Everyday Warrior

When I headed down to the Arnold Sports Festival, I knew I was not going to let it be a free for all weekend.  I had a plan and very meticulously laid out every aspect of that plan so that nothing was left to chance.  If I were not going to the Arnold that weekend I would have had my meals planned out and prepped ahead of time, got in 2 workouts and one cardio session.  Just because I would be driving 6 hours away, was no excuse to expect anything less than and so I was sticking to my plan to ensure nothing was different while I was there.

This wasn’t just a weekend thing. This is all part of a plan that started when I stepped off stage in Miami in 2014.  I knew then I would return to Miami in 2016 improved and better than my best ever.  The feedback I got then from the judges and others were invaluable and what shaped my plans that would lead me to this point.  When I was packing for the Arnold, I was 34 weeks out from heading back to the stage in Miami to stand with some of the best natural pro bodybuilders in the world and fight for that World title.

I packed and prepped 24 meals – 6 for each day, including my protein powders and pre and post lifting shakes.  I knew ahead of time that the hotel room would have a refrigerator and microwave – both would be a huge help while I was there.  For the drive down I packed all my meals in a large cooler and then filled it with ice.  While I was heading down there by myself, I did not know if the opportunity would arise to join friends and other people I met for dinner or a meal here and there.  If that did occur I knew I could go out to eat and stay close to my macros, but I still packed every meal in case I did not go to any restaurants while I was there.  For me, it is better to be prepared and flexible enough to make adjustments, rather than have to scramble last minute or be caught empty handed.

I eat on a schedule about every 3 hours or so.  It works for me and so I knew I would continue to do that even while taking in all the sights and events of the Arnold.  This too took some planning.  I knew there were people I wanted to see, booths I wanted to visit, and events that I wanted to be at.  I laid all of this out ahead of time and then blocked off the times for these things and made my meal times work within them.  Like clockwork, I would end up back in my hotel room eating my meal, drinking another quart or two of water (to keep that on track too) and then would resume the next part of my day.

I packed my gym bag because I knew I needed to get in the back and biceps workout while I was there.  To that end I researched gyms I could walk to from my hotel and found the Powerhouse Gym was about a 5 minute walk. However, I knew that if the gym was walking distance for me it was walking distance for many others and most likely would be packed.  So I planned to go to the gym during the day on Friday when most people were in the fitness Expo and hopefully not in the gym.  That strategy worked.  After spending the morning at the Expo, I left there for a bit to go and get in a workout.  The gym was fairly empty and just started to fill up as I was leaving.  I got back to the hotel to change and clean up and then head back to the Expo to watch the Strongman competition. I didn’t miss a beat.

The hotel also had a small fitness room which would be good enough to get in my cardio workout on Saturday morning.  I set the alarm and got down there early to get it done before starting another full day of events.  

Over the course of the weekend I was able to hit every meal, meet my water intake for the day, get in my gym workout and also my cardio session and still do everything I set out to do at the Arnold Sports Festival.

Sunday was another well planned day as I was not only driving the 6 hours back home, but also driving right to the gym to get in a workout with Pete – our Sunday leg day workout!  Again, I had to pack a few meals to eat on the way and had my workout shakes and clothes ready to go.  It sounds a bit nuts but it all worked as smooth as can be and we got that workout in too. This level of discipline and attention to detail has been in place for quite some time and so a few days away was not enough to throw me off of my plan. My goals may be far off, but they are closer now than they were over a year ago. It is all part of the process.  The weekend was a success and the journey continues.

Over this past year of training we have been repeatedly and purposefully getting out of our comfort zone.  By simply switching gyms, we suddenly had access to a variety of different equipment that we did not have before and were now able to incorporate into our training plans.  This meant being a beginner once again.  While it sometimes seemed silly, being a beginner again was a great thing.  Starting something new is great, and it makes us even more dynamic.  This was the case for me again this past weekend.

I have lucked out this winter in doing my cardio in the garage.  I have found a high intensity interval jump rope routine that after some practice, I have become pretty decent at.   I am able to push my heart rate up into that 85%+ zone each time and am left completely spent at the end of it.  I was hitting that routine twice per week the past few months and pushing myself harder each time.  That was until this past weekend when the temperatures alone were hitting below zero, so I knew getting out in the garage for my scheduled HIIT sessions were temporarily not an option.

I did not want to resort to a lower intensity session, so I decided I was going to push out of my comfort zone – again.  I have a treadmill in the basement.  It is a small home version and I have used it before when doing lower intensity, longer duration cardio sessions, and after adjusting the tension on the belt and tightening everything on it, it does the job when needed.  I didn’t want to walk/jog on it this time, so I committed myself to doing sprints.  Now I don’t run, let alone sprint, and I certainly have never done that on a treadmill.  But this is what I set out to do.

Being this was the first time, I was attentive to my mindset.  I questioned everything before I began.  I wondered if the treadmill would hold up.  I wondered if I could even run on the thing without falling off.  I wasn’t sure how fast I could go, or even how fast the treadmill could go.  Despite my hesitations I got on the treadmill and started walking.  I will tell you I took a longer warm up than I needed, simply because I was having doubts about doing this and if I would injure myself.  Again, I am not a runner, so the idea of running fast, increases my anxiety about pulling or straining something.  I worked up to a jog and then when I was ready, I just went for it.  I turned up the speed to what I thought might work and ran to keep up with it.  It wasn’t too bad, so I ran for a minute.  My plan was to do 30 second sprints, so after a recovery period, I sprinted again at a greater speed.  I continued this until I was not able to sprint again and considered this adventure a success.

That wasn’t the greatest part.  The best part came yesterday. It had been 2 days and I wanted to get in cardio again.  I woke up determined to do sprints again.  This is where the beauty of all of this comes in.  My mindset was completely different.  There were no jitters.  I knew it was going to be hard. I knew by the end I would not be able to breathe, but that is kind of the end result every time I do HIIT.  It’s great.  I hate it when I am doing it, but I still push to do more than I thought I could and when it is over, it is the greatest thing ever.  I got on the treadmill and began warming up. I was loving the transformation of my mindset.  Even though I had only done this once, I was much more aware of what I was doing, how I was going to improve and accomplish today’s workout, and convinced of the fact that I would conquer this workout.  And I did.  I had better  and more precise intervals. I ran at a faster pace than I did just 2 days earlier.  I ran one more sprint than I did last time. I was completely out of breath and energy when it was over and I loved every minute of it.

My point is you cannot improve on something until you start.  You must take that risk, take the action and break the unknown.  Once you do, suddenly you have experience to build from.  You can know what to expect, because you have already done it once.  You can decide how to improve, because you now have the experience of knowing how things went the first time.  You can figure out why.  You have a better plan moving forward.  But it all starts after you put your thoughts, your plans, your goals into action.  Thinking about it is no longer enough.  Letting fear hold you back is not a good enough excuse.  Decide. Commit. Act.  With just one action, the walls of the unknown come down, most of your doubts are gone, because they never really existed anyway except in your head, and now you suddenly can proceed with confidence and calculate a better second step, your next action.

It is almost one week in to the New Year.  Pete and I are starting week two of our newest training program and if week one was any indication, week 2 is going to be brutal and so is each week after this.  How are we starting week 2 before week one of the new year is even here?  Simple, we didn’t wait to start our new program when the calendar turned the page.  Nothing magical happened after the ball dropped in NYC.  We had goals and a schedule and after a week or so off from our last program our next lifting program was set to start before New Year’s Day.

Training at 2 new gyms this year has been a great asset in terms of having new and diverse equipment to use and add to our exercise arsenal.  It has allowed us to become beginners again for certain exercises and equipment and go through the process of mastering something new over and over.   This cycle again has a few new exercises, and a few old ones we haven’t used in years.

With every program we aim to use completely different exercises than the last program, but also make it a point to work with movements that target the muscles from different angles, as well as different hand and foot positions.  But being a beginner affords a chance to feel the muscles in a different way, focus on the form of the movement and feel the full range of the movement.  When we first start, weight is never an issue or focus as the primary goal is from and feel.  It is a great feeling after so many years in the gym to be able to still find new exercises and be a complete beginner again.  Plus, it adds a new aspect to our training and makes for great workouts.

So tonight we begin, round 2!  I am fired up and can’t wait!

We are capable of anything.  I firmly believe there is nothing we cannot accomplish when we set our mind to it and put our best plans into action.  However, that alone takes work.  There is much that goes into deciding where we focus our energy, how we carry out our plans and the actions required to accomplish the greatest of goals.  It is a process and this is where I am at right now.

Having a goals is sometimes the easy part.  Detailing the path to reach those goals is often the harder piece.  That is where I find myself at the moment.  I know the goals.  The goals are lofty, and long term.  They have been the driving force behind my actions, training, and nutrition for the past year.  As the details continue to evolve, I tend to reexamine the path and my plans to be sure I am doing all that I can and not leaving anything unturned.

To be honest, it is a process.  It takes some time.  It usually starts with some loose ends.  For me, it is the start of a new training cycle.  We just started a new program last week.  This means, new exercises, new rep ranges, adding in some exercises I have never done before so I get to be a beginner again, and also pairing different muscle groups together in each workout.  With that comes the questions… are these exercises good enough this time around?  Should I swap out certain exercises for others?  Am I working hard enough to produce the desired results?

With the workouts underway, I am feeling much more confident and comfortable with the new routine.  The movements seem more natural as I find the groove and can start zeroing in on the weights and rep ranges I want to hit.  This turns my attention to the other components of my goal  – how is my nutrition and what type of cardio do I need to do at this time.

I eat on a plan.  I calculate macros and plan my meals according to those goals.  While I am not competing at this moment, I have been consistent in meal planning, but also have been able to enjoy a wider variety of meals and still meet my macros or stay close on some occasions when I know I am going to indulge in something outside of my plan.

All of this leads to some inner turmoil and questioning and soul searching.  I have learned that is is a very valuable part of the process and it is best to embrace this uneasiness and let my mind explore every avenue.  Most times this lasts a few days.  I feel anxious, not settled and my mind entertains a myriad of thoughts, questions, hypotheticals, and doubts.  But as it does, I start to gain clarity.  This is the beauty of the process.  Through the darkness, through the restlessness and discontent comes a clear and certain path, which becomes a plan, which becomes actions.  With that the fire is stoked higher, the breakthrough is complete and I proceed with a drive and determination that is unbelievably powerful.

I am also very concrete.  As I come through this process, I will at some point sit down and put all of it on paper.  I need to see it and work out all the details of my nutrition, my cardio plans, my calendar and timeline and lay it all out in front of me.  With that I have my blueprint and I continue building, working and executing the best plans I have laid out for myself.

Iron is forged through heat, pressure, fire, and impact.  We are the same way.  Do not believe the fallacy that everything is easy; that you simply have a goal and go do it.  Action is criticial, but it can’t be aimless.  Calculated action with purpose, meaning, and direction is what we are after.  Allow yourself to struggle. Let yourself go through the process. Much like the iron, we come out stronger, sharper, and better than we were before.

We wrapped up a phenomenal lifting cycle 11 days ago and I haven’t touched a weight since.  It may seem strange, but it has been a practice of ours for years, that when we physically and mentally come to the end of a program, we take a good week or week and a half away from the gym.  I find it is great physically to let my muscles and joints recover, heal, and fully recharge.  Mentally, the break is good for the same reasons and to renew my focus on my goals.  Tonight we head back in to they gym to start a new set of exercises, rep schemes, intensity techniques, and I am rested, recharged, and fired up to get back in there and lift the place off its foundation.

In the off week, I still have goals and plans that I hold myself to and complete.  I stick to my meal plan and nutritionally everything stays on point.  I do, and I did plan in a few treat meals.  For example, I spent part of this time off back on Long Island where I grew up, visiting my sister and family. I prepped and packed the meals I needed ahead of time to bring with me, but I planned in a few meals ahead of time.  I don’t go back to LI without having pizza at some point.  I knew one night instead of my planned chicken and vegetables I would be downing some delicious and “real” ny pizza!  I ate it, I loved it, and with my next meal I moved on to my planned meals again.  I didn’t worry about it, beat myself up, or punish myself doing endless hours of cardio.  It is life.  While there may not be any real off season, I still stick to a very calculated and precise plan year round.  However, there is still a time to enjoy some foods and not think twice about it.

Also during this off week, or week and a half, I still do some cardio.  It keeps me focused and recovering and to be honest, I feel good when it is done.  Usually for the first few days after a training program ends I may not do any cardio as typically at the end of the cycle, rest and recovery are very much a priority.  But after a few days and for the remaining off time, I will get in some cardio.  I was prepared even while traveling to LI to complete some cardio.  I packed my jump rope, and also a p90x plyo dvd.  Nothing too intense, but both are useful with no extra equipment needed.  However, my sister, suggested I head on over to her gym, Impact Boxing MMA.  She has been going there for some time and raves about it.  I, on the other hand, have never done any sort of boxing or mma, or conditioning.  I have great respect for boxer’s exceptional conditioning and the training involved, which is why I began incorporating jump rope into a few of my HIIT cardio routines.  I was looking for some good conditioning workouts and wanted to challenge myself with something new.

I was not disappointed, and in fact have not stopped raving about my workout and experience in my first ever boxing gym.  I met some great people, both in the class and at the gym.  This gym was a family run business and they were outstanding.  The trainer for the class, Brittany, is a female boxer. Getting to meet and work with an athlete in another sport is always awesome.  The discipline and focus in preparing and training for fighting is something I can respect and relate to as I think it is comparable to training for a bodybuilding contest. I am sure I provided Brittany a few good laughs, but I wasn’t there to look good, I just wanted to work my ass off and get in a great workout.  For the first time, I got to use battle ropes, strap on some gloves, and hit a series of heavy bags.  I don’t think it could have gotten much better than that.  I was definitely out of my comfort zone, but my mission this year has been to push myself out of my comfort zone whenever possible and as much as possible.  I accomplished just that with this workout.  If you are in the Long Island, Center Moriches area, definitely look up Impact Boxing MMA.  I know I will be going back whenever I am down there and in fact have started looking for a local boxing gym here that might let me come in and do some conditioning workouts at times just to keep up with it.

The holidays have recently passed. The leftovers are almost gone.  Many people have turned their attention to their nutrition and fitness training. I have heard and had many conversations these past few weeks with people in regards to their holiday eating and how they are going to “make up for it” now that the holidays are over. Wait. What?

There is no need to get caught up thinking that what you ate and enjoyed was wrong and that you must be punished, or that you completely ruined your progress and gained tons of weight.  Do not fall into that trap. So you ate foods you don’t typically eat on a daily basis. You ate more sweets and desserts than you usually do in 3 months combined.  And I am willing to be it was all very delicious!  Good.   There is no need to do “extra” cardio sessions, stop eating all carbs, or take any other drastic measure to “make up for it”.  Those meals are over and done with.

How do you move forward now that you have enjoyed the holiday meals?  You simply get back on track and back to your usual routine.  This may happen quickly or it may be something that improves each day.  Perhaps you still have some holiday desserts left and while you ate well all day, you enjoyed some dessert after dinner.  That’s ok.  Perhaps you took an extra day or two off from the gym just to get caught up with life’s many tasks after the holidays.  That’s ok too.  You should aim to start cutting out sugar and start choosing quality carb sources. Get back to eating whole, unprocessed foods rather than the overly processed choices you may have enjoyed over the holidays.  Drink more water. Over the next several days or week your body will begin to rid itself of that bloated and stuffed feeling as you begin to fuel it with quality food sources. The point is that you can and will get back into your regular routine of healthy eating and fitness training.  There is no need for the guilt, the wild attempts to punish yourself, or rectify a few holiday meals or missed workouts.  This journey is a continuum and the holidays are part of that.  Even if you got wildly off track and abandoned all your healthy habits, the only thing to do is to start fresh and incorporate those habits back into your daily life.

Now, in looking ahead to the next round of holiday parties or special occasion, plan to stick to your workout and nutrition plans as much as possible around the event, watch your portion sizes while eating during the event or party, and then get back to your routines as soon as you can.  This will help keep you on track and avoid the trap of feeling guilty or perseverating on what you ate or didn’t eat and you can spend more time enjoying the event, the people, and the occasion without beating yourself up over every agonizing food choice.

Time and time again Pete and I have watched, what we call, the New Year’s Rush where people flock to the gym right after the New Year with the best intentions to get in shape and eat better.  The gym gets crowded for about 3 weeks or so. By the end of the month most of the New Year’s crowd is gone and while a few will stay with their new program and succeed at reaching their goals, many don’t.
We thought it was time to step up and help people develop the knowledge, motivation, and tools to be able to consistently stick to their goals and then to aim for even greater goals.

The New Year, New You Program is an online fitness consulting model in which we will provide the tools and support needed for you to start the new year with your own health and fitness goals in mind and to be able to push past that critical stage where so many people drop off.  We want you to be successful.  We want you to develop and incorporate the healthy fitness and nutrition habits into your lifestyle so that they become as automatic and routine as tying your shoes or brushing your teeth each day.

This initial program will last 6 weeks.  In that time frame we will provide both fitness and nutrition tips and plans as well as weekly video chats to keep you accountable and on track to meeting your goals.  We also offer unlimited access to ask questions, request more information, or to make changes as needed to your plans.  We also offer perhaps the biggest obstacle we often hear from people – motivation.  People tell us quite often that motivation is where they fail.  We see it every year. When the New Year starts people have plenty of motivation to get started and set lofty goals.  But a few weeks in, the mood has left, we are all back to the daily grind and the days seem no different than any other days of the year and so the motivation drops and the goals start to fade away.  We are here to get you past that hump and continue to make and see progress that will start to drive your own internal motivation.

We are offering 10% off for anyone signing up before December 15th.  We would like to keep the groups small so that they remain personal and we can provide individualized attention, and so openings are limited.  We also want to get out some information and tools before the start of the program to help people navigate the holidays and be ready to go on January 1.

Email me for more information and pricing.  Sign up today.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month; a month that has taken on a whole new meaning to me.  My name is Karen Clark and I have been a competitive natural Women’s Body Builder since 2003.

This picture was taken last September 2012, before my last show.  2 months after this picture, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Shocked, beyond belief, I just could not comprehend why or how this could be happening to me….no family history and no evident symptoms.  My 2^nd ever annual, routine mammogram uncovered the early stages of breast cancer.  The morning after having learned of my diagnoses, I was immediately on the phone making appointments with several doctors in hopes of them telling me this was all a mistake.  I got 3 different opinions and 3 exactly the same…..all confirming I DID have breast cancer.

I was given 2 options:  1) a lumpectomy with 7 weeks of radiation treatments, or 2) a mastectomy.  After learning the details of what each entailed, I had a decision to make.  Bottom line, I wanted to do what would give me the least percent of reoccurrence and the highest quality of life.  Radiation and Chemo were my greatest fears. With that said, I opted for a mastectomy.  This was a very personal decision but one that suited my personality and way of living.  I wanted to never deal with this situation again and more than anything, I wanted to continue my lifestyle of bodybuilding.   I was determined.

The month of December was such a huge roller coaster of emotions for me….the wait for surgery seemed to take forever.  The doctors suspected it was a slow growing cancer but I felt such an urgency to just get it out of me.  I wanted to give it NO opportunity to grow any bigger than it was.   Surgery was scheduled for January 7, 2013. The night before surgery, I must admit, I had a slight panic attack wondering if this was the right option for me.  But deep in my heart, I knew it was.

Surgery lasted 6 ½ hours.  I am sure it seemed like an eternity for my family and friends.  I knew immediately when I came to, from the anesthesia, that the doctors thought it went well……my husband’s first words to me were just that.  I was in the hospital 2 days before going home.  I still had to wait 3 weeks for the results from the testing done during surgery.  If the results showed aggressive cancer cells, I would need additional treatment meaning radiation, chemo or an oral medication for the next 5 years.    THAT phone call I received was probably the happiest phone call I could have ever gotten….a panel of doctors discussed my case results and determined I was a candidate for no further treatment!    At that point, recovering and reconstruction was to follow.

This past Monday, October 7, 2013 marked my 9 month anniversary of being Cancer Free.    I am totally cleared and have been back in the gym for a couple of months now.  I had to take about 7 months off from serious lifting in order to heal correctly, and it almost feels like I am starting all over.  Having just turned 50 in September, I don’t seem to be bouncing back as quickly as I had hoped, but I will get there.   I am sure of that.

One of the most amazing things I have experienced going thru this is that the love and support I received was overwhelming.  When I thought I did not have the strength, everyone around me said I did.  I am so grateful for all the support I had…..it truly was incredible.   I look at life differently now ……it’s almost like I am beginning part 2.  The silly things that used to bother me before…no longer do…I try to put it all in perspective.

Now, I am back on the road to training in the early morning hours, before I go to my 9-5 job.  It’s amazing what that time does for me every morning….it’s MY perfect cup of coffee and sets my tone for the day.  I feel so incredibly blessed and fortunate for all that I have.   If anything can be taken away from my story, I hope it will be to never lose faith, hope and determination.      Anything is possible.

I just conquered my cardio workout this morning and it was a new one for me.  I ran HIIT sprints outside on a track. I ran the straight always and walked the curves.  I have been planning on this workout for a week and the anxiety of doing it was much worse than the actual workout.  For me, this is all a bit new.  I have done the sprints before, once maybe twice.  But that was long ago, on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere.  Most of my cardio sessions are done either at home or in a cardio room very early in the morning when I am the only one in there.  The thought of actually being outside, in public, on a track where other people, who actually run, are working out is a bit daunting – or was anyway.  I am not a runner and make no attempt to hide that fact.  Plus, even though I can get onstage in front of a packed auditorium in just posing trunks, I find the idea of doing things I don’t usually do in a public place that I don’t usually go a bit awkward.

But there would be no excuses, (and there were many running through my head this morning) I headed over to the track this morning.  I even wore a sleeveless shirt (another thing I never do in public).  I got there and found 3 older people walking the track.  I found them somewhat motivating and Love that they are out there exercising.  I popped in my headset and something clicked when I hit that track.  I was comfortable.  I was determined.  I was feeling the adrenaline build even as I warmed up by walking the front stretch.  It was the same feeling I get when preparing to get in the gym for a weight workout.  I was pumped.  All the worry and anxiety was gone and I was fired up.

I attacked those sprints like there was no tomorrow.  I surprised myself at how much stamina I had.  I really thought I would barely make it a few laps, just because I never run outdoors.  I loved feeling my quads working and pushing me further down the track and the pump they were getting.  I just kept going.  It did get challenging and I kept telling myself to keep going.  I had thoughts of getting on stage in the fall and the work that must be done to go from here to there and I already have the plan worked out.  Today was simply another day of executing that plan.  It felt awesome.

To go further than we ever have we must do what we have never done.  Do more, expect more, challenge more and push harder than ever before.  That lesson was reiterated for me today.  I am ready  to keep going and am looking forward to my next session on that track.  I can do better than I did today and I will push harder to out-do what I accomplished this morning!