So you're at a hotel...



My guess is they have some Dumbbells up to maybe 50 pounds



If you're lucky there's a cable machine or life fitness type setup



Of course there is probably a treadmill or some sort of cardio station.



So grab a dumbell and start this full body workout.

Sets, weight, and reps always depend on your goals so feel free to contact me to ask for your specific goals.! Let's go with 3x20 on everything here

Don't forget a good dynamic warm up!

Dumbbell squats (hold dumbell between legs)

Dumbbell lunges (hold Dumbbells at your side)

Curls superset with hammer curls

Overhead tricep extension or tricep kick backs

Overhead shoulder press

Lateral raises superset with front raises

Bent over reverse flys

Wall sit

End with some HIIT training

This is only a FRACTION of the things you can do. I could go on forever but I thought I'd give you a good solid workout to do. Plus you can make weights out of anything like water jugs or cans in a bag! (That's what I did when I started!). So make it happen you don't need a gym or state of the art equipment, you just need some heart and motivation to get it goin!!

Foam Rolling/Self-Myofascial Release

                (aka what most people would say is the worst best thing ever)

Scroll down now if you only want the info and not my personal story/different tools/love for everything SMR…

                So basically I remember the first time I heard about foam rolling a couple years ago and I was thinking what the heck is that? I never had one or was around one or even saw one. Keep in mind this was when foam rolling really started coming into the spotlight. So it was within the last 5 or 6 years that everyone started making a point of it.  Anyways I eventually did see one and use it and luckily I wasn’t like “Oh my gosh this is the most horrible thing ever it hurts so bad” instead I was thinking, “Oh wow this is that really good pain that you know relief follows after”. I didn’t struggle too much until I flipped over onto my quads (“OH MY QUAD did I feel that!!”  I love the massage type pain because it is such a good hurt I don’t even think anyone can actually describe it. (BY THE WAY THE PAIN GETS MORE AND MORE TOLERABLE WITH THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU USE IT AND HOW OFTEN YOU USE IT SO BE CONSISTENT!) 
                Shortly after, my sister and I asked for a foam roller as a gift from our parents and we got one to share so we are very appreciative of that!  Eventually I got my gym membership and they have foam rollers so I mostly find myself rolling there before and after a workout.  I also have one of the hand held ones now and let me just say that it has got to be the best thing ever.  I bought one and it broke within 24 hours though so I returned that then I couldn’t find one at a good price then my sister bought me one as a gift, HOW AWESOME!?  So I guarantee I will always have that with me at the gym or around the house. 
               I know it can seem like a heavy investment at first but in reality let’s say you consider buying the greatest foam roller you’ve ever felt and it would end up costing you maybe $35.  So you go back and forth in your head, but honestly that thing is going to last sooooooo long so even if you only had it for a year (I have had my foam one for awhile now) it would pay off within a month or two considering that would only be around 50 cents a day for 35 days if you used it 2x a day.  SO GET SOME FOAM ROLLERS. That’s the end of my back story now I am going to share some alternatives before I get into the science.

ALTERNATIVE TOOLS:

• Baseball
• Softball
• Tennis ball
•  Lacrosse ball
•  Golf Ball (personally haven’t tried this one but I assume it’d be good)
•  Bouncy Ball (this one is so good for targeting little areas and I am rolling my foot right now with one while sitting at desk typing this) shoutout to @robbiejamesfit on Insta and twitter for this one!
•  Make your own with PVC or other tools (look up some DIY)
•  Wood massage rollers 

 
Let’s start out with a couple ways to define the actual topic with the Google search definition:

1. Myofascial release (or MFR) is a soft tissue therapy for the treatment of skeletal muscle immobility and pain. This alternative medicine therapy aims to relax contracted muscles, improve blood and lymphatic circulation, and stimulate the stretch reflex in muscles.

In simpler terms it takes the muscle soreness, tightness, and lack of mobility and makes them feel better through release of tension.  I will get more into the science behind it soon but I have to start with some pre-cursor information so I can make sense of all of this with you.

When I refer to it I am going to say SMR in reference to SELF-Myofascial Release.

There are some different neural receptors in our muscles that turn off and on with different tensions and stretching. 

Muscle Spindles=lengtheningà when they are stimulated the muscle stretches & contracts

Golgi Tendon Organ=tensionà when stimulated the muscle relaxes

HERE IS THE EYE OPENER AND THE REASON WHY AND HOW SMR WORKS!!!!::

                If the body goes onto the foam roller or a roller puts pressure on the muscles, something awesome happens in the body where the change in tension is in a solid relationship with the intensity and time which means that the muscle spindle activity is stopped (trigger points/knots targeted), which in turn means the pain is reduced!! (THAT IS ALWAYS THE GOAL RIGHT ?!)

                NASMs way of putting it: When a change in tension is sustained at an adequate intensity and duration, muscle spindle activity is inhibited causing a decrease in trigger point activity, accompanied by a reduction of pain

                With the mention of some science behind the process we can start to talk about some benefits from NASM (with a little thrown in and a few changes made by me for understanding)  :

• Correction of muscle imbalances
• Muscle relaxation
• Improved joint range of motion
• Improved neuromuscular efficiency
• Reduced soreness and improved tissue recovery
• Suppression/reduction of trigger point sensitivity and pain
• Decreased neuromuscular hypertonicity (muscular contractions that cause chronic pain)
• Provide optimal length-tension relationships (length and isometric force when muscle active)
• Decrease the overall effects of stress on the human movement system

If you are not convinced then you probably do not have pain anywhere and you are extremely lucky for that or you are in denial (sorry) but just gotta try it out!!! lol

CRUST:

1/2 cup egg whites or three full eggs

1/4 (approx 1 scoop) Unflavored whey protein powder

3/8 oats

Optional items for crust:

Salt and Pepper

1tblsp pea protein powder

Use hand held blender or processor and blend to a batter consistency

Non-stick pan sprayed with coconut oil or non stick oil

Before adding batter, Heat pan until it is hot

Add half of the mix to the pan and spread it thin

Turn heat to medium so it cook through without burning

Flip when bottom is done

Remove crust from pan, add tomato paste (I used no salt added diced tomato w/ green chiles bc we actually didn't have plain tomatoes like I thought we did and I blended them to Make a paste)

Add cheese (I use almond cheese not actual cheese)

Add any other desired toppings. Pineapple was my whole family's favorite but we also did turkey bacon which was also yummy and of course plain cheese but the possibilities are endless

Put in oven at normal oven setting for bout 10 min or until cheese is melted!

This recipe really surprised me. I found it online but I really tweaked it to fit my plan and my likings!

Let me know what you think! ENJOY:)

Ingredients in order of putting into blender:

1. Water (or milk of choice)
2. Ice (about a handful or around 6 cubes)
3. Raspberries (about a handful or so)
4. Banana (I rip in half because I like to I guess lol)
5. Whey protein of choice 

This is my favorite post workout smoothie for restoring glycogen along with some fast digesting carbs and some good ol' protein :) 


Check out more videos on @celestial_fit on YouTube

Sometimes I question if I even have a life outside of fitness and the answer is, kind of. lol

I have chosen the more intense/extreme version of living the fit lifestyle. And it basically consumes my thoughts and being but it doesn't bother me because I love it and it is my passion so I mean that explains why it consumes me.   One of my clients calls me a spartan, you can guess why.

There are not many things I enjoy as much as physical activity or health related ways to spend my time. 

I do things outside of the actual training percentage of my life that are still health related:
       I have my water jug with me 90% of the time. 
       I eat prepped meals every couple of hours (some days are better than others)
       I work in a gym
       I take supplements (some twice a day)
       I make protein shakes and bcaa mixes
       I foam roll in and out of the gym if I am feelin it at home
       I play competitive, high-level, volleyball
       I practice ju-jitsu and combat street defense
       I love hiking and walking
       I also consume my time on YouTube with fitness videos or checkin up the latest posts from people I follow on Instagram or other social medias
      Not to mention my job is on my mind 24/7 so there is that
      
Things that aren't necessarily physical that I love to do:
       Spend time with family and friends
       Sleep
       Art 
       Writing (I used to write a lot more than I do now, I will have to share a poem in my next post!)
       Reading (I need to do more of this) 
       Watch Movies and TV (I don't have/make much time for this but I actually enjoy a lot of shows), specifically: Walking Dead, Bachelor/Bachelorette/Bachelor Pad, Married at First Sight, Arranged, Silicon Valley, The Messengers, Game Shows, Workaholics, Parks and Rec., I am sure I am missing some but then again I don't get much time to just veg and when I do I usually sleep or mindlessly scroll through IG.
       Even though I don't experiment much I actually love trying new healthy recipes like protein muffins, ice cream, pancakes, just baking in general  (I would rather bake than cook, yes)

So if anyone besides me was wondering if I have a life outside of fitness the answer is yes! :) I just choose the fitness related aspects of my life much more often.
       

If you are seeking change but do not know how to get it and you ask a fitness professional how to get that change then why not take their advice?

I am going to premise this blog with a short story that sparked the inspiration to write this post: 

I work at a gym and I set people up on machines and show them how they are used.  In this time some people ask me fitness questions.  I had a very nice girl tell me that she felt she had no upper body strength and could not lift a bar (the 45 in the free weight room).  She opened up about her weakness in the upper body and wanted some advice.  I gave her some tips that would help build her strength up and explained to her differences between machine lifting and free weights.  I told her some of the best ways to push herself when lifting.  I mentioned that failing on your last rep or two in your rep range is not a bad thing at all (which she thought was).  It is a VERY beneficial thing for gaining strength.

She recently came to me and said that my advice was amazing and helped her immensely. She says she can now lift the bar in the weight room and expressed her gratitude towards me for sharing that with her.  She also told me that she has been looking for someone or ways to figure out how to start getting into lifting and I was happy to give her the advice to get her started.  

Imagine if she decided not to act on the advice I gave her, she still would be struggling to find a way to increase her strength. But because she listened she saw results within 1 week of consistently working on those changes.

SOO if you are still reading here goes the basis of the blog post:

I have never understood why people discredit things so easily.  I understand that there is an overbearing amount of information but if you have asked someone for some advice then what do you have to lose by giving it a shot? Of course I am not saying trust everyone right off the bat I am just saying if you have seen them working out, know they are a credible source and admire their work, aesthetics, and health then why not take their advice?

Let's say you are trying to build muscle and meet someone who clearly has a desirable amount of muscle on their body.  So you think oh let's see what they do.  First of all if you ask someone for fitness advice that is personal you should place this at great importance because this is something that person does and trusts, so they are most likely not going to try to cheat you or harm you unless what they do is completely wrong as is.  Just make sure they have a good reputation and do know what they are doing, not all gym rats are good ones and not all personal trainers actually work out (but we will save that topic for another time). 

What I am trying to say is if you are asking someone for help then that means you do not have the answer so you can either try out their advice and have greater potential for results or you can deny what they say and be stuck in the same spot as before.