Blogs / From Tish

Tish’s Weekly Workout Routine

You’ve seen our gym bags, fridges and pantries. So for this round of Question of the Week, we’re talking about what our weekly workout routine is like!

My weekly workout routines involve the unthinkable. I actually allow my boyfriend to train me. Everyone warned us this was a bad idea. Folks said we’d fight and kettlebells would fly, but he’s pretty darn awesome at training, and I’m a sucker for building muscle so we’ve done pretty good at swinging weights properly. (Knock on wood!) Like Jenn, the below schedule is what I usually do. I definitely have days when I don’t feel like doing anything and so I don’t, but I try to get in at least four days of sweat time.

Tish’s Weekly Workout Routine

Monday: 4:30 p.m. workout with Mark, my trainer boo. (Training with Mark consists of lots of weight training and little to no whining. I start with a five-minute warm-up on the treadmill. I try to sprint if I can, but some days that puppy is on jog mode. Once I’m nice and limber, I start in on the weights which consists of doing chest press, back rows, pull-ups, squats and dead lifts. He’ll mix other goodies in just to make my body scream, but those are the major areas I hit.)

Tuesday: I get in a 1.6 mile run around my neighborhood park. Then I do eight sets of three different core moves. 12 reps. OUCH!

Wednesday: Another 4:30 p.m. workout with the boo.

Thursday: Same lovely run and ab work I do on Tuesdays.

Friday: At 4:30 p.m. I take a 45-minute Tabata boot camp class at my gym. Tabata workouts are interval training cycles of maximum intensity exercises, followed by short rests, repeated without pause eight frickin’ times. The class is fast and hard, but a shat-load of fun!

Saturday: Jack diddly squat! Whee!

Sunday: More times than not I rest on Sundays, too, but lately the weather’s been so nice I’ve been doing some hiking. It’s my day to get outside and do something active that doesn’t feel like work, if you know what I mean.

Some days I complain like a mother trucker that dead lifts are the devil, but then I see the muscles starting to sprout up a teeny tiny bit and I shut my hole. It feels good knowing I have a plan of attack when it comes to my health and fitness. I’m a Type A, super-anal organized chick. Of course that would bleed into my workouts!

What about you? Do you like to plan out and organize your workouts or are you a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of person? —Tish 

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Living With a Fit Bottomed Dude

Why are you reading about dude-related stuff? Because it’s Fit Bottomed Dudes’ Week, that’s why! Click here for all the special posts, and please share with the guys in your life! 

Living with a Fit Bottomed Dude is definitely interesting. It involves 24/7 fit talk. The man manages a gym, he trains and he’s a workout warrior, so I’m constantly finding myself in conversations about lactic acid, playlists for Spin classes, the new hotness in gym equipment…It’s hilarious how things work out. (No pun intended.)

People ask me all the time what it’s like to live with a trainer/gym manager. Besides the fact that I have to listen to him putting together playlists for his classes every night, it’s pretty much nothing like any other relationship I’ve ever been in. (You thought I was going to say it’s normal, didn’t you? Ha! Fooled you!)

Living with a Fit Bottomed Dude means I’m constantly witnessing random ish. By “random,” I mean he’ll be chilling on the couch one minute, and the next he’s mimicking the perfect squat. I’m not gonna lie. It’s scared me and caused me to pull my chin into my throat in shock on a number of occasions.

It also means I hear nothing but stuff like, “I’m hungry. I had four workouts today. Protein, please!” There’s no chilling and being lazy in bed on a Sunday morning, either. A Fit Bottomed Dude says he wants to relax, but that just means an extra five minutes in bed. Then he’s up wanting to hike, run or do something that involves movement. He went crazy the first time we went to the beach together. The man can’t just lay out. He has to be playing football or kicking up sand like a kid who’s had one too many candy bars.

Living with this kind of dude also means I get teased by association. People are always giving us a hard time about our eating habits…we MUST be total health nuts who only eat sprouts and hug every dang tree that comes across our path. Yes, we enjoy making homemade granola, but pizza is also my favorite meal of all time. ALL TIME. I have to deal with people’s shock when they figure out I’m not a clean-eating machine.

Living with an FBD means I never get to skip out on a workout that I want to avoid just because. There are no excuses in an FBD household!

There are lots of perks, though. I can always count on there being some sort of workout toy laying around that I can use on the weekends. I always have a workout buddy if I need one. (The man will never turn down a run, walk, hike, or lunge around the block.) I have someone who supports my healthy eating habits (when pizza gets old) and is always up for new things…including my barley and quinoa goals!

In a nutshell, living with a Fit Bottomed Dude is pretty darn good for the mind, body and soul. These fellas are the kind of gentlemen who motivate us to keep striving to be better versions of ourselves. It’s the best kind of dude to have! Weird, yes. But he keeps me on my toes with his quirkiness. I get videos like this often. Keeps life entertaining. Isn’t my little jumping jack frog cute?!

Can’t see the video? Click  here to watch typical Fit Bottomed Dude behavior.

What about you? Are you dating/married to/besties with a Fit Bottomed Dude? What weird but lovely quirks does he bring to your life? —Tish

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My Two Loves Combined: Acting and Exercise

It’s no secret by now that I moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. I love (almost) all things Hollywood, so you can imagine how my fit bottomed heart soared when I saw this Tumblr page featuring two things near and dear to my heart: actors and exercise. Not the “I went on an 800-calorie diet and worked out like a manorexic high school wrestler” kind either. The cool everyday biking kind!

Biking does a body good, and pictures of old Hollywood biking does a dreamer’s heart really good!

 

What about you? Got any fitness eyegasms that make you happy? —Tish

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Getting Juiced, Jamba Juiced That Is: Part Two

Jenn wasn’t lying when she said we went and got ourselves fruity! Looking back, it was a total drive-by fruiting. I was in no way, shape or form prepared for the amount of sweat that would pour out of my body and onto those floors. THREE HOURS, PEOPLE! In three hours I moved like I’ve never moved before.

I was totally exhausted by the time I dragged my poor body over to the Pound Rockout Workout, but then I saw the drum sticks, and I perked up a bit. I’ve always wanted to be Sheila E! It’s a hard workout, but you’re having so much fun slamming your sticks and making beats with the moves that you totally forget that your legs and pelvic region is on fire. Out of all the workouts we tried, this was my favorite. I plan on totally hunting down Cristina and Kirsten and taking some more classes. Because, at the end of the day, don’t we all want to feel a little rock-star after our workout? This takes the bad-ass feelings and multiplies them by 10. Just beat it!

Have I ever mentioned that I suck at coordination? Well, I do, which means me and Zumba are pretty much not good for each other. Cue the Fairy of Trickery. She made sure two hours into the workout that I’d have to try Juicy Athletic Moves. On a good day, I can’t shake my hips like Beyoncè. So after two hours of insanity, I looked like a slow-motion version of Gumby. The instructor had just finished a session with Pink (whose body I love), so Ms. Jamba-Samba was doing something right!

Cardio Carnival was just the Fairy of Trickery’s icing on the cake. Instructor Corey Coombs was working it. I, on the other hand, was working out cramps in my butt, hips, feet, arms….

Tempest Freerunning (Parkour) was the last workout, and by then I was so exhausted I could barely crawl, which was a shame because I’ve seen this bad-arse ish in movies like The Bourne Ultimatum.

I complain and whine about the torture, but I can’t tell you how awesome I felt knowing I didn’t die in that building. I’m grateful to Jamba Juice for introducing me to so many cool workouts I had never heard of, as well as the new juices and smoothies at their stores. I’m a HUGE wheat-grass shooter, so it was nice to find new things to try. Now, I’m obsessed with the Apple ‘n Greens smoothie. It packs apple-strawberry juice, carrots, spinach, bell peppers, kale, spirulina, lettuce, peaches, mangoes, bananas and ice. Can you say “awesome smoothie?” I can.

Do you have Jamba Juice stores near you? Do you juice up to prepare for a workout or as a treat after a tough sweat session? Juicy minds would like to know. —Tish

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What’s on Tish’s Workout Playlist?

All of the FBGs swear by high-energy tunes to make their workouts the best they can be. So today’s Question of the Week is all about what’s on the iPod. And no editing or censoring allowed…

I’ve been working out with a trainer Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, power-lifting and working muscles that never thought they could be bad-ass. With that being said, Tuesdays and Thursdays got lonely, so Mr. Trainer decided I should get back into my cardio groove…thus a new playlist was born! I run with my Nike + GPS on my iPhone, so I now rock that instead of my iPod on my arm. What this means for you? I once had 8 hours of music on my marathon-training playlist (just so I wouldn’t get bored). Now I have 11 hours. Makes a playlist even more fun, don’t ya think?

What’s on Tish’s Running Workout Playlist

1. (32:07) Quickly Weekend Mix, DJ X-Cell. I jacked this bad boy from the boyfriend. He teaches spin, so he has oodles of mixes to share with the world. I love this long mix solely for its hip-hop beats. Sometimes a girl just needs a strong beat on a run. For those days, I listen to Lil John scream “Shot! Shot! Shot! Shot!” and then Jon Bon Jovi steps in with a little “Shot through the heart!” It’s beautiful. My body needs that kind of jolt when I’m out for a run.

2. (3:26) 212, Azealia Banks featuring Lazy Jay. You don’t know how happy Jenn made me when I saw this song on her playlist. Yes, Azealia is a naughty minx, but she’s far from Lil Kim. Her lyrics are gangster and brilliant. It took me awhile to warm to the Harlem native, but you try listening and not getting that beat and hook stuck in your head.

3. (3:17) Sugarfoot, Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears. My runs need some funky soul. That is all. The sister-girl in me demands it. Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears were a Coachella 2011 find. Once I went Honeybear, I never went back.

4. (4:12) Dog Days Are Over, Florence + The Machine. It’s been played out I know, but I love the lyrics. Reminds me of “dog days” in college…workouts I never once did, but boy did I admire the bad asses who would wake up butt-crack early and head out to the stadium to get their bottom-muscle’s souls handed over to them on the pavement.

5. (4:25) Dancing On My Own, Robyn. Coachella 2011 kind of left its mark, I’m starting to gather. Robyn was there…rocking it out in a tent. I change the lyrics of this song to “running on my own,” and it totally works. I do a lot of weird things when I run. This is pretty tame, actually.

6. (3:58) I Need, Maverick Sabre. Oh, is this a sexy good running song! It starts with him needing sunshine and blue skies—all things needed for an amazing run.

7. (2:37) Raggamuffin, Selah Sue. Selah Sue is my new favorite voice. She’s edgy, raw and fun. I like women with something biting they want to get off their chest. Reminds me of thorns in my own side. And when I think of the thorns, my running is pushed to new levels. How that happens I don’t know, but whatever works!

8. (4:23) Send Me On My Way, Rusted Root. I’ve loved this song for years. It’s the theme song for a kid’s movie I live for called Matilda. She’s a kick-butt little girl who loves to learn. Reminds me of happy things. Good for the endorphins that send me on my way!

9. (4:14) Fat Bottomed Girls, Queen. We used this song (of course!) for the AT&T event we hosted a while back, and ever since then, I’ve just found it popping up in all of my playlists. When Freddie Mercury gets grimy and tiger-like, I put up the hoodie, put my head down and get grimy with the pavement.

10. (4:00) Gangsta, Tune-Yards. So, I should rename this playlist from “Run Foo” to “Gangsta Running.” I like sassy songs, and this sassy tune has “gangsta” written all over it. (Helps that it also appears in the lyrics.) Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

I’m proud of me for managing to add some new flavor in the running-workout-playlist mix. I swear when I’m in my car, I listen to the same two albums over and over again. When I fall in love with a song or album, it takes an act of God to knock it out of my rotation.

Do you have any new workout tunes, or do you find yourself remaining loyal to certain running jams? —Tish

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Winning a Date with Bob Harper

Okay, so maybe I didn’t win a date with Bob Harper, but I did get the opportunity to attend his dope-a-licious party he threw in L.A. to celebrate making it on the cover of Men’s Fitness magazine (yes, THIS party!). Meeting that fella in person is one of my (and FBG Jenn’s!) greater FBG moments for sure.

The man entered the room and out came the smiles, back-pats and sincere hugs. People loved him (totally expected when you’re the host of the party with the delicious tequila cocktail smartly named after you), but even my boyfriend and our friends who joined me fell in love. His workout endorphins are magical, I say. In a city full of not-so-nice celebrity, he was a gem. He took time out of his fabulous party to answer some questions. And, y’all, the minute I introduced myself as a Fit Bottomed Girl, he screamed to those around him that he loves us and said that he was one, too. I about peed my pants. Seriously.

Interview with Bob Harper (the CrossFit Beast), Man of the Hour

FBG: What was your reaction when you found out they wanted you for the cover?

BH: Shirt on or off?!

(My  eyes go big…I start to drool)

FBG: Well, we definitely know you’ve been training! CrossFit being your new love, what’s your favorite workout?

BH: I love FRAN, which consists of thrusters and pull-ups; 21, then 15, then nine reps.

(Um, did he say thrusters?! I love pelvic thrusts…he might just need be my workout twinkie!)

FBG: I hear you’ve gotten Ellen and Portia on the CrossFit kick. Were you responsible for Ellen’s amazing push-up contest with the First Lady?

BH: I wish I could take credit for that, but that was all Ellen! Her and Portia are in such great shape. I just worked out with them actually! Those two are good sports when it comes to trying new things. We did some CrossFit together and had a blast.

FBG: You’re eating meat again? Was that a hard transition at all?

BH: No, actually it wasn’t! I was lucky enough to be in New Zealand at the time. Everyone kept telling me I had to try FergBurger. The kiwis weren’t lying! It was so delicious.

FBG: Jenn INSISTED that I ask you about The Biggest Loser. Do you miss Jillian? Is there any truth to the rivalry with Dolvett or are the cameras playing the drama up between y’all?

BH: Jillian is one of my best friends. I love her! I miss her being on the show a lot. As for Dolvett, we’re fine. Can’t a guy just have a bad day?! (LOL.) The cameras totally play up that drama, I swear. Plus Dolvett’s a big boy. He can take care of himself. You have to have thick skin in this business afterall.

(Don’t I know it!?)

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Snowboarding: My Fit Bottom Survived…Barely!

I suffer from a problematic syndrome called “But that Won’t Happen to Me.” I tell you all this because as I sit here typing, I’m STILL perplexed that I’m sore from my first snowboarding adventure in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Everyone told me I’d be sore, I’d need pads, I’d fall, yada yada. I listened not. Instead, my problematic syndrome kicked in and convinced me I’d be different.

I had always loved the snow! I’d skied before and taken to it like a pro. I’d gone on a blue diamond my first try/run and survived, so snowboarding would be easy. Fall? Me?! Ha! I even had evidence to support my delusions. I had been power lifting and doing mad push-ups for weeks. I was strong! I was good—no worries. WRONG! I should have done the yoga. Snowboarding is a total-kick-your-arse workout! Muscles you never knew you had will ache and yearn to be stuck in the snow.

Starting at the Beginning

I wasn’t a complete fool going into the trip. My boyfriend, who happens to be a phenomenal snowboarder, convinced me that I’d need to go to snowboarding school before hitting the slopes, so I arrived at 9:30 a.m. ready to learn. Mike Taly was my cool and patient instructor for the day. In the first round of the class, he taught me and another gal, Christine, how to fall, how to slide/move/shuffle with your board, and how to stop. I have to be honest, the falling part went in one ear and out the other (should have worn ear muffs!), but I definitely got the hang of the shuffling and falling.

I knew I was in trouble during that half of the class because I had to stop for water many, MANY times. The altitude combined with the leg strength required to slide your board sideways and fast was a bit tough. Mike the Instructor was cool though, and didn’t judge my heaves too much.

Pumpkin Run

The second part of snowboarding school consisted of us getting on this cute little pulley contraption that takes you up a small hill. It was on this hill that I learned how to “carve,” going left to right on my board. I had trouble making my board go where I was pointing/yearning to go, so I got really comfortable riding my heels down the hill. Do you know how hard that is on your legs?! The burning! The fire in my quads! Apparently burning wasn’t cause to slow down the training, though. Before I knew it, Mike was coaxing Christine and me to hit up our first green. It took me an hour and some change to get down one of Mammoth’s green runs, Pumpkin.

I made it off the lift without falling on my grill, but it took me a bit to stop hyperventilating about going on a real mountain on a snowboard. The whole riding on my heels wasn’t going to work, so I started flying down, crashing on my butt, face, hands and wrists every dang time. Finally I got sick and tired of beating up my body, decided not to wait up for the gang, and took it like a G, racing down the rest of the mountain.

The Aftermath

I knew I had managed to squeeze in two good falls that left my butt singing opera-like notes, but I never imagined I’d be as sore as I was. Every time I fell, I had to push my body back up. This required me to do those bad-ass push-ups you see peeps doing on TV where they use their fists. That type of push-up made it impossible to raise my arms above boob-level the next day. I couldn’t lift my legs up stairs, and when I attempted to get back into the gym three days later, the squats I did made my tailbone ache so bad my teeth throbbed. Total-body workout. Brutal total-body workout! Now I understand why the Winter Olympics Nike folks showed us snowboarding workouts.

I bow to a snowboarder’s body, stamina and muscles! It’s that respect that has me wanting to go again…next year…after I’ve fully recovered. Next time, I’ll make sure to get in a good month’s worth of push-ups and squats before hitting the mountain. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20!

Have you ever snowboarded? Notice any changes in your legs’ awesomeness after a session? —Tish

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She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Tish vs. Step-Ups

All of this week, each FBG is focusing in on one aspect of working out and sharing what she loves and doesn’t love so much about it in this special “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not” series as part of Love Yo’Self Week. Enjoy!

Dear Step-Ups,

I understand this is a fairly new relationship. “I know you’ve never particularly warmed to me. Look, don’t… don’t argue. We’ve never got friendly. But I just wanted to say, I hope that can change. I’m nice. I really am.” Just give me some time to find my balance in this relationship…catch my breath, if you will, and we can do this! We can be a great team. Just give me a chance! I know in my heart I need you. This comes as a shock to me, too, considering you’ve made me look like a fool multiple times, but Cupid (aka my trainer) thinks we’re a match made in heaven, so a list I’ve made (says Yoda)—she loves me, she loves me not.

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not: Step-Ups Pros and Cons

She loves me: I love how you’re made to help my legs (The Problem Area) get stronger.

She loves me not: I hate that I have to put those little cuffs around my ankles. I look like I have cankles and that just makes my egotistical butt twitch.

She loves me: I love that doing them is cathartic. I can release mad stress by pretending I’m Gina Carano and kicking the ish out of the air.

She loves me not: I hate that the weight you hold against me makes me wobble around like a doofus.

She loves me: I love it when my form starts to improve, and I can lunge back even farther.

She loves me not: I hate that I feel like puking each and every time the weight resistance is increased.

She loves me: I love it that you’ve made it possible for me to walk up two flights of stairs and my legs no longer burn. You’re making me stronger. You’re making me better!

I realize now we ARE right for each other! It’s settled…I actually love you. Just look at us in this video of love!

Can’t see the video? Check out the step-ups love battle in action.

What’s your relationship like with step-ups? Have you tried out those bad boys? What do you love and not love about them? —Tish

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What’s in Tish’s Pantry?

This Question of the Week put me in the vulnerable and embarrassed department. I have a naughty pantry! There, I said it! My good stuff is all up in the fresh fruits and veggies. I’m not a baker or an exquisite chef, so you won’t find any of the cool ingredients you saw in Jenn’s pantry…yet. (I’m still working on that one goal of adding barley and quinoa to my resume.) With that being said, I give thee my poor Mother Hubbard-like cupboard.

 

TA DA!!! Did I already mention I’m far from chef-ish? I’m the kind of gal who buys as I bake. I don’t keep any go-tos in there for inspiration. If the recipe calls for it, I’ll stick it in the pantry and if there’s any left over…well, then it looks like I actually make stuff, but it’s a convenient facade, I say! I knew Keri Glassman, who is working with Arnold/Orowheat Sandwich Thins for its Smart Eating campaign, would see through my deceit, though. I showed her my shame—shelf by shelf—and let her give me the news.

You’ll see from my first shelf that there’s no rhyme or reason for where I place things. I’d like to say I have this keen plan behind how I’ve organized everything, but that would be a lie. This shelf consists of  spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, crackers (left over from my many book-club gatherings), cereal, pasta, macadamia nuts and tomato paste. (Still not sure why I had to buy that.)

The second shelf consists of all the stuff I use for liquid stuff. That’s about the extent of my placement power. There’s some soy protein powder, black teas, cinnamon teas, mint teas, Splenda and the leftover honey I had from making that lovely apple cinnamon granola.

The last shelf is a hodge-podge of awesome. We have almonds, we have pecans, we have walnuts and pistachios! (Aladdin quote.) There’s some tomato basil almonds I like to throw in salads, lots and lots of brown rice. (My boyfriend is obsessed with his rice cooker…plus he’s Filipino. Meals just aren’t complete unless some rice is up in the mix.) I have some old-fashioned oats from the granola gifts, whole-wheat pancake and waffle mix, marshmallows and a grip of dried fruit the dude received from people at the gym he manages. See how I’m trying to explain the staples I think Glassman might frown upon?

Glassman saw all of my shelves and had this to say:

• Make sure there is no added sugar in your tomato sauce. Ditch the crackers and go with ones that are whole grain and high fiber.
• Get rid of the Splenda and Soy Protein Powder. I’d rather you use whey protein (if you eat dairy); I’m not a fan of processed soy. Instead of Splenda, use a drop of real cane sugar, or better yet, some cinnamon and nutmeg, which are sweet spices.
• Make sure all the raw nuts and dried fruit don’t have added sugar.
• Great regarding the long grain rice, add in quinoa and barley, too, for a change.

So how did I fare after reading her review? Not too shabby! And I even picked up some inspiration in the process. I have agave nectar that I drop in my tea now, but I’ll definitely try out the cinnamon and nutmeg since they happen to be two spices I love. Why didn’t I think to add them before?! Most importantly she saw my lack of quinoa and barley, which was just the nudge I needed in order to try those bad grains out. She definitely gets mad points for the suggestions and for helping me stick to my New Year’s goals.

Are you a buy-to-bake gal or do you stock up on impressive goodies like Jenn? —Tish

 

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A Body Hangup Turned Right

Post toe surgery, all I wore on my foot for a month was a boot…and not a cute boot. So it felt good when I received a pair of Earthies’ Barina shoes to try out. They’re stylish—something I wasn’t able to even think about while hobbling around, but the company boasts that its shoes are made to actually support your feet, as well as make them look snazzy. Well, that’s all my sore little foot needed to hear to feel better!

The minute my foot size went back to normal, I slipped these puppies on my dogs and started prancing around. I’m the first to admit I’ve never been one for form over function. I will never rock heels that hurt, but that doesn’t mean I don’t yearn to find pretty shoes. With these, my feet got to be pretty without taking the hits.

I knew going into that surgery that I’d appreciate a healthy foot when my recovery was over, but I had no idea how much love I’d throw at them. My feet are a part of that magical formula that gets me from here to there. They’re worth spoiling at times and worth honoring. I’m finally appreciative of my big size, too—10.5, sometimes 11, even 12 if they’re running shoes. Took me long enough!

We all have our hangups with our bodies now and again, be it our big feet or our frizzy hair. Have you ever had an injury or other event that pushed that hangup to the side and made you appreciative of it? —Tish

 

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