Fit Chick Friday - Ginel Stephenson

We are an amazing community of Fit Chicks right here in Edmonton and I want to highlight that community. Each week I'll be featuring a new new Fit Chick on Friday's. Learn about trainers, teacher, instructors or you ladies who are just into a good ol workout!

This week I had to have my friend Ginel Stephenson on. We met in a moms group when our now almost 6 year olds were tiny 4/5 week old babies! She is one fit and fun mama!

Certifications:

Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology, CSEP CPT and CEP CrossFit Level 2

Where to find Ginel:

She has a garage converted into a amazing home gym where she takes clients through True Shape Fitness.

What are your specialties?

CrossFit style training, general nutrition, nutrition for endurance athletes, weightloss and chronic medical conditions. 

What got you into fitness?

Being a kid that couldn't sit still, I realizes that there was no way I could work in a career sitting behind a desk or behind a counter. I love moment and how it makes you feel.

What/Who is your biggest motivation?

Challenging myself is my biggest motivation. I am able to go out to my gym and work out on my own no problem, but there needs to be a reason for me to work out so it doesnt become mundane. Whether its getting a few kf's on a lift, decreasing my time in distance training or getting one more pullup. I enjoy fitness as a sport and tracking improvements and gains. I LOVE CrossFit competitions and ultramarathons. I have yet to complete one solo but am working on 120 km this year.

What got you into to training people?

It was a gradual process and many other instructors and coaches along the way. Wach different niche was foudn through different passions of others that I have been honoured to work with and for. 

What are some of your favourite exercises or equipment?

Olympic lifting, the squat rack and my incline trainer treadmill that goes 40% incline.

What is your favourite outdoor activity?

Trail running.

What is your favourite indoor activity?

Baking and reading the newspaper. (She said she's lame, but that sounds glorious to me)

Any advice you'd like to give to other women?

It's most imperative that you do NOt compare yourself to others. If we were all alike, earth would be a pretty boring place to be! You need to set your own goals and have accountability for those. 

Also, listening to our body. Mother Nature is pretty damn smart and had got us this far. Some days it's okay to sleep in past your 5am alarm set for a workout and just rest and recover. We actually don't make any gains in the gym, it's the rest, recovery and rebuilding time where that happens. 

Find Ginel at www.trueshapefitness.net on Facebook or her new Instagram account!

A shot of Ginel and her husband running together. 

5 Foods To Eat After Injury

If you don't follow along on my Instagram, you would have missed the fact that I injured myself yesterday. Doing some fancy version of box squats, I missed and landed on the corner of the box with my shins. *Insert grimace*.

So here we are writing about some foods that will help the healing process. These are great not just for us adults, but for the kids on our lives that play sports or get injuries from riding their bikes, as they are non medical ways of helping heal. 

1.Ginger - Ginger is a well known anti inflammatory and helps reduce pain. But in addition to this, if you are taking medication for pain/healing that upsets the stomach, ginger is known to help fight nausea and upset stomachs.  

2.Tumeric - Also another well known powerful anti inflammatory, reducing joint pain if there are injuries to knees, elbows, shoulders etc.

3.Vitamin C Rich Foods - Vitamin C boosts immunity we know but it also important in strengthening of collagen (the stuff that holds our skin together), if we aren’t getting enough vitamin c Collagen gets weaker and wounds heal slower.Try sweet bell peppers, oranges, spinach, and brussel sprouts.

4.Protein - Think about bodybuilders and muscle heads and all the protein they seem to consume. While working out we are tearing the muscles and protein is needed to repair the tears. It’s not just neede for repairing muscles but also injuries such as cuts, burns, wounds etc. Increase your protein intake while healing. “Protein gets used for energy before healing” - Michele Gottschlick R.D Ph.D.  So we need to increase protein for energy AND to use for healing.

5.Zinc Rich Foods - Zinc is needed to synthesis protein and for cell growth, helping heal wounds faster. Spinach, Beef, Kidney Beans, Pumpkin Seeds, Oysters, Garlic (well isn’t that just convenient) Egg Yolk, Pork and Dark Chocolate (So I’ve given you a scientific reason to eat chocolate).

Adding some of these foods together would probably make a great salad or stew! Watch for a recipe on the blog soon!! Ha ha

Love, 

Jen The Bitchin' Housewife

Arbonne Preworkout Review

Last  year I wrote What's In Your Pre workout? A post going through some of the things in one particular workout powder. Although It was just the one, many of them have the same ingredients and stimulants in them. 

Recently Arbonne came out with a new sports line. If you don't know Arbonne, it's a direct sale company with everything from makeup to nutrition and skin care. Well I asked a friend who sells Arbonne about it and she gave me some to try out. I ordered some. 

This preworkout I don't believe to be anything like other pre workouts. I've heard of many people saying the look for ones that don't give you the jitters or "prickly skin" or make your heart feel like it wants to come out of your chest. These are all things I definitely don't want to be feeling. I fear that if we feel so jacked up that our hearts are going to jump out of chests, how likely is it to injure ourselves? Additionally the havoc it may cause on our bodies nervous system? This is why they tell you to cycle pre workouts. Every few weeks stop taking it. Your poor body thinks it's fighting a lion every time you workout. Not in the mental sense like "you're a hardcore beast, kill this workout" either.(Sorry)

During the workouts I used the powder I felt like my normal self. I just noticed on cardio day that maybe I wasn't completely dead by the time I reached the last intervals. On lifting days I could get a few more reps in. My friend who sells Arbonne said she notices she has a little more motivation. She isn't a regular gym rat, so the little bit of extra umph to her workout helps. 

Here is the part I really like. The ingredients. So lets go through them.

Vitamins A, C, E, B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, sodium and potassium.- Different key vitamins and nutrients for the body. Pretty straightforward. 

L-Arginine - An amino acid found in the body, said to help improve function of blood vessels. There are contraindications for people who have history of heart attacks. Although I'm sure if you've had a heart attack you likely know better then to take stimulants or pre workout powders!

L-Citrulline - Another amino acid found in the body and foods like watermelon. Oddly enough our bodies use this and turn it into the above Arginine. 

L-Carnitine - An amino acid that Bodybuilding.com has a whole article on. Check it out 11 Super Side Effects of Taking L Carnitine

D-Ribose - A sugar or energy source but this ingredient is also said to help some people with muscle soreness too.

Ginseng - Many of us have heard of ginseng. Some come to it for when they don't feel well or use it as a bit of energy boost. Ginseng is an ingredient with many benefits. Here is a website with a lot of interesting information Gingeng Panax

Tumeric and Cayenne - Again we have all seen these before. Spices used in cooking perhaps. Or the dreaded "cleanses". They have detoxifying properties and aid in digestion. 

OTHER INGREDIENTS: organic cane sugar, citric acid, rice syrup solids, orange flavor, pineapple flavor, silicon dioxide, stevia leaf extract.

Since there isn't a bunch of artificial sweeteners, and cane sugar/rice syrup are used there is some calories added. 

Macros are: Fat 0g, Carb 9g, Protein 0g. Making for 36 calories (9 grams carb multiplied by 4 calories per gram). Although the website will tell you 50 calories. 

Overall I really like this preworkout. Especially if you are not a "hardcore gym rat" and/or newer to fitness! If you want to order some check out Amanda Sten Arbonnne .

Love, 

Jen

Love Your Fitness

I posted this picture on my personal Instagram a couple of weeks ago after a great workout and I loved the shape my muscles started taking. I was talking about loving yourself through fitness. I want to chat about that tonight. Likely because being honest, I feel like I need to take a bit of my own advice today.

As I said in the post, fitness isn't about hating yourself. It's not about hating something so much that's it's enough to motivate you into fitness. Most of us get into fitness with the thought "I just need to loose these X amount of pounds", "If I could just get rid of X". Starting our journey's with negative thoughts about ourselves.

Then somewhere along the lines, one, two or maybe 5 weeks later we stop or slow down. Progress isn't happening, we still hate X so what's the point of all this effort for no reward?

During those past weeks what were you saying to yourself? "Ugh I hate X, so I gotta push through what my trainer said" "Dig deep and one day it will be better"? If we are always focusing on the negative and the things we hate, that thing is sure to stay there. You know when you buy a new car and you see it everywhere? Or you get pregnant and you see pregnancy everywhere? You see it everywhere, because its what you are thinking about. It's on your mind, so you make it come to fruition in real life. Now take that and apply it to actual self thoughts. If you think "I'm fat" or "I feel strong" then that is what you will be.

Fitness should be celebrating what you love. My entire life I hated my legs. Thought I had thunder thighs. No matter how skinny I became or what I did, they were just terrible. What do I love now? My legs. I love the muscle they have, the shape they give my body and the strength they hold for the crazy things I put my body through. I can assure you they are not smaller nor much bigger then they have been my entire life, but I have chosen to embrace them. I found a form of fitness that embraces that part of my body and makes me feel good.

I dare you to go to your mirror now and find at least one thing about your body you love. You may see the things you don't love so much, but that's fine. Accept that thought and move on. Don't stay to long there. Find what you love. Your arms? Are they strong and capable of carrying 35 lbs toddlers? Your shoulders? Are they broad, full of pride and give you beautiful posture? Your feet? Are they wide to keep you sturdy and great for balancing in yoga?  Find something that you love.

Find that something you love and build from there with your fitness. Do you love your strong powerful legs? Try running with them. Squatting with them. Your shoulders and arms feel great? Maybe try swimming or yoga. If we all took the time to work on the things we love instead of the things we hate I bet you we would all come further, faster. The more you work toward that, the easier the rest comes.

That is what falling in love with fitness is about I think. Why some people it clicks for them and can't stop working out. They found that thing that makes it a part of them. Also why people try and it fails. You may not have found the fitness you love yet. The way to move your own body and it make you feel good inside and/or out.

I love weightlifting and yoga personally, but you might like Zumba, powerlifting, swimming, crossfit, pilates, running or a combination! In tise day in age we are in of Groupons for all types of fitness just go and try them all until you find something that works. Something that makes you feel good. That makes you go home and say "wow I could do X because my X"

I'd love to hear what you've tried or what you really love!

Jen