have tons of snacks and have four course meals twice a day. I simply mean that you are allowed to snack through out the day, but only healthy snacks. The point is to feed yourself and get rid of hunger, you are never eating to have that belly exploding, lethargic, full feeling, thanksgiving is once a year, lets keep it that way. 

conveniently located on my
book shelf lol

Now I can be somewhat of a stingy person when it comes to my food so I have my own healthy snacks stash in my room that is only for me ! lol I know it sounds bad, but a girls gotta eat ! My snack stash consists of yogurt, nuts, fruit cups, rice cakes, pretzels, granola bars, chese dippers, and more.

 I absolutely love my snack stash and paired with fresh fruit that I always have in my house, I really don't have a craving for unhealthy snacks. They all satisfy that sweet tooth that creeps up from time to time. Depending on how long I will be out the house, I take 2 or 3 snack portions with me everyday and I eat them every 2 or 3 hours or when I begin to feel hungry and they hold me over until I come home and eat dinner. This not only keeps me from indulging in unhealthy snacks, it also saves me money every day. I encourage you all to create a HEALTHY snacks stash ! Today marks the day that you all will throw out those pound cakes, oreos, chips, sodas, etc, and never waste money on them again ! We are healthy eaters as well as snackers. Your body will thank you for the nourishment and it will show in your gym results, your healthy hair, skin, and you will have more energy. I am eating a granola bar right now as I type haha. But seriously I want to encourage and inspire all of you reading to make healthy choices about what you are putting in. Your diet is very important because it can easily help or hurt you.

And for those of you saying "healthy snack are nasty Jasmen, there's no way I can just switch over so suddenly like that" My response to you is: First of all, from today on, don't tell yourself you can't. Can't is not in our vocabulary ! You can do anything you set your mind to, I'm a firm believer ! Snickers was and still is my favorite candy. I have a million witnesses who can tell you that in high school  I used to literally eat like 3 a day ! But now I don't remember the last time I ate a snicker bar. I made up my mind that I wanted to reach my goal and snickers are nowhere in that equation. In addition,  I set my mind that I wanted to try a vegetarian diet and I have been so for a few months now ! (My vegetarian post is coming soon lol I know I just kind of threw that out there unexpectedly). But yes, set your mind up to be dedicated to your body. Tell yourself that there is no other way because you will not have your hard work going to waste just to make your sugar fiend taste bud happy. Make up your mind today to start your own healthy snacks stash and don't add any junk to it. Really make sure you are committing your whole mind, body, and soul to this. Its not easy but if you cheat on your diet, you are the only one to blame when summer comes and you feel ashamed that you still didn't get rid of your pudgy belly over the 5 months you have been "working out". Besides, it feel great to look back over the past months and see results and be able to say "wow, I made up my mind and I stuck it out to the bitter end with no cheats or relapses." Progress is really a beautiful thing. I wish you all the best is finding healthy eating habits and stay tuned for my post on making homemade healthy chips ! later guys :) 

Working All Winter Shinning All Summer !

So I am super excited about the fact that I am ten days away from my one month vow anniversary ! In ten days it will be a month from the day that I made a serious promise to love, honor, properly nourish, and strengthen my body. So far so good, I am pleased with my dedication  Today I had a wonderful morning which started off with my trusty morning routine. For those of you who don't know what that consists of, go check out my morning routine post from January. After that, I headed to my 10am Bikram yoga class which left me feeling loose, rejuvenated and free (I also have a post in January talking about Bikram and my experience). Then I ended my exercise series at the gym doing legs. I switched up my leg program today and I loved it, I really focused on doing lighter weights with more reps and sets. This really gets into those muscles and tones them as opposed to adding size. My legs are on fire right now and tomorrow will be worst ! lol. When I finish this post I am going to go have a nice big protein shake and take my vitamins. But before I run off to do that, here's a summary of my leg workout:

Warmed up with a mile on the treadmill
Smith machine squats - 135lb, 4 sets of 10
Leg press - 70lb, 20 reps of regular, 20 reps of inverted toes, 20 reps of everted toes, 25 reps of regular again
Single leg extensions - 25lb, 15 reps each leg, 14 reps each leg, 13 reps each leg, 12 reps each leg, both legs together 40lb, 15 reps
Single leg curls - 30lb, 15 reps each leg, 14 reps each leg, 13 reps each leg, 12 reps each leg, 11 reps each leg, 10 reps each leg
Calf extensions - 30lb, 4 sets of 25 reps feet straight, 1 set toes inverted, 1 set of toes everted
Hip adduction - 70lb, 3 sets of 10 reps
Hip abduction - 70lb, 3 sets of 10 reps
Glute machine - 50lb, 3 sets of 10 on each leg
Calisthenics - 5 pull-ups, 10 dips, 30 push ups, 30 hanging abs
3 minute cool down on elliptical 

Tip: No matter what body part you are working on in the gym, it won't hurt to do a little bit of calisthenics before or after your workout. This extra work will help you tone up and see results in no time ! Guaranteed  

I feel great right now and after I have my shake I might take a power nap for like an hour. Well I hope you enjoyed and are encouraged to get those sexy legs ! Get your work in ladies so that when its time to wear shorts and skirts we can feel awesome ! SOTD - "working all winter, shinning all summer, I ain't no beginner, you scared.." ;) Namaste.




                 

You will always be what you always eat ! Can't out train a bad diet

That 1 hour you spend in the gym is important, but the way you spend the other 23 matter more. The way you live and eat daily will either help or hinder your goals of having a healthy sexy body. A lot of people who want to be in shape eat snacks all day every day, and sneak into fast food restaurants not feeling guilty because "it's just one snack/meal, I'll work it off in the gym later" But let me tell you something, that Big Mac you had is 550 calories, and the medium fries is 330. Already that is 880 calories and who are you fooling ? I know you had a drink and it wasn't water, but I'm not even going to add that in yet. You will either go to the gym or hope that it magically disappears and doesn't affect your health. Either way, it's still 800 more calories than you had, not to mention the trans fat, cholesterol, etc. Even if you do go to the gym with intentions to work it off, you will have to run on the treadmill like a maniac for a whole hour on speed 7 just to burn off all of those bad calories. Yikes ! I'm pretty sure no one wants to do that or will even attempt ! And why should you have to go to the gym to burn off extra calories ? You are there to chip away at the present you, not make a game out of it by barely burning off your 1000 calorie lunch every day. By eating unhealthy snacks and food all day every day, you are not making the most of your work out and seriously wasting your time. You will NEVER see results no matter how hard you feel like you are working, and any muscle you are building WILL be hidden under your fat. Then you will complain that you never see results and get discouraged and stop trying. Progress gives us hope so stop hindering your progress ! A bad diet can make everything go terribly wrong ! So throw out that bj's jumbo box of assorted donuts now or be satisfied with looking like a donuts forever !

And you don't have to try those ridiculous diets and you definitely shouldn't starve yourself, that won't work. You will be sending your body into SOS mode and it will keep all the fat in your body because it thinks it needs it to survive. Just simply start today with your healthy eating regimen. A healthy eating regimen is simply eat healthy foods in smaller portions 4 to 5 times a day. Drink half a gallon to a gallon of water daily. AVOID JUNK AND FAST FOOD every day all day ! There are no one day cheats what so ever ! Stop carrying 10 unhealthy snacks in your bag everyday, and don't waste a dollar here and a dollar there on honey buns and pound cakes from the corner store. Avoid sugar, white flour, trans and saturated fat. And remember to add fiber to your diet. Fiber is a natural fat burner.

In addition to eating the right foods, over eating is also qualified as a bad diet. A lot of people don't realize that portion control is a big deal, especially when you are looking for specific results. If you eat too much, your body may not have enough time to metabolize it right away so it will get stored. When nutrients get stored in the body, especially carbs and protein, it gets turned to fat which is the last thing we want.

Eating healthy gives you more energy, stamina, better sleep, and productive workouts, etc. You are what you eat, and now that you have been educated, you make the call :)

BC's Pretend Gym, Sexy Abs Tip, & Elliptical Fun !!!

So let me tell you about my schools pretend gym ! I go to Brooklyn College and I decided to get a little workout during my break between classes. I'm paying for it in my tuition so I might as well ! And I'm getting myself in that pool soon too lol. But they barely have anything in there ! A few treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, stair masters, and a few machines for different body parts. I'd never go in there looking to get a full back workout, or a good leg workout, but it is good for doing cardio and calisthenics which is what I did today. Just FYI, calisthenics are exercises that are done using your own body weight and little or no extra weights like dumbbells. Calisthenics include exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, dips, abs exercises, bicycles, squats, mountain climbers, burpees, etc. Seeing as I'm still recovering from my awesome leg workout Friday, I went light today. I jogged 15 mins on the treadmill for about a mile and a half. Then I did some dips and push-ups, followed by 400 abs.

Tips to getting sexy abs: break up your sets. Meaning, do 300 when you wake up, 300 before you eat lunch, at the gym, or in the middle of your day, then do another 300 before you eat dinner or before you get in the bed. BAM! You just did 900 for the day ! If you did this for at least 2 weeks straight (coupled with a good diet, remember abs are made in the kitchen and shaped in the gym) you are guaranteed to see improvement ! There's no need to kill yourself and try to do 1000 abs in one sitting. That's why you always see that I do 300 to 500 abs at a time, because I've already done some in my morning routine, and I will also do some later before bed. Try it ! It works ;)

I've always been the biggest critic of the elliptical. I uses to say that it was for old ladies and it looks like your barely getting a workout because its just not running. I literally never in my life been on an elliptical because of my preconception. But today marks the first day ever and it's more intense than I imagined. As mentioned earlier I am still recovering from my legs workout so I wanted to cool down with something easy and low resistance. The elliptical was anything but that ! 3 mins after I began I was feeling the burn and sweating ! I was going pretty fast with a resistance of 15. I really liked it ! I liked it so much that instead of staying on for 10 mins, I stayed on for 25 !! I was in the zone going to the fast pace beat of my song "Trinidadian" by Kes. I will do more research on ellipticals when I get home but from what I experienced today, I feel like its a great cardio workout for people with knee injuries because its very low impact, much less impact than running on a treadmill. I also feel like it mainly targeted my quads but I could be wrong. I'm going to research and post about my findings because now I'm interested !  I will from now incorporate that into my workouts and I want all of you to get on the ellipticals too ! They are awesome !!!

my elliptical workout that was supposed to only be ten minites lol. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT !!!

After I left the gym I ate my homemade whole wheat bagel with butter and I drank Gatorade. I was so hungry that I inhaled it in 2 seconds so I don't have a picture of its beauty lol but you get the picture. Well that's all for now. Wishing you all beautiful abs in the near future. Namaste.

Every morning routine ! (No exception!!)

When red eyes pop half way open and you feel like your alarm clock woke you up 3 hours earlier than planned... When you wake up starving with your stomach eating itself and you want to run to the kitchen and stuff your face... When your bed all of a sudden feels like a warm personalized, handcrafted tempurpedic cloud from the heavens above, this is when you should imagine your dream body and health. See yourself as the showstopper in that sexy bikini, vacationing in the Bahamas this summer. Something so simple as having a daily morning routine can make a big difference. You don't always have to be in the gym to get a good workout. Even if your morning workout is small and only lasts 10 mins because that is all you can afford before getting ready for work, this is good. It takes great discipline to peel yourself out of bed every morning no matter how you feel, but if you do, you will really achieved a great discipline milestone from this small feat. I applaud all of you out there who have morning routines and I challenge you others to begin and stick to a morning routine. Here is mine:
500 abs in sets of 50 (10 different variations of ab workouts with 50 reps of each)
Between each set of 50 abs I do 10 push-ups for a total of 100 push ups
- if you can't reach 10 push-ups yet, do as many as you can up to 10 each time.
Lateral leg raises (3 sets of 25 each side)
25 mountain climbers
100 calf raises
Sometimes I do a few major stretches depending on how much time I have in the morning.

And that is it :) this usually takes me about 20 minutes so I set my alarm 15 mins earlier and when it goes off I get down on my rug before my body can force my brain to make excuses and I get my work in. This is the best way and it hasn't failed me yet ! Good morning all, wishing you a productive and successful day ! Did you complete your morning routine ??

Legs and shoulders

Today I worked on strengthening and toning up my legs. Within my workout I did some squats on the smith machine, but if you are not sure if you have the right form, or even have/had a knee or back injury, I don't suggest you do squats with the barbell. You can substitute it with hack squats, or leg press and you will still get a good leg workout. It is very important to stay safe while working out, if you sustain an injury at any time, it will undo all the hard work and long hours you have been putting into the gym. With that being said, here's a summary of my workout today:

5 minute warmup jog
Warmup set: one set of lunges. 10 reps with 10lb dumbells in each hand
Smith Machine Squats 135lb 10 reps, 155lb 10 reps, 165lb 10 reps
Calf Raises 95lb 25 reps, 115lb 25 reps, 115lb 25 reps
Leg press 50lb 15 reps, 70lb 15 reps, 90lb 15 reps
Extensions 50lb 15 reps, 55lb 15 reps, 55lb 15 reps
Curls 50lb 15 reps, 55lb 15 reps, 55lb 15 reps

I decided to double up and do two major muscle groups since I was super busy this week and didn't have too many days to go to the gym. When I finished my leg workout I got started on shoulders:

Shrugs 20lb 20 reps, 22.5lb 20 reps, 25lb 20 reps
Lateral arm raises 10lb 15 reps x3
Front same as lateral
I only did three exercises for shoulders because I already did a full leg workout and I don't want to over tax my body, especially when I am doing two major muscle groups. Also three really good and effective exercises should really be enough to work any given muscle.
Then I cooled down on the elliptical for 10 mins and that concluded today's leg and shoulders workout

Once You Go Bikram You Don't Go Back !!!

 I love Bikram yoga ! It's the most intense, rejuvenating, and amazing yoga you will ever experience, no exaggeration ! Once you go Bikram you don't go back ! Like seriously, I can't go back to regular yoga, it's just not as fulfilling. Bikram is basically 90 minutes of yoga in a 104 degree sauna room. It is a series of standing postures and ends off with a series of floor postures. 

To get through it you just have to know your bodies limits, and really open yourself up and embrace the heat and stretches. Normal feelings are those of dizziness or a slight headache if your not used to it, but the object is to stay in the room ! Don't leave in the middle of class or else you are not getting the full benefit of the hot yoga. Once you get used to it you will be hooked. 

Bikram is great because it increases flexibility, tones you up, reduces stress, increases energy and stamina, heals old injuries and regenerates scar tissue, expands lung capacity, relieves chronic pain, promotes circulation, improves balance, improves healthy function of organs and body systems, and more. I drag anyone and everyone that I can with me to yoga, young, old, male, female and by far one of my friends was the most funniest and dramatic about it. Funny thing is that is wasn't even one of my girlfriends, it was a guy lol. This is an excerpt of his fb status after the class: 

"So I tried Bikram yoga today for the first time with Jasmen which is basically doing yoga in a hot room that is a billion degrees lol. We were literally doing all these positions in the fiery pit of hell lol. Imagine the hottest day on earth and it still wouldn't compare. Then the instructor was telling us to do all this stuff with this smooth, calming voice, which did not make the pain go away. Talking about open your chest like a lotus flower blooming... Huh ??? I don't even know what a lotus flower is, let alone when its blooming lol. All in all it was a dope experience. Yoga is not easy by any means, do not be fooled. But yes I would do it all over again lol" 

All in all I love Bikram yoga and I recommend it to everyone ! And everyone reading, I challenge you all to try a 7 day, or 30 day challenge. I promise you will feel amazing or your money back !! Ok maybe I don't have the authority to give you your money back but just trust me, try it at least once and you will see why I'm so enthusiastic about it ! Namaste :)

Pumped Some Iron, I'm Sweatin', Wooooo ! Back Workout

Pumped some iron, I'm sweating  Woooooo ! Lol Today was a great workout ! I worked out my back. Even though you have to workout everything equally and keep everything proportional, I don't work on my back as often because the back is one of those muscles that get big and defined the quickest. Since I am not a body builder, the last thing I want is for my back to spread and get big like my good friend Arnold Schwarzenegger lol.  

But don't get me wrong, back is a very important part of your body, and you will be doing yourself an injustice if you left it out of your workout routine. Especially for us women, working out your back is good for zapping those ugly love handles and saggy back fat, as well as  helps us maintain good posture. When the muscles of your upper back are strong, they pull your shoulders down and back for a nice tall stance. In addition, when the posture is nice and erect, it keeps our fronts lifted up more beautifully if you know what I mean *wink*. We all want tall and perky, not hunchback and saggy ! lolSso get in the gym and work those backs. Here's a summary of my workout:  

Mile run warmup
Dumbbell rows- 15lb 15 reps, 20lb 15 reps, 22.5lb 15reps
Lat pull down- 27.5lb 15 reps, 30.5lb 15 reps x 2
Seated cable rows- 40lb 15 reps, 55lb 15 reps, 70lb 15reps
Barbel rows- 30lb 15 reps x3
Seated rows machine- 20lb 15 reps, 25lb 15 reps, 30lb 15 reps
Core workout
Abs
3 min jog down

Day Two. Yoga and Shoulders Workout

This morning seemed long and never ending ! First off I was super tired because I went to bed around 2am (my sleeping patterns have to change !). I woke up at 830 to get ready for my 10am bikram yoga class. I have to tell you about the amazing bikram yoga if you don't already know ! I will write all about it in a separate post. But after a strenuous and exhausting, but spiritually lifting class, I decided not to take the b41 to planet fitness but to walk. It's about half a mile from the studio and I was there in fifteen minutes. Today's gym workout was targeted on shoulders. I'm definitely not trying to have really big muscular body builder shoulders so I am really careful how I do them. I do lighter weights with 12 to 15 reps. Lighter wights with more reps helps you to tone up as opposed to doing heavier weights and maxing out with 6-8 reps, which will increase muscle mass. I was happy that the gym was rather empty and I was able to get straight to my workout with out having to wait for weights or machines. Guess every one is sleeping because they were at the bar for thirsty Thursday ! Lol. Well while they are sleeping I'm here getting my work in. It's only day 2 of my transformation but I feel good and I'm just trying to keep my focus and motivation.

Here is a summary of my gym workout:
Shoulder shrugs- 15lb 15 reps, 20lb 15 reps, 25lb 15 reps
Lateral- 7.5lb 12 reps, 10lb 10 reps, 10lb 10 reps
Front- 7.5lb 12 reps 10lb 12 reps 10lb 12 reps
Chest press- 15lb 15 reps, 20lb 15 reps, 25lb 15 reps
600 abs
Mile run

When I wake up to workout, I usually don't eat, as you shouldn't 2/3 hours before you are going to workout. All I had before yoga was a glass of orange juice and water. Between yoga and the gym, I was working out from 10 to 2pm and boy oh boy was I hungry ! Wen I left the gym literally everything was calling my name ! From that nasty McDonald's which I never eat, to that mystery food from the halal truck. It took all the will in me not to go to ihop and have a double stack of those delicious red velvet pancakes (ihop is conveniently located across the street from planet fitness) I just kept on walking to the bus, drinking my water which my imagination told me tasted like shrimp fettuccine Alfredo and ignored the dozens of aromas tantalising my nostrils. I was finally home and I darted to the kitchen in my sports bra and shorts to be met by my aunts curious eyes. Paying her no mind and whipping out that frying pan I told her "I am starving and I'm making an omelet, sorry I'm naked but I dont have a second to spare, my stomach is eating itself!" As she laughed at me I began making my omelet. There was still some left over mixed vegetables from last nights dinner so I scrambled them up in a bowl with 2 eggs and poured it into my nonstick pan. I toasted two slices of bread and lightly buttered them. 5 mins later I had a vegetable omelet. 

2 eggs, mixed vegetables: corn, green peas, carrots, red pappers.
2 slices of white bread toasted with butter  

Eating healthy while working out is very important. You will only get out what you put in ! Before you decide to go hard in the gym and eat an Angus burger when you get out, then later on that night you eat Chinese food, remember that Jasmen told you "your wasting your time!" You are packing on fat that you're trying to take off. A nice body, especially abs, are MADE in the kitchen and SHAPED in the gym. That's all for now. Have a lovely day :)

Day One. Chest Workout

Today was an ok day. I didn't have too much of an internal struggle to get up and go work out this morning because I was up all night reading about training and people who inspire me. Research will definitely motivate you ! Read every day if you have to, to stay motivated. I went to planet fitness and warmed up with a 15 minute run in which I did 1.70 miles. Today was a chest workout day so I did regular bench, incline bench, chest press, flys, pull-ups, and push-ups. One thing I hate about planet fitness is that they have the decline benches on the opposite side of the gym so it makes it impossible to do decline bench press. Usually when I bench I do regular bench, incline, then decline, in that order but oh we'll. That's the craziness I paid for in my $20 a month lol. All in all I had a good little workout and I ended it with 400 abs and a 3 minute cool down on speed 4.
Here's a summary of my workout:
Treadmill warmup 15 mins
6 pull-ups 1 set (warm up chest and arms)
Flat bench- 95lb 10 reps, 95lb 8 reps, 95lb 6 reps
Incline- 60lb 15 reps, 65lb 6 reps, 60 7 reps
Chest press- 30lb 15 reps, 35lb 15 reps, 40lb 11 reps
Fly (hate this machine!)- 35lb 15 reps, 40lb 15 reps, 45lb 12 reps
25 push ups
400 abs
3 min cool down on 4 speed

For breakfast I ate one scrambled egg on toast, a banana, and a bottle of water. And that sums up my morning so far. Stay tuned :)

100 abs 10 push-ups before bed

A vow to myself

I've always been athletic and in some kind of shape and I'll admit, I wasn't working to the best of my abilities. I didn't push to my limits and I was content with being mediocre. The past few weeks I really started reevaluating myself and I asked myself "what are you living for Jasmen? What it your purpose? Are you comfortable with blending in or are you going to do what it takes to be above average?" It comes a time when you have to fight with your internal struggle to succumb to laziness if you want to be more than great. You have to push yourself to get up every morning, peel yourself out of bed no matter how much resistance your body gives you. Before you drift into a zombie walk and a "it's raining hard outside, I'll just go back to sleep and go workout tomorrow" attitude, throw on your headphones and let Beyonce's  "get me bodied" whisk you into your workout gear and black eyed peas "scream and shout" get you into the gym and on the treadmill. This is called discipline, and this has never really been the easiest concept to me and I am still working on it to this day but the first step is making up your mind that you want and need a better you just as bad as you need your next breath, you love the physical, mental, and spiritual results just as much as you love your beautiful family. You have to make up your mind that you will be dedicated to your self just like the sun is committed to rising each and every morning. Imagine the sun didn't rise for just a day. It decided it was going to stay in bed. There would be no light for us, we would all feel lost and confused, and it would interrupt out daily routines, work, activities, and growth. That is exactly what you do to your body when you break your commitment to it. I had to learn this the hard way but better late than never. You have to start somewhere and I Jasmen Lashawna Flagg, vow to treasure and commit to my body today, January 16, 2013 at 9:00am. Today I begin my total body transformation. My goals are to gain strength and endurance, get more toned and defined, and to have a wholesome diet. I hope you enjoy my journey and are inspired to start your own. Your body will love you, and vice versa:) feel free to contact me with questions and concerns, I would love to answer anything. Namaste :)

This is me today on the first day of my transformation. 

Getting to know Jasmen

"It's time to come inside" we're the words I dreaded. Skinny arms and legs were bolting from whoever was "it", jumping double Dutch for hours on the block, climbing monkey bars till calluses formed, day in and day out. From sun up to sun down, not wanting to stop for a meal or even a breath for that matter, I relentlessly challenged the guys to race me and was always on the go. It did not take long for it to be realised that I was a budding athlete. At the age of 12 I officially started running track with an all girls team named Jeuness. There I was able to harness all my energy into competing. With some tweaking, tough love, and lots of coaching, coach Jean had me on my way to success. I won some races and I lost some, all in all I learned patience, dedication, and discipline from a young age. The first race I ever ran was Colgate women's games. Nerves were heavy upon me and i could barely warm up as i watched all the other girls get in their zone for their races. My form was all off, I did not know how to down start properly, I didn't even have on spikes, but all I knew was run and go for the win. The gun for my heat of the 200 meter dash rang loud through Pratt institute gym and I sprang into action like a ferocious baby cheetah. Before I knew it the finish line was behind me and I had not took first place nor second or third. Fourth or fifth wasn't mine to claim either. I came in sixth place. As a shred of disappointment tore through my chest and pierced my heart, it quickly went away when the lady presented me with a ribbon for my sixth place achievement. It was not much but at that moment I felt a small triumph that spoke to me saying " a winner is not the girl who fell and gave up, but the girl who has the courage to smile and try again tomorrow". All my lactic acid disappeared as I held my head high, accepted my WINNING ribbon, and set my heart on next weeks 200 meter dash. Following that I worked very hard, wanting so badly to get a taste of the first place pie. I went on to make it to the Colgate women's games finals at Madison square garden 3 years in a row and was blessed to win the first place prize of a $1000 scholarship. Many wins and many losses followed. I went on to compete in Empire State games in 2008. I ran and medaled at Penn relays 4 years. I was rookie of the year my freshman year in high school as well as college. I acquired many medals and trophies over the years. When I got to college I was athlete of the week many times and was an all conference runner all in my freshman year. Although many family members and friends were proud of my achievements, there was and still is a small hole in my own self recognition. I didn't meet a few personal goals as well as go as far as I wanted to. I always dreamed of going away to college and running for some big school like Texas A&M, MiamiU, Florida A&M, Louisiana State U, etc. It was a combination of not having the right opportunities, and also not realising my potential and working as hard as I possibly could. I did just enough to keep myself at a good enough place in the statistics, nothing extra. I lacked that true hunger and discipline that comes from the edges of your soul which motivates you to push on even when I hit the wall. Unfortunately my track dreams have expired but I have not ! And I have finally realised my capacity for greatness, I believe that I can get higher than the level I once dreamed of and I will. And along with wanting a better lifestyle for myself, I realised how much I want to help others, I am always here for my friends and family who need a push and I love it. I am studying to be a CPT and that is where my dream will just begin. I'm excited for my growth and growth to come. I will be charting my success, goals, workouts, diet, fitness info, etc. I hope you all enjoy my journey. I'm going after this dream harder that I went after my track dreams, I want this really bad. I will be charting my journey because I want to motivate others and show them that it is achievable, I am a real person and I am working at this one day at a time.That is all it takes. The past is the past, if you want something whether its to lose weight, tone up, etc. start today, start NOW. Don't let anyone or anything stop you, discourage you, or turn you back. Anyone can give up, giving up or not starting at all is easy and an attribute of the weak. But a true winner is the one who persevered through those uncomfortable exercises, worked hard, dug deep, and made it through. I'm not asking you to have a fitness, or athletic background, that does not matter, I repeat DOES NOT MATTER. What ever shape, size, or fitness level you are at, this blog is simply catered to the ones who are ready to make a commitment and try. The ones who are willing to take a leap of faith and get that first foot step through the door. I am here to support and uplift those people. I am not a certified personal trainer yet. But stick with me and read my workouts, diet suggestions, and advice and you will see improvement. I'm headed to the top and I hope your coming with me ! Fasten your seat belts and don't even blink,  this plane is preparing for a quick and powerful take off.