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.