Gym Rat Lifestyle

You know its funny.......I used to wonder how on earth people could spend hours upon hours in the gym, I mean really? I used to think I hit maximum when I would be at the gym between an hour fourty five and two hours, and keep in mind I spent an hour on the elipitcal. So really I only spent 45 or so minutes doing actual weighted workouts. Most times I spent more time doing Cardio because I would end up taking a Kwando Class when I was a member at LA Fitness (formerly Ballys when I went there) I have only taken a couple classes at 24 but i'm debating on whether or not I should start taking more, truth be told I feel most of them are strictly cardio and call me crazy but I like going at my own pace on the treadmill and eliptical, of course nothing beats cardio outside but well it is Oregon and although the weather has been nice I've been doing weights/cardio and the gym has the weights so its in the gym I go. However as soon as the weather continues to stay nice I will be going hiking. Anyways back to what I was saying, I find myself staying longer and longer in the gym, today for example I was there for three and a half hours, (yes I said that correct) I'm sure you are probably wondering to yourself...what were you doing??? I would be bored out of my mind! Well here how it was broken down: 20 minutes in the sauna, 25 minutes on the treadmill, an hour and 30 minutes doing my legs, an hour and 10 minutes doing my abs and then I finished my workout with a 5 minute cardio cooldown. Tomorrow it starts all over again. However I have to work in the morning so I probably will not spend another 3.5 hours but i'll definitely be spending atleast 2 hours there tomorrow. I spend atleast 5 days a week at the gym, 6 if i'm feeling really lucky. It's been 3 weeks and I can tell a small difference, sure the scale has gone up but I also have to remember i'm lifting weights and it is true that muscle does weigh more than fat. You are probably asking how do I become a gym rat? I barely have time to function let alone commit to 2 hours or more at the gym. Well here is the thing, you can workout ANYWHERE and I do mean ANYWHERE. You don't even need weights, you can do body weight routines, and if you want weights check out craigslist. There are TONS and I mean TONS of different workout equipment options on there.

All the gym time in the world will not make a bit of difference unless you control your diet. I myself am a binge eater, both healthy and unhealthy foods. I haven't had soda in 11 days but I can tell you it hasn't been easy. I work in the food industry, I have unlimited access to soda everyday I work, as well as french fries, desserts etc. It's so easy to just walk up to the soda machine and pour some Dr. Pepper or Sprite (my favorites) and fill up my cup. But it was funny, one day I walked up the machine like I normally do and for a split second paused under the sprite fountain and then I moved my cup over and pushed the water button. And from then on it's been easy. I have 10 more days to go and then not drinking soda will be a habit, now does that mean I won't have soda ever again? Probably not. I love Soda, I love chinese food, I love pizza and pasta and candy and CHOCOLATE. However having recently found that I suffer from acid reflux...(the only symptoms I was having was I felt as if I was always and I mean always swallowing some type of phlegm.) It wasn't until I finally went to an ENT that he told me that is a symptom of acid reflux. But I don't have any other symptoms besides that. Anyways he then told me the bad news: No coffee, soda, fatty foods, acidic foods, alcohol and spicy foods....I took to instragram with a photo and jokingly asked how I would nourish myself????? Now I rarely, and I mean rarely drink alcohol, my last beverage was on my birthday in January and before that, it was in August. But acidic foods??? I love pineapple and tomatoes and lemonade, chocolate (yes chocolate not only has caffeine but it tends to cause reflux more than any other food). Fried foods I understand and I rarely eat anything fried anymore although I will say it again how much I love chinese food which of course is fried......But caffeine??????? I love my coffee, I look forward to PSL all year long and I cry when it's over (okay well maybe not really cry but still I am sad, what white girl doesn't love her pumpkin everything LOL)  The soda is definitely not a problem anymore but if I hadn't already stopped cold turkey I could tell you it would be a big problem.

So what else contributes to being a gym rat you ask, well supplements, supplements, supplements. I not only incorporate protein shakes (which I do not recommend as meal replacements unless you are working out because they will simply make you gain weight.) My favorite right now is Cellucor Whey Protein in Peanut Butter Marshmellow it tastes just like peanut butter crunch!!!!! I like to mix it up with banana's, honey, and a little bit of chocolate syrup. (Yes I drink chocolate milk after working out and I use a little bit in my protein shakes, I live right on the edge lol). Along with my protein shakes I also use C4 which is a workout boosting supplement with Niacin to give you energy and I am happy to report it works well and there are no side effects. My personal favorites are Blue Razz and Watermelon. I also occasionally drink some of Brian's recovery drink that he brings but it's sooooo nasty, its fruit punch. However if you like fruit punch it's fantastic! The only thing you have to make sure you do is drink more water if you take C4, It actually takes water and puts it into your muscles more so unless you drink more water it can wreck your kidneys. But that's only if you don't like drinking water when you work out and who doesn't do that.... It's funny, I remember working at SunsUp Tanning forever ago and our trainer at the time used to constantly take C4 and he was like on crack it was hilarious. He always offered to give us some and I was like noooo I don't take energy drinks (I thought it was like a redbull at the time. I can now say I was wrong) Although Brian was a little overamped when he first started taking it....But now he's calmed down. It was again hilarious to witness. Me? Well I just feel a tingly/burning sensation in my body for a couple minutes and then I go about my workout. Maybe I could say my metabolism is too high for it to have a big effect on me....hahahahah right.......Well thats all for this week, if you would like to see more updates follow me on instagram :) @kerisa21 or hashtag #kerisamode and show me how you work out!