amaddioffact-blog

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I reeeeaallyyy like this.

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Bosque de Oma, Vizcaya, España

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Hm. Never seen these before and may have to try them out next leg day.

Gainz are made on leg day 💪 @abbyball14 moving weight and earning the booty 🍑 ———————————————————————— Check out www.FACL.org and like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/FightAgainstChickenLegs 💪 💪 💪 💪 #LegDay #Fitness #Swole #SwoleLife #Gym #FACL #FightAgainstChickenLegs #Squat #SquatForTheCure #DeadLift #Gainz #Gym #Gains #GetBig #GetLow #OneSquatAtATime #Squatting #Fitness #weightLifting #losingweight #WeightLoss #BodyBuilding #Powerlifting #loseweight #chickenlegs #CurlBros

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Can’t wait to be back at the beach this summer for volleyball with @needalift

❤️

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@needalift us this summer. 

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Quite possibly one of the best things I’ve learned from my time in Bilbao.

Paella night with my amazing girlfriend @amaddioffact

What can I say, she’s a badass Spaniard. Missing her and Bilbao.

Ingredients: Zucchini Tomato Red pepper Onion Chicken Chorizo Ham Paella rice

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Or you can’t even get the first rep... 

When you can’t get that last rep, but you get the photo…

@amaddioffact @freefitty

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Need to start running more so we can do this, my love. @needalift

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San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Biscay, Spain

Went off trail, got attacked by thorny branches, and almost fell down a (near)cliff of silt.... but we made it. And it was worth every moment.  @needalift Photo cred @bites-w-brianna

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Leg day: short, sweet and to the point.

The key is to this workout is to take absolutely zero breaks between exercises (and only 30-60 seconds between each set). Your legs may feel like they’re about to give (especially second set), but you’ve got to just push through. 

Set 1: 5 times, all on hack squat machine  Single leg hack squats, 7 reps each side 20 weighted calf raises ** After all 5 sets, finish with 2 sets of 7-10 normal hack squats with same weight (with both legs)

Set 2: 5 times, all on Smith machine 10 normal stance squats (legs slightly farther than shoulder-width apart) Reverse lunges with back leg on bench, 10 reps each side 10 sumo squats (legs farther apart, toes pointed slightly out)

Set 3: Hamstring curls with cable machine (I find it easiest to lay on a bench facing away from the machine, stomach on the bench), 15 each side Standing donkey kicks with cable machine, 10 each side

30 minutes of cardio (stair master, elliptical, run, HIIT, bike)

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This photo is responsible for motivating me to get out of bed to hit the gym this morning. Fantastic. @freefitty @needalift

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@freefitty @needalift

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Surrounded by Michelins yet nothing to eat.

I’m sitting on my bed, computer on my lap, “bar of bread” (yes, that’s a literal Spanish translation) beside me. It’s a chilly spring Monday night in the Basque Country, and I’m sleepy after spending my first afternoon outside after a week of rain. Now, this bar of bread -- as well as a slice of Spanish tortilla -- has served as my dinner for the night. While my body, still recovering from my workout earlier today, craves protein, my mind and soul could not be more content with the carblicious goodness that is bread. As soon as I know it, I look down and there’s nothing left but crumbs from my former foot and a half foot long bar of bread.

Now, you might be asking me, why in the world would you eat so much bread in one sitting? Isn’t this supposed to be a health blog? And in response to that, I will say two things: first, if you read my blog description, you will find that this is, in fact, not a “health blog,” per-say. Instead, it’s a “HEY I REALLY LOVE FOOD BUT I ALSO LOVE MY BODY SO I’M GOING TO WORK OUT SO I CAN EAT ICE CREAM” blog. And second, let me introduce you to Michelin...

No, no, not THAT Michelin... Instead, I am referring to the very prestigious food rating system that is “Michelin Stars.” 

I currently am studying abroad in Bilbao, Basque Country (Spain), which happens to be home to 28 (that I can find) Michelin restaurants, while the Basque region as a whole serves as one of the world’s greatest gastronomic regions in the world. Therefore, pretty much whenever I leave my house, I am bombarded by pastelerías (a fancy name for dessert shops) offering Carolinas, Bollos de Mantequillas (literally “buns of butter”), and my personal favorite, Palmeras.

Literally EVERYTHING I have eaten here has been good... including the very bars of bread that have led to my new nickname “Bread Queen.” 

So you’re still probably asking, where’s the problem? And for a normal person (I’m going to define “normal” as being a non-lifter in this context because, let’s face it, there are many other contexts in which I would not be considered “normal”), I would agree with you. There would be no problem.

However, the problem arises when you look at my daily schedule. Class from 8:30 till 2 (depending on the day), lunch at 3:30, gym, and then dinner at 10:30. One of the hardest things for me to adjust to, particularly because I’m living with a family, is the meal times in Spain. HOW CAN SOMEONE POSSIBLY WAIT TILL 3:30 TO EAT LUNCH?!?! AND DINNER AT 10:30?!?! 

I thought my stomach had eaten itself in entirety as a survival technique by the end of the first week. 

In between these meal times, particularly after the gym, I’ve had to be creative in coming up with ways to satisfy my gainz-body needs, and the easiest way I’ve found has been with bread and an excess of sugar. I know, obviously, that it defeats the whole purpose of training if I don’t fuel my body correctly, but it’s either that or stashing raw meat in my dresser drawers, which I’m not about to do. 

So throughout the past three months, I’ve struggled to balance my diet needs, my financial constraints, and my craving for constant Basque treats -- a not-so-balanced struggle which has undoubtedly aggravated my pre-existing body dysmorphia. I try to rationalize it by telling myself that I only have one month left, that as soon as I get back @needalift and I are going to go so crazy in the gym and with our diets that none of the past three months will matter, that I should enjoy every Palmera and bread bar while I can... But I still worry.

So stay tuned for more on the transition back to real life. And if you have any interest in the gastronomic goodness that is Basque Country, check out @bites-with-brianna.

[amaddioffact-blog]

Definitely trying this tomorrow. Especially the top one. Always looking for new shoulder exercises.

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Great way to think about it.

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Yesss I love this.

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Trying to escape from LA LA Land.

@needalift