coacheldahttps://texashouseofstrength.wordpress.comHi, I’m Elda! Personal Trainer, Powerlifting Coach, Full-Time Psychology Student...when my head is not in books, I will use this blog to share my love of exercise, exploring positive mental health practices, and other favorites with you.
DB Floor Chest Press, DB Shoulder Press, DB Tricep Kickback & Cable Crunches on BOSU
POWER-set 2:
Chest Flys on BOSU, Front to Lateral DB Raise, Diamond Push-Ups & Kneeling Cable Ab Crunches
Tri-set 3:
Close-Grip Bench Press, Cable Face Pulls, Toe Touches
Shoulder Finisher
12 reps of Front Raise, Front Press, Bus Drivers per side, Military Press & Upright Row
THIS was a really fun workout!!!!
I group 4 exercises for the first 2 sets and called them “POWER-set’s”. I picked one chest exercise, one shoulder exercise, 1 tricep exercise and 1 core exercise. I kept a higher rep range, about 15-25 for each exercise, and did 4 sets of them.
Tri-set 3 was only 3 exercises. I picked Close-Grip Bench press to work both the chest and triceps then selected 1 shoulder exercise and 1 core exercise.
I then wrapped it up with a shoulder finisher, this was killer! Just one set! Burn em’ out!!!
I rocked Guns n’ Roses’ Use your Illusion 2 album today….then Appetite.
Today is my 41st birthday!!! I slept in (was a bit hungover), had yummy coffee, then went to my mat for some restorative yoga…I follow Saralee on Patreon (South Texas Yogi) for my home sessions and was really feeling this flow.
I love morning stretching and opening the door just a bit to let some morning humidity blow in for a great sweaty yoga flow.
I ended my 45min flow with this inversion! I hit my personal best time in my pincha with a 30sec hold! Woohoo!!
Oooowweeee! Hit the streets for my weekly street run with circuits today and here’s what I did:
First stop: Mod burpees, Mountain Climbers & Squat Jumps x 25
Second stop: Single leg DL, Alternating Lateral Lunges, High Plank Reach x 15-25
For my final stop, I used a road to play on and did side shuffles, broad jumps, back pedal, inch worms, and bear crawls (looking like a crazy lady while doing it!)
How awesome is this?
Last week, I was at a bench doing one of my circuits when Mr. White walked up on me and said “Ya know, I use to be able to all them push-ups back in my day.” I said, “Well what about now?” He just pointed his finger at me, narrowed his eyes and walked away with a slight grin on his face.
Today, I walked up on him doing squats and push ups =)
Hope you got some exercise ideas! Have a killer day! Elda
My favorite body area to train is my back, I LOVE back day…
I typically stick to a 12-15 rep range for back day training. In a few more weeks, I’ll lower the rep range and bump the weight to really build strength. Right now I’m just conditioning with some strength work. I’ve been managing SI joint issues and possibly developing arthritis in the lumber region. Since getting back to training after the Spring semester, I’ve really been focusing on stretching in yoga, using hot/cold therapy, using my TENS unit as needed, seeing a chiro, strength training, and I bought a new bed that I am soooo excited for! It’ll arrive end of May =)
Today was a great day for SWEATING it out in the gym because it was rainy, humid, and very sticky = perfect sweat sesh!!! I love it!
1-Arm Push Press, Rotating 1-Arm Incline Chest Press, Side Plank Hip Drops on BOSU
Tri-Set 3:
Bent-Over Rear Delt Fly, Landmine Shoulder Press, Landmine Bus Drivers
This was a really fun training sesh! I wanted to group 1 chest exercise with 1 shoulder exercise and 1 core exercise to create tri-sets. This way, I get lots of work in during a shorter period of time.
I focused on higher rep ranges (15-20) and 3 sets of everything. Rest times were minimal in between the exercises and longer in between sets (really just enough time to break it down and set up for the next superset).
It was super humid today so I got a really great sweat session too. I have fans but don’t turn them on because I really like training in the heat and sweat it out!
I’ve been dealing with a funky left shoulder for months and I really think it’s a combination of sleeping on my side and lack of training during the Spring semester. I can already tell training and doing yoga is really helping because it’s feeling already. I think it’s just been jarred up and needs to be worked out =)
Hope you get some exercise ideas from today’s upper body workout!
Being a Texas State University student, I have free access to mental health services such as individual and group counseling. I took advantage of group counseling which was actually not in person but over Telehealth (Zoom) and signed up for a Mindfulness group.
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
Mindfulness can be used to reconnect your mind with your body when you’re feeling scattered, or just far away. Sometimes we are too connected to our body and need to be present outside of the body, like with nature. It is used while moving like in yoga or while seated or laying down as in mediations.
I want to share the use of mindfulness through our senses, specifically sound, taste, and sight.
We can use Mindfulness to focus in on one or all of our senses, like sound for example. Sit, be still and quiet then just listen to everything you hear. It can be the fan in your room, the cars driving past, or birds chirping nearby. The point is to just listen. You can take it a step further and use your imagination of creating a scene in your mind, image what the fan looks like and the way it’s moving. What might the cars that drive past look like or what kind of bird is chirping nearby? Another way to use sound is to listen to music. I tried it with listening to someone play the piano and every time I listened, I noticed something new. It was actually really cool.
Taste. This is a great one to practice if you tend to eat really fast and want to manage it better. To practice, start with something that can dissolve like an M & M. Place it in your mouth and let is sit. Feel it slowly melt away and notice all the textures in each stage. Notice the flavor in each stage. Notice the pleasure it brings and how your body and brain reacts to it. Then try it with your next meal.
Sight. This is an interesting one. The idea is to take notice of your surroundings. The room you are sitting in may be your bedroom. Stand up, slowly walk around the room while saying out loud the item you are looking at. It feels silly to walk around and say “bed”, “mirror”, “window” but it’s another great grounding tool to use when you’re feeling far away from yourself. Next time you are feeling far, one glance at one of these items may help re-ground you.
When practicing being present it’s best to relax before you begin. Get comfortable and begin taking long slow inhales and long slow exhales. Focus on this breath; listen to it, feel the air expand in your body, notice your chest and belly rise with each inhale and fall with each exhale. Your mind will wonder away from your breath and that’s okay, just bring it back to your breath. Do this for 5min. Then begin your practice.
The picture I posted to go along with this blog post resonates with me because I take my dog, Hedley, for a walk to “our” creek twice a day. This creek is just a few houses away and runs along a few acers of grass, huge trees, critters, and complete isolation from people, traffic, and just noise. It’s always breezy there so it’s always so refreshing to feel the breeze against my skin. While there, Hedley gets to roam free sniffing out this tree, peeing on that limb, and chasing after squirrels. I get to clear my head and remove it of the clutter similar to what can be seen in the picture above. I feel like if I don’t, then my time with Hedley won’t be as special for her and for me. You can’t enjoy the present with clutter.
Reverse SS Bar Front Squats on Wedge (Quad Focus) & KB Sumo Deadlifts
Superset 2:
Belt Squats and Trap Bar Deadlifts
Superset 3:
Landmine Hack Squats (Quad focus) and Trap Bar Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
HELLLLO LEGSSSS!
Oweee, this one burned in all the right spots! Got me sweating tons too!
Today, I paired 2 exercises to create supersets. I like supersets to knock out lots of work in a short amount of time. I kept it in the higher rep ranges, 15-20 to get a good burn and to bump my heart rate for some cardio work. Minimal rests in between exercises with a longer rest in between supersets (really just enough time to break it down and set up for the next one). I knocked out 3 sets of each.
THEN I finished legs, back, and cardio with 3 different tire flip variations. I hadn’t flipped this tire in sooooo long…I don’t know what came over me thinking this was a good idea! LOL! I did it though and super happy I did, it kicked my ass but it was fun =)
THEN I did a tri-set of some core work to wrap things up. 3 exercises, 15 -25 reps for 3 sets….done and done!
My body has been feeling better day by day but my energy today was on fire once I got started (thank you carbs)!!!
I followed this up with my favorite smoothie of sliced beets, carrots, banana, frozen blueberries, mint, whey vanilla protein powder, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
Later this evening, I’ll be jumping into a live yoga class on Patreon so I’ll get some recovery work from today’s sesh =)
This is a beginner friendly flow with a focus on relieving tight hips, low back, hamstrings, hip flexors and quads….I follow South Texas Yogi on Patreon for my home yoga flows. Saralee has a library full of yoga flows and meditation exercises for beginners, intermediates, and advance yogis. She’s really great with explaining poses and reminds you of body positioning with the perfect cues.
It had been a while since I’ve been upside down!!! I was a little shaky but happy to see that I hadn’t lost much of my inversion strength. I had not been able to do any yoga during this past spring semester and my body felt the stiffness from lots of sitting.
As the semester was coming to an end, and as I wrapped up on my finals, any extra time I had I spent it getting back into doing yoga again. So since April 29th, I have done short 30-45min flows everyday! My body was SUPER stiff at first and I felt a little frustrated but just reminded myself to be patient. After just a few days, my body was responding! I was deepening in my poses, seeing new things and found my breath again.
So, my daily routine this summer is to begin every day with a flow to continue building inversion strength and deepening my flexibility followed by a 10min meditation.
Get on your mat guys! It makes all the difference in the world on so many levels =)
Glute Cable Kickbacks, Adductor Plank, Hanging Leg Raise
Post-Workout Smoothie: Banana, Beets, Carrots, Mint Leaves, Vanilla Almond Milk and Legion Vanilla Whey Protein
I’ve been training for a few weeks now, after a 3mth break away from the gym, and my body is already responding nicely. What I mean by that is I’m feeling recovered within a just a few days, range of motion feels more fluid, and strength is building back up. This doesn’t just come from practice, I’m also making sure I’m listening to hunger and satiety cues (I’m definitely feeling more hungry!), staying hydrated, sleeping 7-8hrs every night, managing stress with yoga and mediation, and incorporating all of my recovery tools such as icing as needed, using my TENS unit as needed, stretching, foam rolling, getting a massage monthly, and visiting my chiro as needed.
Lacking in any of these areas may be the culprit for the reason you may not be feeling like your body is recovering or if you are experiencing injuries.
Take care, this is the only body you get. Treat it with well and with love.
Got up early to hit the streets for a 3 mile run with stops for a little circuit. I LOVE this kind of training. This is my favorite form of cardiovascular training that incorporates bodyweight exercises to build functional strength. For me, at about 1 mile in, I begin to feel a sense of mental clarity which allows me to work through any life challenges, think clearly about making important decisions and get creative ideas to current projects.
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to train like this and I was definitely feeling it in my knees and ankles towards the end. I always stretch and foam roll before hitting the pavement then stretch again right after AND place ice packs on the knees if I’m feeling achiness coming on. By the next day, I’m feeling back to normal! Super important to prep before and take care after….especially when you hit your 40’s!
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