Here are my thoughts on the importance of REST DAYS:
I never used to take rest days. I would lift 5 days a week and do cardio on 3. I didn’t take a day off. Now, I lift 5 days a week and do cardio once. But, my workouts are much more intense and quite a bit longer. Now I’m realizing how much I need those rest days. I took my first for this week on Wednesday because I had been exhausted for the entire beginning of the week and I couldn’t keep going without a break. I’m taking my other today because once again, I’m worn out, and even yesterday’s workout could have been a lot better. My point is that sometimes our bodies need a break in which they can recover, so that when we go back, we’re hitting the gym with the intensity that we idealize: hard! 💪🏻 Don't be afraid of resting! Not only will it not be detrimental to your progress, but it also is often necessary to making the most of your workouts. -Hannah :)
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Hopefully the answer is pretty obvious: no, protein bars are NOT the key to success.
I commonly get asked by my friends about protein bars, and there’s always a big misconception: NO, you do NOT need protein bars. In fact, a lot of them are highly concentrated with calories. HOWEVER, they CAN be nice to have sometimes. For example, since I’m taking a zero hour (extra class before the school day starts) this year in school, I have to go 6-7 hours between meals. That’s REALLY hard for me, especially when I don’t get a lot of food. Sure, gum helps, but I need something with some more calories and substance. It’s convenient for me to bring a bar that I can snack on between classes. That’s what I did this morning, and it REALLY helped. So, no, protein bars are not necessary in any way, but they can be a convenient way to get calories in busy situations. My favorite protein bars for the calories (relatively low) and macros (decent amount of protein; not too many carbs/fat) are by Quest Nutrition. Check them out here! Sorry for the short post, but school started for me this morning and I can alread tell that this year will be BUSYYYY!! -Hannah :) I’m going to DEBUNK a common Instagram post... 😶 I see infographics literally ALL OVER social media that are 100% inaccurate and giving people the completely wrong idea of fitness. How many of you have seen a post that says something along the lines of “LOSE BELLY FAT FAST” or “FLAT ABS IN ONE WEEK” that has animations of a bunch of ab exercises? 🙋🏻♀️🙋🏽♂️ I hate to break it to you, but that is NOT how fitness works, for a couple of reasons... 1) Ab exercises burn very little fat. I’m not going to say that they don’t burn ANY, but the only way to lose a substantial amount of fat is a by creating a CALORIC DEFICIT, whether through CARDIO, DIET, or BOTH. By laying on the floor and raising your legs 20 times, 3 times a day, as these posts suggest, you’re not going to burn many more calories than you would by going about your daily business. Cardio ACTUALLY burns calories and a caloric deficit means you EAT LESS calories, both of which will result in fat loss. Don’t get me wrong, weightlifting can burn fat as well, but this takes consistency over a longer period of time, as well as compound exercises with heavier weights. These ab exercises may help to build the muscle, but if you’re not already extremely lean, they won’t be visible. 2) ONE WEEK? Are they serious? Even three months isn’t very reasonable unless you started from a really good point. These posts make it seem like fitness isn’t a journey that takes dedication and commitment. It’s just something that you can do inconsistently for a few weeks, see results, and quit. NO! You will NOT achieve results that way, and it undermines those of us who spend hours EVERY SINGLE DAY working on our health and fitness. We have results because we make sacrifices. We put in hard work and we stay 100% committed. Don’t expect to do 20 minutes of ab exercises at half intensity 3-4 days per week, while not monitoring your diet or doing any other exercise and achieve results. It’s not going to happen. I'm not trying to say that you can't do it because it takes too much work, I just want to share the reality of the situation: PROGRESS requires EFFORT. Period. If I sound a little frustrated, I am, because so many people don’t understand how getting into shape works or what it requires. If you see any other fitness myths on Instagram, tag me and I’ll write a comment DEBUNKING them! -Hannah :) *Yes, I know there's a typo in my infographic. I DID mean to say "strength" rather than "stength," but let's pretend my typo was actually making fun of these infographics that do tend to include typos. ;) Okay, just suck it in until you can’t breathe, twist a little bit, pop your hip, smile, tilt your head down, now shift over just a few inches for better lighting—what, you’re not flexing anymore? FLEX! That’s what it’s like every time I have to take a picture. It’s 20+ takes before I find something that's even close to decent enough to post. Then I need to add a filter, take a few minutes to criticize things I can’t change, and decide to try a *few* more pictures. For example, it took me 10+ tries to get the 1st picture, and only 1 to get the 2nd. I’m not perfect, and I’m nowhere near where I want to be. But I need to stop trying to hide it, because danggg that’s uncomfortable! Everyone who runs a successful Instagram account puts so much effort into every single post and every single picture. I’m not sure I should include myself in the “successful” accounts, but I spend forever just trying to look presentable for the camera. And then the pictures don't even turn out that great. I can’t even imagine how much work people with thousands of followers must put in on a daily basis. I certainly don’t have to time or energy to do what they do, and their stamina is freaking INCREDIBLE! This was going to be one of those “social media vs reality” posts, but then I got a little carried away admiring the dedication of big fitness accounts. Oops... 😅 Anyways, Instagram is not even close to what reality looks like, yada yada yada... you’ve seen so many posts about this already, so why even get into it now, I’ll probably just go off on a tangent anyway, like I tend to do. Besides, I wrote about this as my very first post on this account, so if you want, you can check that out! Just scroll aaaaall the way down. -Hannah :) It’s the time of year again: school. 📆 I’m going into my sophomore year of high school and I think that this will be the hardest and most stressful one yet, but I will NOT give up on my fitness goals just because I have something else going on. However, I will have to set some priorities. 📝 Whether you’re a student, employee, or have any sort of commitment, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. In order to accomplish everything you have on your plate, you will need to have a balanced lifestyle. But how do you do that? How do you figure out what’s most important and how to spend your time? Setting priorities and managing your time can be complicated, but it is 100% vital if you wish to accomplish ALL of your goals. 👩🏻💻 This year I am taking 4 AP courses, 3 honors courses, and Student Council. I will be running for StuCo class chair, as well as filling in for the StuCo secretary 1st semester. I’m taking the PSAT in the fall, as well as 4 AP tests in the spring. I may take part in other clubs, such as JSA, and I am working as an intern for a time management/organizational business. On top of that, I will be continuing to pursue my fitness goals, as well as competing in my first fitness competition in November. Plus keeping up with my fitness account and blog. And that doesn’t include also maintaining personal relationships and staying social with both my friends and family. Yes, I’m very busy, but yes, I’ll make it work. 🗓 So there’s 24 hours in a day. Take out 8 hours to sleep--16. Minus 7 hours of school--9. So I have 9 hours every day for getting ready, homework, fitness, spending time with family and friends, eating meals, and participating in clubs. Say homework takes 2 hours--now we’re at 7. Getting ready is 1 hour total--6. Meals another hour--5. Personal fitness and health one more--4. And finally, keeping up with FLATCHESTFLATABS--3. Three hours for enjoyment. When it’s broken down like that, I realize how much time I actually have to accomplish everything. It’s not a lot of time, but it’s enough to have some down time with family and friends, as well as to work on other little projects that pop up. If I manage my time wisely and create a schedule, I will have those 3 hours left over at the end of every day. But the problem is that things don’t always work out as planned. 📂 That’s when you need to make sacrifices. For me, school always comes first, so if I don’t get around to making a fitness post, working out, or hanging out with friends, then so be it. You may not always be able to accomplish everything you want, so if you aren’t able to squeeze everything in, then take out what is the least important. It may be a hard decision, but it is a necessary one, and completing 3/4 tasks well is better than working on all 4 and not finishing any of them. ✖️ If you don’t have time, then make time. But if you have done all that you can and you simply just cannot make it work, you’re going to have to sacrifice. ❤️ I hope this post helped anyone who is stressing out about keeping up with fitness as you add more and more commitments, and if you have any questions or need any help organizing everything, feel free to reach out. I may be busy, but I’m happy to help if I can. -Hannah :) Only 11 years old and making those gains! Throwback to 2014 and my first experience with quad extensions--well, not quite... I just found this picture the other day and was surprised to see that I was in the gym 3 years before I actually started lifting on a regular basis. So what happened? Why didn’t I stick with it? There are a couple of possible explanations: I wasn’t motivated, I didn’t want to put in the work, I enjoyed eating unhealthily, etc.. All of these are clearly factors, but which was the most at fault for my inability to commit? It was probably my lack of motivation. Because if I was motivated enough, I wouldn’t matter that I didn’t want to work hard or stop eating junk. I would make the sacrifice and jump into fitness. At age 11, I wasn’t concerned with my body image. Nor were my habits actually making an impact on my health. By the time I got to 13, these things had changed, which is why I had enough motivation to actually do something about my health--or lack thereof. People make all kinds of excuses for not getting into shape: “it’s too expensive,” “I tried it and it didn’t work,” “I don’t want to look like a fool,” and in some cases these excuses are accurate. But most often they’re just that: excuses. And excuses can always be worked around if you try. You can have excuses or results, but not both. So it's time to make your choice. Which do you want: results or excuses? -Hannah :) I want to take a minute to thank you guys for all of the support. I have received SO MUCH POSITIVITY from everyone, and I really appreciate it!
I’ve come to realize that the fitness community is so much more than just an outlet to share healthy recipes and workout ideas. It’s a second family that urges me to continue on my journey and boosts my confidence when I feel like my progress is stagnant. In all honestly, although I’ve gained confidence since beginning on my fitness journey, there are plenty of times when it feels like I’m back where I started. “I feel so fat” and “I hate my legs” are common phrases that come out of my mouth. I know in my heart that I’m well beyond where I started, but there are still times of self-doubt. Thank you if you’ve read this far, and THANK YOU if you’ve ever offered support and positivity, whether to me or anyone else in the fitness community. I’m not where I want to be yet, but I will get there eventually. And the appreciation I receive everyday is what pushes me forward. ❤️ Prep day 6: Current weight- 118.0 lbs Today’s goals: Fat- 50 g Protein- 140 g Carbs- 210 g Fiber- 25-45 g Water- 128 floz -Hannah :) WATER! It’s so, so important to get enough, and people rarely do. The absolute minimum amount of water that you should be drinking daily is 8 cups. Ideally, you’d be drinking a gallon or more. Very few people actually drink enough water, even if they think that they do. So why is water so important? In order for any chemical reactions to take place, water must be present. Which means muscle growth and fat loss can’t happen without it! It keeps your blood pressure in check so that you don’t have to worry as much about your sodium intake. Water also helps to keep you full, make you feel less bloated, and get rid of wastes. Oftentimes when you think you’re hungry, you’re actually just dehydrated. One common myth is that your pee should be the color of apple juice. This is false! The clearer it is, the more hydrated you are, and the better for your health! Try drinking at least a half gallon of water today. You’d be surprised how much better you can feel, after just drinking a bit more water! -Hannah :) Today is prep day # 3, and I’m getting more and more excited by the day for my competition (even if I don’t actually have any competition in the teen division)! Yesterday I hit my macros spot on at 180 carb/50 fat/ 140 protein, plus 31g fiber and 152floz of water! My macros today are set at the same my plan will leave me hitting them right on again, as long as I eat what I have logged. Today was my first leg day with my coach @mmarconi1 and I’m so glad I got some form fixes because I really needed them 😬! In other news, I’m down 1 pound since the end of vacation, so that’s already good progress (I'm assuming that's the water weight).
Prep day 3: Current weight- 118.8 lbs Today’s goals: Fat- 50 g Protein- 130-140 g Carbs- 180 g Fiber- 25-45 g Water- 128 floz -Hannah :) Good morning everyone, I just got back from vacation yesterday, which means it's time to start prepping for my contest in November! I loved my trip, and I think it was a great way to get all of the cheat meals out of the way and start craving healthy foods again. I’m excited to get back into the swing of eating right and working out, as well as start my contest prep! I’m up 5.3 pounds from before vacation. I have a feeling that those pounds include water, fat, and muscle, but the question is how much of each. I feel much stronger and I think I've added some muscle from the extra food, but my body in general also looks bigger and less defined. We’ll see what happens as time goes on, but as of right now, I think I’m in a decent place for day one of prep (especially considering that I was just on vacation). Day one prep: Starting weight- 119.7 lbs Today’s goals: Calories- 1710 Fat- 50 g Protein- 130-140 g Carbs- 180 g Fiber- 25-45 g Water- 128 floz Let's do this thing! -Hannah :) |
AuthorMy name is Hannah Lehrfeld and I am a high school student with a strong passion for fitness. Archives
January 2019
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