MOVED TO THE OFFICIAL SITE

Go to www.trainerlolo.com from now on!

I love active recovery day

Active recovery day mmmm low intensity cardio and yoga class to get my zen back and stretch out all my lifting tightness. The best day in a week of workouts especially when well earned! Let's review the past week:

Saturday- Strength legs (soreness ensued) and 20 min of stepmill (yes after legs I know I'm crazy)

Sunday- 2 hour hike/run on South Mountain

Monday- Strength back and biceps (its friday and my biceps are still sore ouchy!)
Tuesday- 40 min HIIT cardio bike and treadmill (hello sprints!)
Wednesday- Strength chest shoulder and triceps plus 30 minutes of intervals on Elliptical
Thursday- Hike Camelback Mountain (all anaerobic cardio as well as burning legs!) body=exhausted

So today I hit up the treadmill for some good ol' Zone 1 cardio for 55 minutes to the tunes of Bob Marley... totally puts me in a great mood! Take about a 15 minute stretch break and then gear up for the yoga class I have been yearning to do all week. Yoga really relaxes my body and deep stretches all the tight spots. After the months of working out of a car and constant travel this is MUCH needed. But oh no, I ended up in the wrong studio and into a Fitness Pilates class before I knew it. If you haven't done this class before... oh. my. god. ROCKS your core muscles. So I wasn't completely prepared for this but I''m pretty impressed with how well I did considering all the time off from core work. I did forget the wonders a Pilates class does for my posture which is needing work again. Even though I was going for a zen-day, I feel great.

My body is transforming back. My energy is spiking so that I don't need caffeine! I've been doing a LOT better at fighting the sugar craving (hint- L-Glutamine pills). Even though the 10 days off from work is stressing me out a little bit, the break was definitely needed to reset my body and charge me up!

Holy brutal anaerobic hike!!!!!!!!!

This trail is an intense and difficult anaerobic hike the entire 1.2 miles to the summit. It ascends 1,280 ft, from 1,424 ft above sea level to 2,704 ft.

The trail begins with railroad ties and small rocks for the first 3/8 mile. The first rail comes next, which is the steepest and most difficult part of the trail. After this challenge there is about 200 feet of low grade hiking until another, less intense, rail section. Once past the second rail, the Echo Canyon trail consists of large rocks, phenomenal views, and continued steep grade until the summit, another .7 miles.

There is no doubt I was in Zone 4 (anaerobic) for close to 50 minutes straight!

I had to go up this... for almost a mile....

Cranking it out still

2 hour hike/run on South Mountain (I went to the top!) ... HIIT cardio intervals on bike and treadmill (awesome way to get the heart pumping!) ... and some great strength sessions that left my biceps crying today....

I freaking feel AWESOME!

Not to mention that it's in the 80's here all week and I'm in between work.

Here's the HIIT bike workout for you:
5 min warmup
30sec:2 min
full out hard as you can go sprint: recovery slow pedaling
8 rounds then quick 3 min cool down then head to the treadmill...

HIIT treadmill workout:
2 min warmup
sprint: recovery (i recover standing on the side rails and sprint at 8.5 speed currently)
60:60 seconds
60:30
50:30
40:30
30:30
30:30
40:30
50:30
60:30
60:60
cool down 5 min

Power Breakfast!

Try this one! It definately helps me get through my morning workouts, especially today's cycling class.

Steel cut oats
honey
sunflower seeds
blueberries

eggs or peanut butter on the side for healthy fats and protein!

OR

quick cooking oats, mix in peanut butter, honey and cinnamon
YUMMAY!!!

Kicking butt and taking names

183lbs WHA-PAM!

Ian put a challenge to me before he will write my training program for running.... average 15-20 miles per week for a month.

I'm at 4 for this week?

Hey! it's a freaking start!

Workouts have been fantabulous this week! Did sprint intervals on the treadmill on Tuesday, and today I cranked out two, yes two, workouts. I quick 2 mile run on South Mountain as well as an exhaustive chest and triceps workout that I had to cram into 30 minutes. I will need to do UBER stretching the next two days to keep my posture from going to crap again. Worked on some shoulder rehab again due to some irritation while running.

So lots to look forward to the next few days on the web page...
-More fantabulous workouts this week ( I'll even post the actual workouts for you all!)
-Inside Starbucks food and beverages... prepare yourself- it's not pretty!
-How to get rid of the bad stuff in your pantry and fridge

Stay tuned peeps!

Let's get caught up... HIKING!

So so sorry I am waaay behind on this! So let's get caught up.

Many clients have given excuses for skipping workouts and eating out (and not making the best choices when dining out) due to friends and family in town.

I get it...

Luckily I have active family members and great weather here in Arizona, however, entertaining family members does take out some of my already shrinking time and of course throw in a few meals eating out.

Ok night 1 at Oregano's was already discussed. We will get into my bad choices eating out and a few lacking workouts in time.

So Friday morning I took my cousin over to South Mountain to hike up Telegraph Pass and some of the National Trail. This is my favorite hike in Phoenix and definitely a challenge (its steep). Got the heart rate up and my body was pretty wiped the rest of the day... not good I used to crush that trail and still workout in the same day :(

Feeling awesome from my great hike... and then I killed it eating out at Arriba's Mexican Grill that night with the family (great food, not healthy by any means).

Saturday... was planning on a workout after work, but needed to attend to a friend's emergency and then the family was at the house. I cooked super yummy dinner from one of my healthy recipes (whole wheat penne, part skim ricotta, arugula). But still hit up the froyo joint twice that day.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

What an awesome way to spend a day off! We headed to Sedona. I was fighting going all morning due to the 45 degrees and serious rain going on there. Yes, I live in beautiful Phoenix now. I will complain about the cold and rain. I have been spoiled. Did I mention it was 75 degrees here all week? Yea, take that snowy DC! We got up to Sedona and it was pouring. Why not delay a little bit with some lunch at Javelina Cantina? I did MUCH better on dining out choices. Advice Numero Uno... when eating Mexican, look for the a la carte menu. One shrimp tostada and a side of beans.. PERFECT! Not too much food. By the time we got to the start of the trail around Bell Rock and Courthouse Rock, the rain had almost subsided (not enough for me to be too excited yet). So decked out in our bright green and blue parkas... yes I said parkas, like the plastic ones haha... we headed out on a 4.3 mile trek. Bye bye rain and hello fantabulous! Did some rock climbing too (check out the pictures below!) and ran a bit of the trail which made me very eager to get back to trail running ASAP!

Go to snack! Try it!

So in my quest to figure out how to eat well at work without a microwave, I have come back to being a greek yogurt fiend! Why greek yogurt is so good for you? HIGH protein content (6oz contains about 8 g of protein) no added sugar (check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11IQYaHAONs) good brands such as Fage and Chobani use hormone free cows. Winner winner chicken dinner!

For my snacks I eat about 6 oz of fat free greek yogurt topped with rolled oats, raw sunflower seeds, raw almonds and honey drizzle. YUMMAY!

Never bite off more than you can chew, never drink more than you can consume...

I did not follow the latter.

Some bad news I got this week led to a party at a friends house and too much beer. Definately needed it after the stress I've been under, but totally killed my ability to work out yesterday. I tried to combat the hangover without killing my diet by eating a whole wheat bagel with egg and cheese, but that didnt work. So philly cheesesteak did the trick.

My aunt and cousin came in town last night and we headed to Oregano's for dinner. if you dont know Oregano's... then I'm sorry. Guacamole, chicken caesar salad... not so bad could have done A LOT worse with their amazing pizzas. But I gave into some of the chocolate chip cookie and ice cream YUMMAY!

Alright, alright. I'm back on track this morning and sticking to it! Went for a short 2 mile run this morning which didn't feel horrible. I definately need new running shoes (IAN!) and need to get my cable for my baby ipod again. Carrying that big ipod is throwing me off! Tonight it's to the gym with Pat and I'm working it hard.

Day 2

WOOHOO! No cookie eating today! I actually saw them sitting on the counter this morning and proceeded to bag them up and take them to work. TAKE THAT!
Headed to the gym quite pumped up and ran a mile (so sad considering what I can do). Followed that with 45 min of crosstrain on stepmill and star trac runner. Very niiice....

Picked up some yummies for meals at work today (no microwave makes this interesting!)

So this is staying short and sweet because meso tiiiired.

Already caved...

So i was a little upset about some things and in true Lauren fashion made a batch of cookies. But I don't just "make a batch of cookies." Oh no... I ate a ton of the batter because let's face it, what's the point cooking it when the batter is just so damn good! Plus waiting 13 minutes... ok moving on...

Ate batter and 4 cookies. Crap already failing at this slightly.

So instead of "crying over spilt milk" I changed back into workout clothes, blasted some music in the house, grabbed my set of bands and did a 30 min HIIT workout in the living room. Felt better but noted to not make this a habit... punishment is rough when HIIT is involved.

In case you don't know what HIIT is, here's the wiki on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

In case you want to follow along my workouts here is what I did:
Warm up:
Alternating between jumping jacks, jog in place, high knees, and butt kicks 20 seconds each for a total of 1:40
Workout:
4 rounds of this set 20 seconds go 10 seconds rest
Push ups
Squats
Alt toe touch crunches
Hypers
Burpees
Jumping jacks
Seated Rows
Sprint in Place

Day 1

Got my butt (which doesnt look so good in these black yoga pants anymore) over to the gym for 45 minutes of cardio. Split it between Stepmill, Precor, and Treadmill. No running happened so don't get excited just yet. Can't remember the last time I looked in the mirrors in the gym and hated what I saw. Good job lazy lauren...

High five to me on eating so far today! plain oats with honey and peanut butter for breakfast, then brown rice, spinach, evoo, parmesan, egg, and cajun spice for post workout lunch.

Here's the challenge!!!!!!

So I'm going to train myself back to health and fitness. Crap this is going to suck.

Where I'm at today....
186lbs
I can run a mile (I think)
Pushups are not happening

WOW 4 months killed it all... I was at 168lbs when I moved here and easily running 5 miles on a mountain trail!

The challenge... drop to 165lbs and complete a half marathon on a trail (yes Ian... I am doing it this time!)

The obstacles looming:
Injuries- shoulders and posture, as well as a recently busted ankle that jacked up my right leg.
Diet- funds are not that great these days so we will have to learn how to eat healthy on a budget (guess I should re-read my own TEAM newsletters from last year?) As well as having a roommate (ok soon 2 roommates) who don't have the best eating habits (hello temptation- and sorry Jods if you're reading this!). Also I love going out to eat and cooking with my best friend Pat but again bad eating habits he has (he hates most veggies too).
Time- Work 6 day weeks, have a dog, doing this blog, working on my new website as well as a new business venture in another state, and there's a boy (when is there not?).
Weather- It's about to start getting really hot here in Arizona, which means I have to run really early in the morning or start to like the treadmill. Boo early morning runs!

Now that I've stated the obstacles I'm not allowed to whine about them again. :(

My clients are going to enjoy this way too much....

Sadist, Satan's spawn, mean Lauren, crazy, masochist, the devil behind the smile... I have been called them all. Nearing 7 years as a personal trainer and hundreds of clients, I still look back and laugh at all the names my dear suffering clients have called me in the midst of their 5 set of lunges at 6am. Many times during a rest this was followed with "it's easy for you because you're naturally in shape and you work in a gym all day" which I always laughed off or pointed out that I had lost about 25 lbs a few years back after a tough year (I dropped it in 2 months from over training and under eating mind you).

Oh how I wish I could take all those laughs back now because the tables are turning...

In case you haven't been kept in the loop, or you don't know me and are reading this for a good laugh and some inspiration, let me do a quick recap of my life in health and exercise...

I've been a personal trainer on and off for about 7 years but took a job with Life Time Fitness in March 2006 just shy of 21 years old. I've worked with a wide variety of clients from young athletes to models to rehabilitative injuries to older guys wanting to convince themselves that can still look 20 :) and to many many many weight loss clients. I've worked all sides of the fitness triangle... nutrition, strength training, and cardiovascular training. I was a volleyball player in high school and became a gym rat after graduating. I got into running December of 2007, did a few road and trail races, and even had a running coach that some early mornings on a track I wanted to throw my shoe at (love you Ian). Once I became a runner I was always feeling great and stayed in shape.

Fast Forward to August 2009...
I packed up my apartment and puppy in Centreville, Virginia and drove 3 looong days to Phoenix, Arizona. What I thought was going to be a huge upswing in my life (awesome weather, low cost of living, beautiful Life Time Tempe club, lots of mountains to run on and keeping the money I made so I could have fun) turned out to be... well not so much. I was in a disaster of a club, the program I was brought in to run was bulldozed before I got there (first paycheck $300) and I couldn't find a way of out the quick sand. So on November 3rd 2009 I did what I thought I would never do... I walked about from my job at Life Time and the career I loved. Crying ensued... blah blah let's move on.

So the past 4 months have flipped my whole life and how I live it out of balance. Insanely low income (thank you too many friends and family who helped me out the past few months I love you all dearly) no gym (ah!) poor eating habits, what I cant wear sneakers and running shorts to work? I felt like crap, I was very depressed, my workouts grew farther and farther apart (finally got a gym membership again late December 2009) and hello weight gain and poor endurance. And well my spandex yoga pants just don't look so hot anymore.

So now its time for a taste of my own medicine.....