Linda Cusmano Fitness

Eating habits of society

2012-02-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Weekend All!
So we had snow yesterday....eek, and supposed to get more tomorrow, oh our poor crocuses here in Vancouver!
I found myself finishing my chest work and heading home after my only client for the day, Friday is a light day, and ended up in my dungeon doing back to back am and pm cardio! I felt great! I am not one of those people whom I watch who can go out in any weather, cold, rain, snow and still be half naked running or biking or whatever........I wish, I so envy them.
At Stanley Park we often see this elder man swimming IN THE OCEAN, early mornings, daily ALL YEAR round.
Then we have this other elder man who bikes around the park and Vancouver for 4-8 hours per day all year round, he is in his late 80s! Talk about motivation and also talk about not having excuses.......makes you realize you really do not have any excuse not to get it in, its all about the mental focus.
If you want it bad enough you will do what you need in a healthful way and the excuses dissolve.

When you are focused on weight loss or fitness you have to realize that your pampered tongue needs to be less pampered. You can have stuff you like on a once per week basis for example, ONCE you have been consistent for a while and have the exercise and clean eating down to a habit, then you can have your indulgences afterward on occasion. Staying fit once you are there does not mean you can never enjoy culinary faves again, but earn it and be real.

If you look at food it is whole true form, that is your key to getting fit and getting off excess fat. Eating this way should be the norm, not eating for taste only on a daily basis. Tastebuds were not put there for enjoyment purposes mainly.....but to recognize foods and for practical purposes but we have become a society which indulges way too much becoming a mainstream way of thinking.

Too many people eat a higher percentage of processed foods as a norm.........the norm should be produce and lean proteins, processed foods are to be luxury for a treat not your main eating foods and for some this can be overwhelming. Too many of you have grown up on chicken fingers and tator tots..........time to examine this and change your eating habits even if you are not looking toward fitness goals. Many tell me they cannot afford fresh fruits n veggies but its cheaper than boxes of cereal and pizza pops.

An easy way to put it, 90% of your shopping should be from a produce department or grocery store......LIVE foods. Then there is the dried and processed, boxed and such foods which humans have messed with. Dried like rice, beans, grains are not so bad in the right serving sizes. Even with grains, they should be a quarter of the plate, while the other quarter be protein and the other half left be veggies! When I say veggies I mean non starchy ones........the starchy ones are your carbs!
Peas, tubers (yams, potatoes), carrots, squashes are all starchy and can give you the carbs you need for energy allowing you to skip breads and such while you are eating cleaner.

The lettuce leaf and tomato slice don't cut it as a veggie serving on your burger.........and while we are at it, make your own burger so you know whats in there and can keep it leaner.
I guess this rant is more about having witness people eat boxed cereals for breaky, packaged bars for snacks, microwave or canned or boxed foods for lunch and dinner with pasta or bread or potatos as your biggest serving...........wheres the green? Lets examine this and slowly make changes, before you know it you will drop a few of those extra fat pounds or just feel better internally if you are not overweight.

Build a thinner waist.....by working lats!

2012-02-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

After 4 people, grabbing at my waist within 10 minutes, decided to hold a forced meeting with me while I tried to work out, to squeeze me of any advice toward a smaller mid section I figured I should post it! I used to be a 24inch waist until I worked my abs to the thicker squares I now have and now I usually sit 26-27 inches. Even at 27 people always ask if I am like 20 inches......its the illusion of my lats and well rounded tukus with full hips which really accent the waist making it look smaller.

Work the lats! Yeah, diet, eat clean, do cardio.....but what then, so you strip down fat but if you have not worked on the frame of your build, once the fat melts off you are left with whatever shape is under there.

Pullups, assisted, spotted or horizontal area great stimulator for this, wide grip overhand.
Lat pulls are great but not as heavy as working with body weight.

Use some wide grips on your various row exercise options and don't forget that the rotator cuff under those shoulder blades need work too to help condition the area to take a higher load and volume.
Rhomboids also work with those rotators so some reverse pec dec work, reverse flies also work well to help hand it hand with the lat building.
Shoulders take a lot of strain with wide grip back work so conditioning those postural muscles of the rotator cuff and rhomboids are crucial.

Making do

2012-02-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

So what do you do when you are taken out of your norm and have to make do with food and exercise in odd situations?
Spent last weekend in ER with family and all week dealing with sick family.....so I eeked in one good training session and had to balance crap food available to me..............and then you get right back on and hit the norm! At least at the Hosp caf they had yogurt or fruit or some choices although none on my normal diet of course since pre contest diet for me is more about fish, egg whites and tons of greens.

Meanwhile this week I stuck in squats, calve raises, pushsup wherever I could, seriously! I would be helping make food so I would do some in between tending food, hitting stairs and just doing whatever I could like high knees to help intensify on spot stepping, stuff like that. Prone nose crushers are great to do anywhere against a wall, horizontal chins in the kitchen under a chair between food stirring......you just have to make do! to boot, my chest and legs actually feel it cuz I did timed reps and prob did more sets than I would in a norm session!

For some of you this type of stress may make you eat more, this is when you down water every time you feel hungry, fill it the gaps with tons of water which is easy to get anywhere. My appetite actually disappears so with me its remembering to eat when I am under stress, I can go on 2-3 bites all day long if I am under stress or worry so I have to remind myself to have something!

Know your self and be honest and you can work around anything!

Moving on into 2012, sticking with fitness

2012-02-11T22:43:00.000-08:00

Don't you love the feeling after a good week of training and eating clean? Muscles feel firmer, you feel stronger and have more energy plus great digestion and appetite.
Its amazing how fast it can become habitual as long as you can stick it out for the first bit. We are all different on how long it takes to get into a groove and keep it but if you can be real about yourself you can avoid self sabotage by setting up a goal you know you won't keep.

How goes the New Year at this point? Have you been able to start Jan off right and stick with some type of fit eating and lifestyle? If not, why? Time to look at those goals and refit them to be real, to ensure it gets done. Re fit the plan and get back on it asap. See how things are by end of Feb and maybe you will have a better pattern in play.
Of course if not, you refit again. For some of us life can change drastically on a weekly basis so if you can at least have a plan in place you can keep that consistent even if the rest of things around you are not.

Thanks to Garry Cotter of First Photo for the great shot!

2012-02-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

Well it was quite a year end. Unfortunately the wonderful gym I had been using to train my clients was sold to an owner who has decided to change policy to the gym, no more outside trainers! If that same gym had done that to him when he started, he wouldn't even be in this position so I find that a bit like kicking karma in the face.....lets see what karma deals back!

After 15 years of using a convenient and friendly neighborhood gym I have had to relocate my clients to 2 other gyms instead, and its costing me a lot of money in hourly fees to the gym and in travel plus I am not around as easily to check in at home for disasters - caregiving for a geriatric prescrptive drug addicted alcholic hoarder can be stressful with the drama which ensues such as house fires and bloody falls, it means I work less and make less......family does not get paid to care give nor are there many helpful services that do not cost and I am it for family, she has no one else around to help, nor do I, no other family wants to deal with it so they are non existent, literally.

Community centers in Vancouver no longer allow outside trainers, as is the policy with most gyms.
This paints a horrible picture for trainers who do not have the means to secure their own location or studio. Becoming a trainer now a days may not be so appealing to the up comers as they are not getting much of a chance. There are bad trainers yes but if better policies and rules were in place and enforced, it would help weed out the trainers which have caused this result of 'no outside trainers'.
Vancouver city does not allow studios in your home so even if I had the space, its not an option.

I ended up pretty stressed out about the effects of this to my life, work, finances and wound up with an ulcer - funny after years of dealing with some crazy 'intervention show' type situations in my home which could give anyone ulcers or even heart attacks, this situation really stressed me out.

I am so fiercely independent and also tend to value my long time clients, I hate to raise my rates on loyal clients so this was a huge catch 22 for me.
Luckily things are working themselves out, I still feel a bit lost but did not loose any clients due to the move or adjustments that had to be made.

With stress I tend to lose appetitite, so my weight stayed low through Xmas and am ready to go for contest prep toward this years Nationals here in Vancouver but of course I have to get by the BC judges first who tend to score me pretty hard.

In order to NOT have to do them ever again I need not only first place but overall for the BCs which can be 20 girls one year and 2 the next and I have yet to enter the BCs and be the only fitness girl......it has happened in the past and those girls automatically move on and don't end up having to do the BCs ever again.....they can enter Nationals any year at will............this is the ticket I am seeking. This would give me some flex and wiggle room so I can enter Nationals when I want with the ability to take a year off here and there, at this point because I got 3rd last year I have to do it again this year and had I not placed third I may have had to do the level under BCs to re qualify for BCs...........AAAAARGH!

One judge did confirm I need to get bigger and leaner. I don't want to get bigger. Leaner I don't mind but then I could enter Bodybuilding too cuz the girl who got first last year told me herself she was at 5.5 percent bodyfat a few weeks out from contest, probably around 4% contest day. Put her beside me and the other girl who were lean for fitness but not 4%, well of course she looked leaner and they went with that, which makes a person also look more muscular.

Considering I have to please the judges, I guess I just have to do my best to balance what they want and what I want.....what a mind f*&k. Amazing I love competing so much, but I do, its my competitive side which gets all huffy about placings but otherwise its the process, the performance which I love the most.

As for the blog and website and my lack of postings.....I have had to hold off on any web changes, I had planned on some but with the new fees I have with training in new gyms its been shelved.
I am going to try to get on the blog more regularly as best I can, so many of you have been emailing about that so even if I cannot do much else to the site for now, I can post here more often!

I hope you are all having a great 2012 so far and sorry for not posting through the holidays, usually I do with holiday pics but this year I was a bit distracted!

Now go workout!

Steel hugs!
Linda

Juicing for health and other updates!

2011-10-18T14:17:00.000-07:00


Dreams of Summer Photo by Gus Mctavish

October has been great, not warm but not as cold as it could be out here in Vancouver but we have had lots of sun and warm sum at that!
It's been easier to get into the swing of 5-6 days per week training, staying focused on next year. I have not completed all my cardio required but am keeping lean and holding a great weight.

How are you all doing since my last post challenging you to get it together for October???

Training has been stronger and my back has been supporting this allowing me increases in my dead-lift weight from what I have been doing the past few years. I am at half my best but still more than acceptable toward my goals and needs.
Eating has been 80% on.
I have a client who is so busy and in order to get her focused we devised a plan of 15-20 min workouts that she can do one of or 2-3 of if the time allows but if she can only get in one of the quick hits its okay too because its better than nothing! You need to be real and find a plan that works with your life at the present even so your ideal may be a different idea, it just may not be the right time for now to work with that ideal. Be flexible and focus on getting it done by way of realistic planning.
So although I missed a few cardio days and eat a few extra cheat meals I can forgive this because my results are still showing due to staying consistent otherwise, doing the best you can which sometimes maybe only be 80% of the ideal. Unless you go backwards, you are doing well. By putting a too ambitious plan together that you cannot attain even so you WANT to, will be a short form of self sabotage really. You are setting yourself up to fail and no one wants that. It can paralyze your training and meal planing where you just end up letting it go altogether. Do not fall into this pattern.

A competitor friend of mine recently figured out a health issue which has forced her to revamp her diet even cleaner and this girl eats clean, her name is Mariam Power-Ritzland. To keep her health in check she is now juicing a ton more than ever and feeling amazing. She is closer to a veg diet now as well. She says its a blessing though, because it forces her to keep on track. This type of attitude is why I love having her as a pal and she helps me see the positive in my life's negatives.
Here is one of her Juice recipes, enjoy!!

Wbff Pro Mariam Power-Ritzand

I love my homemade Ice cold Green juice: Why? Cuts my cravings, alkalizes my ph, gives me energy that is completely different than any other food groups, keeps me on a natural high, loaded absolutely loaded with enzymes that are living and not destroyed by heat, and I love the color! Extremely refreshing anytime of day:

Juice has: 1 cup green grapes; 2 bok choy leaves with stem; 1/2 lemon with rind; 1 cup strawberries; 2 c spinach; 1/2 green apple, chunk of ginger ( about 1 cm in length ) and a handful of green sprouts....some parsely and a bit of cilantro! To die for!
And most of all because of my hemochromotosis disease I juiced as a kid until now, but now, its strictly ALL about health completely!

Thanks Mariam!!!! visit Mariamsbootcampbabes.com

Time to click 'Refresh'!

2011-09-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today I feel lazy......first day of fall is here and rain is on the West Coast, I need some adjustment time.

It is time for us all to click the refresh button and set up some motivation. The best thing to do at this point is be real, look ahead and set up a short term goal toward December.
There are 3 holidays coming up and lots of social stuff between now and then, having a plan set which can help keep you on track is a great asset.

I like to look at this like this:
I don't do a lot of social things so I am safe eating that way but there are a few days in and around the holidays where I know I will be lax, want to have an extra day off and some extra treats so in order to do this without gaining lots of weight and getting out of shape I think of it as earning this.

I plan my training for the next few months, called a mesocycle. I look at small goals of what I would like to work on each month and although I balance my training for the whole, I still look at specifics. This helps you with exercise choices, sets, reps and training styles to apply.

The meal planning, to whatever degree you decide to go, be it extreme or a loose meal plan, have a plan. Make it fit with each months goals and be real about your ability to make it work. Consider work, kids, hours etc and be real. Do put in effort but don't give yourself a plan which you will fail at. Be real. What you would like to do may NOT be something you can realistically pull off so find a balance that you know you can achieve and if you are able to do more then just add as you go.
Make notes of your training and eating even if just mild weekly notes, how you did and how you feel.

In the mean time, make sure to follow my blog and pass the word along, the more subscribers and followers I get the more info I am motivated to put out there!

This blog is going to be kicked up a few notches with more regular posting of actual workout and meal plans, series of them plus a few other items to help keep us all motivated, training, and conscious of our eating habits.
Free workouts and meal ideas is a great way to help many people who may otherwise not be able to afford a trainer and also those who rather be independent.

Let's see if we cannot hit a few cool goals by December where we can begin the planning again toward Spring!

Ab workouts are a big request so I will be putting a few of them together, 10-15 minute workouts you can quick hit with. Some full plans which I will break down over posts and a few easy meal ideas.

Lets get this blog more traffic and interaction and see if we can't show off some great results. I would love to post some success stories of those who follow my workouts. Love to post some of your fave meals, recipes, exercises and fitness stuffs! I am looking to post more requested exercises and workouts so feel free to comment away while this blog and my site change over the next few months working out goals of their own!!! My blog has big asperations as does my personal site which will break free from my personal training site.

Okay so now what are those goals???
My goal is to drop 3-5 lbs in the next month as well as getting back into a regular schedule of eating and training, post competition and some of my duties around here can set me back a week here or there so I want to work on more consistency!!!

Linda Cusmano

Wow, Sept already???

2011-08-31T19:37:00.000-07:00

WTF DATE IS IT???
I can't believe Sept is literally around the corner!
Time flies and my blog has not had an update.
I have had some projects on the go such as painting and refreshing the home, enjoying some home cooking and garden bounty between training and a moderate off season diet.

HOME COOKING and a PASTA WEEKEND!
I had a great pasta weekend last weekend so I was up 3 lbs this week and taking some courses through DSW at home toward renewal of some certs has kept me busy, so I had a few extra days off than I planned. All done now though!!
The house looking cleaner with the touch ups to the walls and had penne Sat for lunch, spaghetti for dinner, Sunday lunch was gnocchi and finally lasagna for dinner Sunday night. Thats if for me til next year for pasta.

On the personal side.....
I feel great, I am finding my arms and lats don't fit my usual sized clothing, although those are the only parts, the rest is all fine and I never really wear other than workout type textiles. Guess I am going through a bicep and lat muscle growth phase!!!

More Video and a new membership area!
I hope to get some new content together for next month on video and will be looking at offering a video member area with weekly workout and recipe vid clips, new recipes and workouts for members to follow along. I have had a few clients and emails from those looking for something with a bit of a personal touch, some motivation and 'follow along' type workouts so I took this into consideration and am looking at creating something like this for my site.

More soon........

Linda

Into the OFF Season with Legare Wear

2011-08-06T09:58:00.000-07:00

So its off season and I find myself not wanting diet food at the moment so I am not quite on my off season plan yet, I gave myself this week to slack right off! Never hungry when you eat carbs and salty or sugary foods so its not like I am eating tons but its still that grey area of not wanting to lose the lean and having a tough time balancing either being clean or durti....teeheee.......so this week I am just chill, off training and prepping for the Monday to begin on an off season plan toward July 2011.
I have never started out so far ahead, I mean I always trained toward comps but had more than one per year, always did a few and usually not planned out a year ahead. The past few years I did try to plan ahead but then things happen, lack of sponsorship or sickness or deaths which kinked the plans.
This year I decided not to do the shows planned in spring, I hate travel and although this would only be an hour drive for one of them, the other would be in OHIO, an area I have not been and look what happened the last time I went somewhere new right? So I am focused on BCs, Nationals and then we will see. My decisions on comps after that depend on the outcome of thse shows. I do want to do the cup again but if I get my card before that I cannot and would only look at pro shows from there on and the frequency of comps stays low. Fitness at the pro level only has a few shows and they are all travel out shows. I know I can survive areas like NY, ON as I have been before and there are pro shows there but also Texas, a place I would love to visit but again never been.......would the health turn on me again?
Anyway, with these new goals I find I am competing less. I used to do at least 3-4 if not more shows per year but I just cannot afford it financially, emotionally, physically and work wise now that business has picked up to a fever.
It all works out as it should I suppose then. I get to still compete but at a much higher level, more intense and hopefully PRO!
So this week I got a load of Legare Wear from Cindy Legare - www.Legarewearclothing.com and I absolutely love it! Everyone knows I am an Affliction and Sinful junkie, most of my clothes are NON SKULL design tattoo wear from Sinful and now I have new fave line - LEGARE WEAR!
This stuff fits me so well, so comfy and looks so hot! To boot, Cindy does the art work, she designs each piece! Being an artist that is so up my alley.
When you visit the site to pick up some of this hot clothing line, make sure you read the story behind how this line came about and behind the art subject!!
I am looking forward to her new stuff, not sure I am allowed to mention it yet but it sounds up my alley- that is all I can say for now.
Look out for me rockin' Durti Girl on a regular basis! I dont' want to take them off to wash them!!!
Do you know what DURTI stands for?

Back to lyyyyyfe, back to re-al-ity

2011-08-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

6 lbs up but still buffed up! Been testing out some of my stuff in the gym and I was getting some nice height, my straddles are very high and I think I may be able to get my aerial back for next year, as long as I don't get too heavy and keep this up.

My back was stiff and sore but tolerable and it was a rush to do them again, I never lifted off fully, one hand touches but I can tell I had air and did not need to touch which was great, means I can get them. Front walkovers tilt to the side on ending, its back protection and so I may need to phase that last transition of the walkover into a move that takes my tilt and works it into the movement so it blends and I can still use the move.

I am getting on my off season diet plan, less protein and less veggies, a bit more carbs and such but still lean and disciplined which I need if I want to get that winning body for next year.
I need to see about getting to 2 gallons water per day, barely making one.

I just want to sew a few more wild oats....pepsi, crap food and a couple days off before it all begins.

Weights will be higher rep this month in the 15-20 mark with lots of high energy work. Cardio daily and a few night additions too.

I want to get back into skipping rope......I went to demo a double under today for a new client and failed miserably!!!!!

Nationals 'the experience'

2011-07-28T08:49:00.001-07:00

These are from the BCs, a back shot which makes me so proud of my booty end.....great ham glute ties which I worked hard for without heavy lifting and a front shot taken just before my lat flare, but love the quads here.

*Once I get some shots back from Nationals I can post some.

Nationals ’the Experience’

Coming from a bloaty week for BCs and not being lean or muscular enough I was hoping for the week before Nationals to be better. I did look better and managed to keep a flow on for the week between work, prep and stuff.

Coco Challenges the Day

So my staffy gets to a plastic thing and chews / swallows pieces of it with me of course catching this after he swallowed. Based on a few pieces I found I was worried about blockage so here I am the day before my flight with lots of prep to do and this…….so a few hours later and lost….the vet makes him puke and I can go off restful of mind. He did this at 5mths old and needed an operation so of course we are normally very careful but me being pre contest, if you know anything about that you get something similar to what they call ‘mommy brain’.

Euphoric Landing

Now I land in SK and it was a nauseating landing. I hop a cab with a few other competitors and looked at them saying ‘I feel stoned’. And I had not smoked or drank or taken anything to cause this, it was like 6am for geez sakes and I just waved it off.

My voice began to disappear and get froggy as I was being taxied to the hotel. Again not to think much of it, I can breathe so whatever. Usually if I can breathe I don’t worry too much about things, breathing issues is a sign I am in trouble and since it was fine I just figured I was tired, its early, just off a plane etc etc.

The caliber of competitors was awe inspiring. Got heighted into short and ready to rock for next meeting where I get my number and give my music. I finished all that and had plenty of time to go back and color up for tomorrow.

I get to the judging portion; get to the curtain and nausea hits. Now you gotta remember I don’t get nervous, I love getting on stage and I have been at this for over 15 years now. So I figure, ignore it, its judging time so smile, its over in minutes.

We go out one at a time; I am first, number 1. I go out, do my turns, get in line and the rest of the girls do the same, all to file into the lines on each side of the center comparisons line. As the girls finish lining up everything goes black. I stood there thinking, okay wait it out, it will pass. I began to wobble. One girl, Debi Bartlett who got 4^th in my division when all was said and done…….she tells me she was holding my hand and asked if I recalled this……NOPE. I barely recall people saying, ‘someone help her, someone help her’. I never did faint but was helped off to sit. Once the sight began to come back I wanted to get back out there to try and salvage my chance at getting judged here!

I went out, broke out into a full sweat and pulled it off. I was called into the first call out line up. It’s all a blur but I at least I got out there in time. I did not find out til later it was first call out I made it back, felt like I was off stage forever but it was only seconds.

I had 40 mins or so to recover for routine. I knew I could pull it off because when I blacked out on stage I had been out there for more than 2 mins. Routine is 90 secs. I can black out after…………..teehee.

I was weak for routine unfortunately but did it.

Of course today I am leaner than I was when I did BCs so maybe another 2-4 weeks and I could have placed better but I did not figure in that after a year sick it may take an extra few weeks to get to peak and for my body to come in.

The good thing is I decided to take the rest of my comps off the list and just train toward next July so see if I can crack that top place and overall at the BCs and get my lifetime by into Nationals which for me is handy in several ways. I like competing so it’s not a big deal but for the years where Nationals falls into provinces I may not be health ready for, like SK, I can skip that year and not have to re-qualify each time with the risk of not making it.

Next year Nationals are here so it’s okay but I did go to the dr and check on why this happened since it has never happened to me in contest before, it has though with the asthma.

I was able to breathe so I did not think it was related but apparently the dr confirmed I was oxygen depleted - not dehydrated nor carb depleted, hence the ‘stoned’ feeling when I landed. The Dr. suggested I do not go there again.

As for not being dehydrated or depleted……I know this because I did the least depletion ever on both of those. I worked with Mike Davies for support and he does things a bit different than I do. I used to start dandelion and such a month out, but then I came in stringy, this year barely any.

The lack of humidity out there and dryness was not good for me and I am still recovering a week later. My lungs are very heavy and had suffered but by the time that part kicks in its too late, good thing I was only gone 2 days.

IN the end I placed 6^th again just like 09. This tells me I basically recovered my body back, to where it was before I got sick last year. I did this in 12 weeks, dropping 20 lbs in 8. I am trying to focus on those positives but of course I am so disappointed in my placings this year.

I am very happy for Vanda Hardaaren who did win my class and get her pro card by winning fitness overall. Her body is very attainable, very natural. She is not over muscled and not super lean. Seems the new judge panel at Nationals is doing a great job with the fitness look they are choosing as winners!

Here are a few shots from the plane as I was landing in BC with a huge sigh of relief, so happy to be home- ahhh mountains and water, coast! Also a few shots the day after comp.

Nationals here in Saskatchatoon.......

2011-07-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone see the movie Grown Ups???? Saskatchatoon baby.......teehee. This is my first time here.

Well I am at Nationals, maybe did not place as high as I liked at the BCs but 3rd was what I needed at worst in order to be able to come compete for this show and 3rd is what I got!

I would never enter a fitness show thinking I need to get down to a 4% body-fat which is too lean for fitness and better for bodybuilding but that is what the BC judges went for so I will have to remember that if I have to do them again. I was peaking for tomorrow anyway but still could have come in a tad leaner for the BC show. I sit at 6% now which was my goal.

Normally I do things a bit different but working with Mike Davies has changed everything so I find myself going with the flow and seeing what this does for me compared to my prep. I normally would have been on some natural diuretics for like a month pre show but Mike is about hardness in the muscle and feels that minimal diuretics are the way to go. I was supposed to do 3 gallons water per day for the past 12 weeks but I have a small stomach capacity and my tummy is very sensitive so I have only been able to get a gallon down more or less so dropping water was not an issue but the fact that I have nothing to really drop means less of the water depletion effect which means I may look smooth or fuller and harder, lets see.
I would have been leaner but maybe more lanky and small had I done those natural diuretics my way pre show but may have also placed better............so many factors.

I also never eat this much, I cannot even eat all the meals he has me on.....9 meals......lots of food and fish......I did however get up to 7 the past few weeks which has been amazing. Last year with the intestinal issues I had I was barely able to eat, and what I could eat was not beneficial toward my present fitness goals but what can you do? So I lost a year of growth and development but the diet for this comp has my health very happy. I only got a bit of guff when changing diets each month but otherwise my body loves this diet and my health is optimal on it - asthma, allergies and IBS all behave while on this diet.

I am happy with the healing my body experienced through this show prep. To have hunger and an appetite again after a year of not......and to be able to eat now, 7 meals is amazing. It took the 12 weeks though to slowly progress here.

The best thing is more about the support. I know what I am doing and know how to do all this myself and probably could have and done well as I have in the past, but to have someone on your side, who has interest in you doing well is huge for me and Mike although very busy and short on communication has been support.
We have not met and I have to keep reminding him of certain aspects of my limitations with diet etc, but between us it seems to be working well and with his help I think I can get some more size. I know I normally do not diet as hard nor eat as much as he has me. I did no water load and deplete, no carb load and deplete, and had things I normally cut close to show like can tuna, broccoli, fruit............so its been interesting. I also never did as much cardio and weights etc, sauna....all kinds of new things which was interesting for me.

Nationals is tomorrow, meeting soon, not sure how many girls are in my height class yet but may get a better idea at the meeting.

One of my clients daughters gave me a super cute good luck charm and I LOVE IT!!!
Here is a pic of me in hotel, the view of downtown Saskatoon from my Hilton hotel and a pic of the cutest good luck charm which she made herself!! I think I am going to wear it for the bikini round, Thanks Jorga, you rock!
Wish me luck everyone, lots of talented athletes here this weekend!!!
Linda

Off to Nationals!

2011-07-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

So I made 3rd place which of course its disappointing for me ESPECIALLY being the vet at the show with expectations on me but they went with a leaner gal for first and a more muscled gal for second, I was leaner than second so was hoping to take that spot but for that spot they went for a gal who was bigger than I and I fell into 3rd which is still qualification for Nationals.

I have always had a tough time to place first at the BC show but being I barely worked out last year and had crunched my training for this show in 12 weeks, dropping 20 lbs in the first 8 weeks I guess my body just could not come back enough to get the win - to suit the judges for what they wanted.

Congrats to the winner though, I know she worked very hard for 2 or more years now to get this and has changed her body over the past 2 years in leaps and came in with the leanness, muscle and veins they wanted. Her legs were the best I have ever seen and the muscle she put on is to die for!!

Unfortunately I did not peak for this show but will peak for Nationals. Will it be enough?
Hard to say, judging varies a bit from BC level to Canadian level in this line/federation and from year to year the Canadians seem to vary in the look they place first. Its a crap shoot so I am going for it and lets see how I do!

Nationals are here next year...............I have my eye on that NOW.

I am working with Mike Davies from Fitness Factory, he knows all the ins and outs about that level of comp, he is super familiar with the politics and has helped many girls go pro!
He helps run some of the pro shows and has the biggest client load of pro girls you have ever seen!! I have seen him do wonders with girls I competed against and watched them breeze by me, all having gone on to get pro.

We have a good formula between both our expertise's and have found a way to compliment each other toward my journey training to get this IFBB card. His ideas vary from mine which is good, doing my own stuff for 15 years my body needed a change in the formula.

I feel good about training a year toward next year and confident I can come in with an unstoppable package given a year to train consistently without being sick.........that was my downfall for this year, I was off so much last year sick and had trained less than half that year, maybe 3 months accumulated, on avg of working out, in total last year and you can see it in my body. Plus being an intestinal issue my nourishment was not optimal for contest prep, lean muscle etc. Essentially I think I looked the same more or less as 09 and I weigh the same.

I have never had a coach.......this is a good implementation for me.

Another factor which helped was the switch around at home, much more support this year, it was amazing how much more you can accomplish when you are NOT being sabotaged and fought at every turn. I mean all these years yes I won shows, did well, got pro cards but all with struggle, obstacles, stress, and discomfort making it hard to enjoy the journey or process.........this time was different.

With all these factors in play I am excited to look forward and stoked in anticipation of the new levels I can bring my body to with a bit more time..........if I did this in 12 weeks, imagine 52?

Now I am not resigned to any specific outcome for next week, just prepared for whatever the outcome.
Knowing I could look better does not make me too confident about taking a National level win although you never know with judging and what they are looking for so I am going to go and try it out for my 3rd go at Nationals since 2008.
In 09 they did go for girls with very similar bodies to mine and the leaner or bigger girls were not top 2 so I have to try even if I am not leaner or bigger!

Doing Nationals this year means I would want top 5 so that I can go back next year without qualification through BC again. If I skipped Nationals this year I could go next year, I have 2 years qualification to Nationals but if I go this year and don't make top 5.......back to BCs again next year to re qualify.

And that's the scoop!

Here is a rough vid of my routine, its not perfect, stage rust..........

Linda on the Fanny Keifer Show

2011-07-15T14:16:00.001-07:00

Whirlwind Week

2011-07-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

What a week!.....its been last week of prep so eating and training and tanning and leaning.......tons to do but of course things I was trying to get done business wise and was ready to take care of for weeks now - NOW is when others are ready to deal with them which stretches me a bit thin this week with the additional media attention etc but hey that is business! It was actually so much stuff that is was almost like a mass joke or something.......anyway I am balancing, dealing and all things are going well and are positive so whatever......GO WITH FLOW.....

I have to send a big THANK YOU KISS to all my clients who have been so supportive, they are all like 'oh we can do that later, your competing, don't worry, no rush'. And all the supportive confidence they have in me is such a boost to my confidence and emotional state!

I HAVE THE BEST CLIENTS IN THE WORLD!!!!

Fanny Kiefer and Studio 4
I was honored to be asked to the Fanny show and was she ever nice, the set was so relaxed it was great. I felt right at home on camera sitting with her while being interviewed.
When all was done we continued to chat about her family and some background then we decided to arm wrestle.....she has some strength this lady!!!
I have a great fellow named Fredrick Fowler who is a wizard hair stylist, he sponsored me for my hair for this show and for my comp Sat, my curls will happen. What a nice person to have working on my hair, he was a pleasure to chat with! He was beside himself meeting Fanny!

More Media
I had an interview for a feature in the Vancouver Courier which they aptly entitled 'Body Of Work' so photos had to be scheduled and juggled into the week last minute, its all last minute! Click the link to view my feature.

The last neat thing I wanted to mention was that yesterday as we went to take the dogs out, I was walking and I tend to scout for clovers.......well I look down and there was .....not a 4 leaf but a 5 LEAF........FIVE LEAF clover....and then another, and another........holy smokes, I found over 9 FIVE LEAF clovers and a 4 and I had left a ton more which were there in this wonderfully 'GOOD KARMA' cluster. I don't recall ever seeing 5 leaf clovers......................I take this all as a great omen!!!!!! Saturday, regardless if the judges see things my way, I feel so successful!

Linda

No Power??? Boot Camp at home then......

2011-07-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

So I rearrange my schedule to make the one class per week of boot camp for today, I do it pre contest on occasion............and the power it out in the gym building.
Guess I am doing boot camp at home, bring out the music into the driveway, the mat, the bosu, barbell, dumbells...........lets go!

Join me today in my Arm workout

2011-07-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a clip showing a few reps of the exercises I did today for my light arm pump. I began with 40 mins not intense, on my recumbent bike and will do another 40 mins of cardio at the gym on the elliptical later or 30 mins of intense bike at home.

Enjoy, workout out along with me if your up to the pump!! I suggest 4 sets of 10-15 for these exercises and you can superset some of the pairs if you like.

What a Weekend!

2011-07-05T06:50:00.000-07:00

Well I did not drink, party and all that like some of you would think of as a great weekend......

I saved a bird, like above a sparrow, poor thing had yarn and stuff caught in his foot which caught on a low tree........lucky for him or he may be dead now if he was where no one could reach or see him.

WE have bird feeders and I love birds so they come around and like I said he was lucky he was in a lower tree.....it was a neighbors actually so I went over and grabbed him.

I am used to holding birds since I had budgies as a child a lot........I had to break the branch, again lucky it was small and easy to snap cuz if I did not hold him he was going to rip his leg off trying to fly.......he was stuck upside down and fluttering which caught my eye.

I had to carefully cut the strands without cutting his toes, wings and lucky for me.........I should name this guy lucky, he did not fuss much. It was like he knew I was helping him.....it could have been female but a girl would not have gotten in that mess so I feel he was a boy.............anyway, once I cleared his feet of this messy stuff he either got caught on or stuff he was nesting with?.........I let him go, he went into my fig tree and was free. Not sure if he broke a toe but at least he is not crow or cat food now!

MAIL IS UP AND RUNNING IN CANADA
My suits are in, I can now fit them into the picture, dress rehearse today. If you don't come to watch the show then you have to wait until its all over and I post pics, then you can see the costume and bikini.

My tan is still not in, should be today! I am so proud of how I handled all the kinks, I just swept it off my shoulder......

Competing is all about how you handle the 'curves' thrown your way, cuz you know it never runs smooth, there is always stuff to blast through.
I have lost at shows where it all came together and won shows which just were hell to get to.......with injury and imperfection so I have learned that anything can happen with judging and not to sweat too much cuz in the end you could still win after injury, mistakes, malfunctions and still lose if you look the best, did the best and it all came together.

I am going to enjoy it, love my stuff (suits, routine, being fit, having a 6 pack, summer.....) and my process and whatever happens after that is out of my hands, I did the best I could at that time!
*This mentality has me in a great mood and ready to rock! And I love how my arms and abs look, and how my ass is half the size and how all that cellulite and jiggle is almost gone!

Dark of the Moon
On a fun note, I saw Transformers yesterday, Dark of the Moon...........I am a action movie junkie I love some of the actions that get bad ratings......like expendables.....teehee, I liked it and can't wait for the second but anyway I LOOOOOOVED TRANSFORMERS!!!!! It was a bit more violent than I expected but I loved it!!!

I have seen them all, I love giant alien robots!!! I love the transformations and sounds and the 3D thing was actually really good! I can't wait to see it on blu ray. Theres this ferrari called Mirage and a corvette called Sideswipe from the second movie he is back...has a chopped top - literally, too friggen cool!!!!!! EYE CANDY!!!!! See pics below!!!

I love cars! Its just a car lovers drool fest! BIIIIG fan of Camaro, had one.......mine was purple back in the late 80s early 90s........custom paint.

I love the 69 SS but of course the new ones being so HOT ROD I love them! YES I love Bumblebee! See his pic below, love his yellow orange tinge!!!!

I really like the movie, story, locations but...........cmon, a victoria secret model for the main female star???????????? yikes. I like her better with wings on prancing down a runway in heels and underwear...........she sucked and luckily she was only a third or less of this movie.

I much prefered Megan Fox, she was hot and loved her tude, too bad her and M.Bay had a scrap and could not get over it, she would have made the movie a bit more complete in my eyes. She had a mix in the storyline, she was not just 'the girl'.......I was not even sure what she did as her job in this movie.....it was strange.

The nascar type impala rocks, rolling around like a one man army......so cool.......see him a few pics down.

Bumblebee

I never caught the name of the Impala, but Mirage is the red Ferrari just beside.

Sideswipe, Mirage and Bumblebee..........I could dress my driveway with these babies!!!!!!

There was also a few fights this weekend, one being UFC 132 and there was a strikeforce and bellator and a kickbox tourny too.............we ended up (me n da old man) going to the casino to watch the fight. Nice long weekend to get out, and you can have some fun gambling the bux you would have spent buying the fight, mind you I watch the fight........gamble after or just let the old man do some roulette or keno or whatever......I want to watch the fight! It was good but glad I did not buy it, not worth the money to buy it, rather have a bit of fun and gamble that 70 bucks instead. I did not gamble tho, the old man did 20 bucks but we left after that.

I look forward to GSP Diaz and there is tentative on GSP Silva.....catchweight maybe?

Got into some M&M peanuts but just like 10, which satiates any cravings and hunger while you sit and watch for a few hours........not like I can just go order food, its crap food at this casino and even if I was not dieting, the food is not food I would ever eat except for like a bag of chips or something that they DO NOT cook there- the cooked food is crap, worse than chips.....

I had about 10 popcorn kernels too, on Sunday but again was sitting for a few hours and its not like i am going to carry my fish in and eat it in there or my egg whites stinking up the theater......they would kick me out!~

Competition 2 Weeks AWAY!

2011-07-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

Today was a grueller, an hour cardio, over an hour routine work to tweak out a few things and polish and then some weights. 3 hours later ready for a 1/2 apple and some nuts.
I still have a few wind sprints to do later on, but only 10 for .2 mi each which should only take 10-15 mins and won't be that bad, I like to run those about 10mph if I can and today its so crappy out so I don't want to do go outside to do it.....besides I love my evo smooth treadmill.

On The Pro Contest Front
Jodi Boam just got 3rd at the Toronto Pro which is great, she is the body I am working toward more or less.
It will be hard maintaining a smaller physique, my less masculine 'in my opinion' muscle than what you see in the pros- when they keep picking girls who are larger than what I want to be but seeing Jodi get third was promising!
Many of the other new pros were placed much lower and from what I can tell it seems to be related to muscle size. The thing is I prefer the muscle and look and softness that the new pros bring into the pro division so lets hope more of them saturate the pro shows and then we will see more girls like that in top placings. I think Jodi has a perfect fitness body, size, muscle, cut.....all of it but I would not want to be any bigger than what she is now so lets cheer her on to some first place wins as that would mean more girls with that look will be taking the top placings!
Here are a few snaps of routine practice.

So tomorrow I could have a cheat meal, I am debating if I should or not being its 2 weeks out. I am bang on ahead of the game and for my sensibility it would be good, for sanity right.......but its a scary thing to do at this point.
My readings are between 9-12 percent body fat as of last week, this week eeking toward the lower end although my readings are getting hard now, some days I get 4 notches on the accumeasure, other days just 1.....using umbilicus means I am grabbing water too, although not much water or fat to grab, abs are pretty tight right now. So I err on the higher end even if I am on the lower.....to be safe. I know i am not TOO ripped, nor am I too soft at this point I think I am perfect other than that last 2-3% on the back of the thigh, saddle and tricep but its tiny and picky.
I still await my costume, bikini and tan stuff so I hope that mails catches up by Monday, today is a holiday here so I wait! Again am confident Amy got the fit right but if not I will have to be creative, if the bottoms are too short I need to wear shorts under, and if the top is not sufficient, same there too since I have no time to alter. I am pretty sure the suit will be fine, she made is based on my last suit.
I hope the Canada post workers have not been prancing around in my suit with some heels on back in their mail sorting........

Beautiful Day for a Bike Ride in BC

2011-06-26T13:51:00.000-07:00

What a great sunny day, not the 26 degree celcius they promised but sunny.
Decided to go for a bike ride even so today is my day off training. Going for another cheat meal, so the bike ride is a great way to counteract that. I have had 2 cheat meals per week more or less and they were not far out but instead almost tame.
Weather is not looking good for the week to come although that changes fast but who cares, my focus is diet, training, routine polishing and hoping my suit comes in and I don't have to get Amy to redo them all because Canada Post has my stuff hostage.
If I have to redo my suit and costume she will need to know by mid week........you see my stuff is here locally at some postal warehouse but just needs to be delivered so I hope it comes by Wed and then I am safe! What horrible timing. At this point if I need alterations I will have to do it locally but you know what.....Amy always seems to get my fit right so being she knows my body so well I am not worried.
2 Weeks left on my pattern and then its pre contest week and time to display the weeks of effort!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to CPR we go......

2011-06-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

So its that time again to recertify my ACE, ACSM and BCRPA which means recertification for CPR and Fitness First Aid.
I have been using Life Consultants with Mark Kozlowski since I began in Fitness in the mid 90s and have used this company since. Its a class which keeps you awake, is fun and inventive.
Mark has an amazing realism to his class and makes it entertaining. I like his person-ability with his students and actually don't mind having to do this every year or 2 because he is the one teaching!
Okay so now I am off to have some yam fries with chipotle mayo and a sandwich on ciabatta bread and pop ~ YEAH BABY CHEAT MEAL TIME!!!!!!
Then I will come home and do my morning and night cardio, because I had to go to class I did not get in morning cardio so I am going to hop on my recumbent bike for 70 mins at a moderate pace and watch the UFC fights tonight although I am shocked to find out Nate was cut because he 'did not pass his med exam'......wtf? Well I have an idea of what that maybe about and I am very sad for Nate and for the fans. Rick Story will now be fighting Brenneman, Rick is a great fighter and just fought a few weeks ago, what a guy..... so it will be a good fight anyway and the card is a great one so I guess now it's 'hi ho, hi ho, first cheat then car di o......****whistling****hi ho, hi ho.

Flat Tummies and Smooth Skin

2011-06-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

One thing I get reminded of when I diet down for competition is how nice it is to have a flat tummy and smooth skin. I am a sugar fiend so I tend to get softer off season and deal maybe with less of an optimal skin texture because of the sugar habit and eating whatever crap I want. It is subtle but I do notice at times like now when my body tells me in so many ways how much it likes how I am eating.
I am not really restricting health, because I timed things right with the progression down to where I am now- it really was not unhealthy, just hellish for a sugar fiend........teehee.
Essentially all health issues are decreased right now because of this diet, I still eat all the needed nutrients and not conservatively to just make it by but I eat around 2000 cals per day more or less and even get indulgences but its just forced me to be balanced and adult about it.
I have been more restrictive in past years but this time around I am having fruit the whole time through, carbs but healthy options and not sooooo limited. This meant rare occasion if any of lightheaded or hypo glycemic issues which most people complain about during dieting. I swear its only happened once or twice and when not dieting I cannot say it never happened due to my poor food choices at that time maybe pms or whatever.........so while leaning I have had very little negative effects to deal with, compared to what you hear from the experiences of others.
It does take years, trial and error etc etc. You learn from others then meld it to be your own cuz you are the only one who knows your body.
In fact dieting has helped all my other health issues because my normal indulging actually aggravates most of the health issues and I do over do..... so in effect I am healthier when I am dieting down for comp as it forces me to keep a healthier diet.

I am never hungry, IBS has been at its all time low - yeah baby! Asthma and allergies have been under better control and joint pains are tolerable. This is how contest prep should be, even dieting in general, it should not feel super restrictive and I don't mean like - "I cannot have whatever I want whaaaah" cuz most of us eat too much hidden crap we don't realize, we basically live off crap and eat good once in a while when it should be reversed. I mean like for health where you treat once in a while, not daily at each meal which seems to be the trend, food choices and meals are all a big ol treat now.

You do not need to diet unhealthy to get contest prep to prime........IF YOU PROGRESS RIGHT AND WITH ENOUGH TIME.

Friday Photo Shoot, Broad Swords and more!

2011-06-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you both Gus Mctavish and Meghan Cooke for helping me with a great Fantasy Photo shoot. Meghan being a trainer at my gym and also a pro with stuntwoman work who has a stash of blades to make any man blush or run....whichever......she really helped make this shoot a go. I chose a nearby park which was a bad backdrop, not sure what Gus can do with these, but hey, we made a good go of it and Gus can shoot an ugly duck in a potato sak and make them look like Tyra!
Meghan helped me with posing, holding the blades and also being some were sharp, helped me ensure not to injure anyone or myself.
Gus is very comfortable to work with, he is a great photographer to hire for your future photo needs! He gave me great tips, lots of smiles and poor guy was on the wrong end of those blades......very brave man!
All in all a fun relaxed outdoor shoot done in under 2 hours!

And the Beat Goes On...........

2011-06-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Still training hard! Still on point with diet and right on track with body /routine.
Its been a rough hockey week. I ran home Saturday after a photo shoot, jumped on my recumbent bike to make up for cardio that day, double session for 80 mins while watching hockey- did not even take off the make up...........

My workouts and meals have not wavered now for 8 weeks and 4 are left. It feels so nice when you are dialed in, no stress, no panic, no worry. You know you will go out and be at your best and not have to struggle, strain and hate every minute. Its been good hard, challenging but not painful to the point where it all sucks and I have had much less body work during this prep.
The tummy loves the diet so no issues there, sooooo nice. So when dealing with cravings no big deal, compared to pain, cravings are nothing. I have kept up a cheat per week and its been an ideal contest prep. I had one point at week 5 where I was drained, I did a refeed and it all picked up. I have since been happy with energy levels and how I feel all around.
I have enjoyed how fast my body changes and fit is so fun! It also makes it easy to keep on point with workouts when the weather is .......colder than usual for this time of year.

Photo Shoot Weekend

2011-06-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

(Blue in honor of the Canucks Hockey Playoffs!!)
I had the privilege of working with an excellent photographer named Garry Cotter from Look Studios located in downtown Vancouver. A comfy studio bustling with energy and projects!
I was rusty after almost 2 years off from modeling but Garry was gracious and he does such a great job with his work. His shadowing work played off my muscle like liquid!
He has some wonderful services and I highly recommend him for whatever your event or project, he has a range of things he can do for you, check out http://www.lookstudios.ca/
I am super partial to the dance shots.......are they ever amazing!

Photography copyright Garry Cotter / Linda Cusmano

Happy Italian Day!

2011-06-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Italian Day!!

Wow, what a festa! I have a bunch of pics to post, luckily I went earlier for the pics, now there are wall to wall humans so no way to get pics. There is such a variety, many businesses partook in this celebration!

Lets begin with the cupcake place, Cassia cupcakes......I did not have any! They have some great options, vegan and gluten free.........I have at one point last year had the chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting which was yummy!!! Essentially these guys are across the street from me.

Here we have the ravioli store on first.......did not have any!!!

Here we have Giancarlos Sport Bar, a handsome friendly face and some great coffee and eats!

Here are some more of the local haunts and treats! Some Vintage Italian Day pictures.....Roman Gladiators ready to do fight demos, Stages getting set up.....

Dog friendly, I had one of mine with me too while taking these pics!

Here we have one of my clients making fresh gelato in the back, Da Vino restaurant and Dolce Amore Gelato are a must if you are on the Drive!
Da Vino has wicked wine, cheese plates and more fine foods, and the gelato....like I said fresh made in store daily- just look at the pic!
Italian Coffee Bars are all packed, all day so far! these pics were just upon opening, since then its now afternoon and packed busy with minimal areas to walk or sit but everyone manages fine.
You can see other ethnic foods are also available, like Japanese, Indian, Thai, Portuguese and more.
You also see the Italian Bakery from Hastings and Renfrew came down to FRESHLY STUFF CANNOLIS, which I did not have but sooooooooo wanted one, its a rare thing to get a fresh stuffed on the spot cannoli! Then you see the fudge bar..........with my fave....granny smith apples coated in Caramel............there was fudge and all types of goodies.........I will be waiting til fall for sweets!

In the end, I bought a baguette, added a splash of evoo, balsamic extra old aged vinegar...... grilled cherry tomatos, grilled avacado, grilled mushrooms, roasted onions and there was my cheat. Essentially the bread was the cheat really. I also had a diet pepsi, second in 8 weeks, have been pop free....... and am otherwise following diet cleanly.

Hot Rods!

2011-06-05T07:53:00.000-07:00

Hats Off Day was pretty quiet, sorry to say, it was dead....people were out and the road was shut down but there was nothing going on, maybe 2 or 3 stages and singing but not much for stands, food, business participation....at least not compared to the past years I had attended.

The Hot Rods were great, I love the Chevy's and they had cars deep by a few blocks worth of shiny perfection.
I took some shots of my faves and then the dogs got too hot so we headed back for the long walk back to the car.

We had to stop a lot for everyone asking to see the dogs.
Lots of extra exercise yesterday!

Today is Italian Day so I expect a much bigger, better venue and will get more pics.

The Dogs were the center of attention yesterday, cannot get far without someone stopping to ask what breed one of them is or to pet them.

Summer hits Vancouver, just before the Stanley Cup expected to be won!!!

2011-06-04T12:50:00.001-07:00

Okay so its excitement city around here, so many things going on!

We have a few Italian Street festivals, I may get some pics tomorrow to post here!

Just had a great rollerblade around Stanley Park, people were actually going there to see Lord Stanleys statue!!! Canuck Jerseys everywhere! I had a great workout, we did just under 10km in under 40 mins and minimal effort, keeping to my 70% hr!

Later today I am going to hop on my recumbent bike and do another 40 mins while watching either fights or hockey!

Taking the day off weights and going to have some sushi for lunch now, if I have a cheat it may be tomorrow in the form of small bun or something at Italian Day but otherwise I think I will keep it fairly clean and limit any cheat foods just make sure I keep the body fat coming down. Still need to drop a few percent in the next 6 weeks and this is when it gets harder as you get leaner and the body wants to hold on the last bits when hitting single digit body fat.
So now I am off to walk the dogs at Hats Off Day, a street fair with hot rods and grilled foods which I can sniff....but not touch! Most of it is meat so I don't really miss it anyway.

Have a Great Weekend!!

7 weeks and counting! Pre contest success!

2011-05-30T07:06:00.000-07:00

First of all CONGRATS TO MY DEAR FRIEND MARIAM POWER RITZAND WHO TOOK FIRST FOR HER FITNESS MODEL COMPETITION ON THE WEEKEND, AND HER DIVA PRO CARD!!!!!!!!! She represents all those over 35 moms!!!!
I don't have a pic yet from this weekend but I will post one in my blog once there are some available, but here is one of my faves from her website!
http://marscottfitnessandnutrition.com/news.php

Being taken away from her successful, gold medal winning powerlifting career due to a car accident I am so proud of her to have taken that with such stride, moved forward and is doing new things and of course kicking ass!
I know personally how hard it is mentally to be forced to give up something you love and are good at, to have to submit to changes like that and she did it with such class!!!! I did not see her struggle or cry about how she can no longer lift a thousand pounds and can only lift a few hundred now.......ok exaggerated the numbers but this girl is strong.....at her worst she lifts what was my best! She embraced motherhood and moved forward re-sculpting her power lifting body into a winning pro card fitness body.......that's 'POWER' for ya!

Things are going very well with contest prep!

My arms are showing great capped shoulders and lines between them and the mid arm. Abs are feeling great, upper 4 are really hardening out!
Lines were in my legs weeks ago so no worries there, just a bit more clean up of and fat loss but its not too far off proportioned to my upper body.
Cardio is easier now which feels great, although allergies this year are making things a bit harder with the asthma attacks during some cardio but its not like I am not used to it so I just plug on!
Diet is fine but I crashed Tuesday, took a few extra days off to heal up some fingers, toes and aches and just fill my glycogen stores you know???? I had some oatmeal a few mornings with berries, and a bit of rice here and there, some extra carbs to help replenish........something of a refeed but nothing drastic but enough to fill my muscles and put on a lb or 2 and my muscles needed it, they look much better now.
Routine, I took the week off, prob have to make some minor changes to help things along but I am very happy with it and expecting my costume soon.......anyone wanna guess my theme???? I am not telling you have keep guessing! One hint.......think 'hips'.......teehee, I won't give it away!!!
My costume will be simple and theme oriented, my bikini follows suit as well and its all very bright and sparkly of course.........no hints on colors, you have to wait and see.
I have a few photo shoots set up between now and show time as well but if only our weather would dry out, hard to do any outdoor stuff with cold and rain and hard to set up indoor stuff for no cost but I am working on it.
Venues are set til next year and am plugging away for sponsors which are needed to help me fund all the entries, suits, supplies, travel etc.

Here is a quick hello from me and Coco, taken first thing 6am so please excuse lack of make up, hair do, still in my VS Long Janes which are falling off me now since I am leaning.

Lower Body Inch Loss

2011-05-14T14:43:00.001-07:00

http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/body-inch-loss/

A couple months to go......eat clean, train hard!

2011-05-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

So I am hitting 2-3 hours training per day depending on if its a routine practice day which is 20-45 mins per shot 3xwk. Cardio is 60-90 mins of various intensity and machines, hitting cardio twice per day for 6 days per week with weights split over 5 days.
Weight is down, body fat is down, muscles are popping out much more now, still have to c....lean up the legs and back of arms, last bits of fat sitting there.
Balance of weight volume depends on the reps and type of lifts so weight stays moderate, I never hit closer than 10 lbs under what my heaviest for certain exercises has ever been so as to not injure or aggravate old injuries.
Sticking to the diet really well, amazing how much easier it gets after that first week.
I stick with fish 3 times per day, egg whites twice per day, asparagus and spinach, some pineapple and grapefruit and pepperoncini for my fish. Starch carbs are basically a slice of ezekial if I eat it at all.......yick, and a few rice cakes at dinner with honey but that is about it.
Cheats have been almost non existent so results are amazing right now!
I can run easier, all cardio is getting easier which always feel great, you feel super fit about now.
I did feel tired the past 2 days but overall have not. Its allergies.
Feeling really good, feel confident and super happy with everything from suits by Amy who is sponsoring my bikini and making a great costume, happy with music and theme, training, body and results.
I am really enjoying the process and happy to NOT be suffering in pain the whole way!
Maybe will get some sneak peek pics up, .....maybe not, maybe you all have to come out and see me instead!! Come out to cheer me out at the BCs this year, its beginning of July or mid.......check the dates at bcabba.org for the BCs.
Linda

Advance in April Day 30: Upper Body! Spread Rows

2011-04-30T14:33:00.000-07:00

Advance in April Day 30: Upper Body! Spread Rows
Row in but begin to spread as you come inward, open wide then return.
For size use heavier band for 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter band for 1-2 sets of 20-100
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type

Advance in April Day 29: Abs! The Flag

2011-04-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

Advance in April Day 29: Abs! The Flag
This is probably the most advanced Ab exercise there is. Done by Bruce Lee, Sly Stallone and others its an impressive move but killer as well, a few of these reps and you can crunches. This is equal to lots of crunches! I like this one because it helps shape nice firm square ab muscles that show well even when you are not so lean but when down to stage ready leanness it makes for an intense washboard!
Try negatives first......then try reps.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 28: Arms! Prone Nose Crushers

2011-04-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

Advance in April Day 28: Arms! Prone Nose Crushers
Work your triceps without weight, using a wall or bench or treadmill, height according to your fitness ability with this exercise, start with a wall then work down to lower surfaces. Keep those elbows in tight, start with feet in moving out.
For size use heavier weight 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter weight 1-2 sets of 20-100
Work your triceps without weight, using a wall or bench or treadmill, height according to your fitness ability with this exercise, start with a wall then work down to lower surfaces. Keep those elbows in tight, feet in closer makes it easier, feet out making it harder......so you have a beginner to advanced exercise which you can progress various ways.
For size use heavier weight 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter weight 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 27: Delts! Shoulder Raise Combo

2011-04-27T12:08:00.000-07:00

Advance in April Day 27: Delts! Shoulder Raise Combo
Shape your shoulders for stage ready delts also great for the ladies just looking for some summer shoulders to show off in your tank tops!
For size use heavier wt for 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter wt for 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up, soft elbows but not bent.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Linda Cusmano Contest Prep update

2011-04-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

Advance in April - The Home Stretch: Are You Feeling the Burn Yet?

2011-04-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Starting on April 1, I have been posting one new training video per day. These videos are to help those who want to be figure competitors, or those who simply want to look and train like a figure competitor. If you can get up to the highest reps / weights that I suggest - you will probably be looking pretty darn good by then! If you missed the previous week's worth of exercises, here they are all at once!

We're starting with Day 20 and Day 26 is at the end! New exercise for the day is Legs!

Day 20: Legs

Scissor Slide

You can do this on tile or wood floors with paper towels under your runners or using carpet cleaner booties.
3-4 sets 20-100 using higher reps to cut and burn fat, great for thinning the thighs, working core and butt.

Day 21: Delts

Rotational Shoulder Press

Unlike the traditional overhead press you would go a bit lighter than the norm due to the rotation and direction switch, great for overall shoulder shaping and X frame building.
For size use heavier weight 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter weight 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.

Day 22: Arms

Reverse Tricep Kickback

Unlike the traditional kickbacks you would face palm upward, this gives a different feel and burn, helping to evenly build all 3 muscle heads to define them for a stage ready body!
For size use heavier weight 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter weight 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.

Day 23: Abs

Pike Slide

You can do this on a tile or wood surface using paper towels under your runners or using carpet cleaner booties!
This is an intermediate to advanced exercise which really hits that transverse ab but gets the whole ab wall firing! Tuck your head and try to kiss your knees!
3-4 sets 20-100
Enjoy this addition to your training and ab routine.

Day 24: Upper Body

Arm Pushup Progression

Start with your 1 arm pushups on a wall or high surface and as you get strong you can go on lower surfaces, get feet out farther and then go to the ground on the knees progressing from there.
Great for the fitness competition routine round!
2-3 sets of 5-15 are a great start.

Day 25: Glutes

Butt Blaster

Assume the froggy position, heels together, knee bent but wide and move from the hips not knees.......Squeeeeeze!! Ham glute tie benefits greatly here and you can work for size here with weights. A must for all the ladies!!
Do these for timed reps, high reps.

Day 26: Legs

Bandjax

Work your inner thighs with 2 bands. Tighten and tone intense!
Do these for timed reps, high reps.

Advance in April Day 23: Abs! Pike Slide

2011-04-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Advance in April Day 23: Abs! Pike Slide
You can do this on a tile or wood surface using paper towels under your runners or using carpet cleaner booties!
This is an intermediate to advanced exercise which really hits that transverse ab but gets the whole ab wall firing! Tuck your head and try to kiss your knees!
3-4 sets 20-100
Enjoy this addition to your training and ab routine.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 22: Arms! Reverse Tricep Kickback

2011-04-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 22: Arms! Reverse Tricep Kickback
Unlike the traditional kickbacks you would face palm upward, this gives a different feel and burn, helping to evenly build all 3 muscle heads to define them for a stage ready body!
For size use heavier weight 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter weight 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.up.

Advance in April Day 21: Delts! Rotational Shoulder Press

2011-04-22T07:23:00.000-07:00

There were some issues yesterday - so sorry! Here is Day 21!! 22 will come later!

Advance in April Day 21: Delts! Rotational Shoulder Press
Unlike the traditional overhead press you would go a bit lighter than the norm due to the rotation and direction switch, great for overall shoulder shaping and X frame building.
For size use heavier weight 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter weight 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 20: Legs! Scissor Slide

2011-04-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 20: Legs! Scissor Slide
You can do this on tile or wood floors with paper towels under your runners or using carpet cleaner booties.
3-4 sets 20-100 using higher reps to cut and burn fat, great for thinning the thighs, working core and butt.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

2011-04-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Starting on April 1, I have been posting one new training video per day. These videos are to help those who want to be figure competitors, or those who simply want to look like a figure competitor. If you can get up to the highest reps / weights that I suggest - you will probably be looking pretty darn good by then! If you missed the previous week's worth of exercises, here they are all at once!

We're starting with Day 13 and Day 19 is at the end! New exercise for the day is a Glutes!

Day 13: Glutes
Heel Prints

Target and shape your gluted with this butt exercise using weights for muscle and working up the reps to 500 per leg with weights up to 20 lb per ankle.
Can you say 'bowling ball butt?"
1 or more sets

Day 14: Legs
Slide Climbers

You can use paper towels under shoes on tile or wood surface.
Take the regular old Mountain Climbers to the next level and really get your thighs and glutes firing with all guns when you do this, adjusting speed for fat burning.
Do these for timed reps.
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.

Day 15: Delts
Band Curl to Overhead (Palm In)

Curl and raise overhead keeping palms facing you.

Day 16: Arms
Overhand Horizontal Chin

If you don't have a tread you can try getting under a chair and grabbing the seat or thinking of an alternate idea.
Feet can be closer for beginner and out on heels for advanced. These chin ups hit the forearms more.
Work up 1-4 sets of 8-100.
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.

Day 17: Abs
DB Reach Crunch

Work for high reps using heavy DBs to reach for toes, work for straight legs and toes down.

Day 18: Upper Body
Ball Backstroke

Open the chest, work the shoulders and core.
Work for full range, very light weight.
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up, soft elbows but not bent.
Arms are forward of shoulder, they should be able to meet at bottom not hit legs.

Day 19: Glutes
Single Leg Hamball Curl

Hamstring curls taken to the next level and done at home on a ball but to challenge yourself use only 1 leg.
3-4 sets 20-100 using higher reps to cut and burn fat, great for leaning and conditioning.

Advance in April Day 18: Upper Body! Ball Backstroke

2011-04-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 18: Upper Body! Ball Backstroke
Open the chest, work the shoulders and core. Work for full range, very light weight.
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up, soft elbows but not bent. Arms are forward of shoulder, they should be able to meet at bottom not hit legs.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 17: Abs! DB Reach Crunch

2011-04-17T17:27:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 17: Abs! DB Reach Crunch
Work for high reps using heavy DBs to reach for toes, work for straight legs and toes down.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 16: Arms! Overhand Horizontal Chins

2011-04-16T14:43:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 16: Arms! Overhand Horizontal Chins
If you don't have a tread you can try getting under a chair and grabbing the seat or thinking of an alternate idea.
Feet can be closer for beginner and out on heels for advanced. These chin ups hit the forearms more.
work up 1-4 sets of 8-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 15: Delts! Band Curl to Overhead

2011-04-16T04:19:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 15: Delts! Band Curl to Overhead
Curl and raise overhead keeping palms facing you.
Curl and raise overhead keeping palms facing you.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 14: Legs! Side Climbers

2011-04-14T17:23:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 14: Legs! Side Climbers
You can use paper towels under shoes on tile or wood surface.
Take the regular old Mountain Climbers to the next level and really get your thighs and glutes firing with all guns when you do this, adjusting speed for fat burning.
Do these for timed reps.
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 13: Glutes! Heel Prints

2011-04-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 13: Glutes! Heel Prints
Target and shape your glutes with this butt exercise using weights for muscle and working up the reps to 500 per leg with weights up to 20 lb per ankle. Can you say 'bowling ball butt?"
1 or more sets

Starting Contest Prep

2011-04-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Dieting
So I am starting my diet soon, this week, the progressive lean down which will progress as needed.
I am doing this on a lacto ovo pescatarian diet meaning I will eat very limited fish, some eggs/egg whites, and probably high protein dairy. I may have to use my juicer for some produce options as my appetite can vary so I have become creative on how to get my nutrients in.
I just need to diet comfortably and not aggravate any issue, I cannot suffer through the next 3 months in agony or pain with ibs so I look forward to going back to some old dieting ways but improved! I have new options now than I did years ago and now that I know what pisses my system off I can diet without constant headaches and intestinal distress.

Routine
Routine practice started with some fluffly walkthrough by pacing out my timing but no full on moves and yet I got sweat! I am ready to start doing the routine full on with no music to teach my body what I expect then start to push it to music once I can speed up the moves. I also like to do blocks with music so if I lose time I resume where I can getting a block in as I can. Memory is all part of it too but my routine is familiar, the moves are ones I am strong with........just have to polish transitions and maybe fill in some small small gaps.

I am so excited with my theme cuz its familiar, everyone will know it and remember the girl who did..XXXX...shhh not telling yet. Also I love the music and feel, I love the moves as they look strong and confident, my body knows them and does them well so I won't be stressing over new moves to nail or worried about familiarity as it will come fast- I usually try to push myself more with some new move that I kill myself over but I just want to do this smoothly, make an impression and get a strong win.
Creativity is strong here, it is a memorable theme and my moves will be memorable, a few of them always get oohs and aaahs. I brought back a few from recently and a few from the old days.

Workouts
Training will be kicked up now and here we go! I have all the pieces and now to put them all together. A blend of exercises, plyos, skills, drills, aerobic, anaerobic, balance, agility, speed, strength, flexibility!

Suit
My suit is under construction as is my routine costume with AMY at Suits By Amy posingwear.com. She is sponsoring me my bikini and I going to purchase my routine costume from her as well! She has the best stuff. NO details though, you have to wait and see!

Linda

Advance in April: Another Training Week of Competitor Exercises

2011-04-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

We're starting with Day 6 and Day 12 is at the end! New exercise for the day is a Upper Body!

Day 6: Upper Body!

Push-up Elbows

Change up and challenge your push-ups, add two elbow touches and see how much more intense a push-up can get just when you think you got them mastered!

Women competitors in fitness should do these for sure!

Beginner ladies can do these on their knees, no need to be excluded!

Day 7: Glutes

Single Leg Butt Lift

Starting in a bridge you raise from there, do not drop under bridge much, its more about up! Squeeeeeze!!

Ham glute tie benefits greatly here.
Do these for timed reps, high reps.

Day 8: Legs

Cross Country

These can be done on a tile or wood floor with paper towels under runners.

Burn more fat by speeding up, using this in between weight training exercises for more fat burning.
Do these for timed reps.

Day 9: Delts

Ball Side Delt

Lean the ball, hug with knees, engage core, and lift.
Higher weight and less reps for size, lighter weight higher reps for cut.

Day 10: Arms

Horizontal Chins Palms In (Chin Ups with Palms Facing Each Other)

If you don't have a tread you can try getting under a chair and grabbing the seat or thinking of an alternate idea.
Feet can be closer for beginner and out on heels for advanced.
work up 1-4 sets of 8-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.

Day 11: Abs

Dead Bug

This is just a cool ab exercises, challenging the whole abdominal wall!

NEW EXERCISE!

Day 12: Upper Body

Horizontal Wide Pull Ups (Treadmill Pull Ups)

Take this wide, a great way to get to pullups progressively.
1 or more sets of or more, go for higher reps to get stronger but take it to an advanced level once you can get higher reps, like vertical pullups even if spotted.

Advance in April Day 11: Abs! Dead Bug

2011-04-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 11: Abs! Dead Bug
This is just a cool ab exercises, challenging the whole abdominal wall!

Advance in April Day 10: Arms! Horizontal Chins Palms In

2011-04-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure

Advance in April Day 10: Arms! Horizontal Chins Palms In
If you don't have a tread you can try getting under a chair and grabbing the seat or thinking of an alternate idea.
Feet can be closer for beginner and out on heels for advanced.
work up 1-4 sets of 8-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

Advance in April Day 9: Delts! Ball Side Delt

2011-04-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 9: Delts! Ball Side Delt
Lean the ball, hug with knees, engage core, and lift.
Higher weight and less reps for size, lighter weight higher reps for cut.

Advance in April Day 8: Legs! Cross Country

2011-04-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 8: Legs! Cross Country
These can be done on a tile or wood floor with paper towels under runners. Burn more fat by speeding up, using this in between weight training exercises for more fat burning.
Do these for timed reps

Advance in April Day 7: Glutes! Single Leg Butt Lift

2011-04-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 7: Glutes! Single Leg Butt Lift
Starting in a bridge you raise from there, do not drop under bridge much, its more about up! Squeeeeeze!! Ham glute tie benefits greatly here.
Do these for timed reps, high reps.

Advance in April Day 6: Upper Body! Pushup Elbows

2011-04-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 6: Upper Body! Pushup Elbows
Change up and challenge your pushups, add 2 elbow touches and see how much more intense a push up can get just when you think you got them mastered!
Women competitors in fitness should do these for sure!

Advance in April: Train like a Competitor, Look like a Competitor!

2011-04-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Starting on April 1, I have been posting one new training video per day. These videos are to help those who want to be figure competitors, or those who just want to look like a figure competitor. If you can get up to the highest reps / weights that I suggest - you will probably be looking pretty darn good by then! If you missed the last week's worth of exercises, here they are all at once!

Day 5 is at the end! New exercise for the day is an AB exercise!

Day 1: Glutes

Butt Lifts

Starting in a bridge you raise from there, do not drop under bridge much, its more about up! Squeeeeeze!!

Ham glute tie benefits greatly here.

Do these for timed reps, high number of reps

Day 2: Legs

Skipjax

Tired of burpees, mountain climbers and the usual boring plyometrics? Check out this fun fat burner!

3-4 sets 20-100 jack outward with feet then come in with one crossing the other off the ground and over the grounded leg.

Day 3: Delts

Palm Up Delt Raise w/ Band

Unlike the traditional lateral or side delt raise, this one is done with the palms facing upward.
For size use heavier band for 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter band for 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up, soft elbows but not bent. Arms are forward of shoulder, they should be able to meet at bottom not hit legs.

Day 4: Arms

Horizontal Chins

Palms in toward you, legs out making it harder, in for easier and make sure to engage that core.
One or more sets of whatever you can get up to hundreds but once you are able to do hundreds try vertical!
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up, soft elbows but not bent. Arms are forward of shoulder, they should be able to meet at bottom not hit legs.

Day 5: Abs

Single Leg Ball Pull In

This is a great core and overall exercise. Work on the balance, expect to slide off and keep practicing until you get great control of it!
2-3 sets of 10-20 are a great start.

Advance in April Day 4: Arms! Horizontal Chins

2011-04-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure

Advance in April Day 4: Arms! Horizontal Chins
Palms in toward you, lets out making it harder, in for easier and make sure to engage that core.
1 or more sets of whatever you can get up to hundreds but once you are able to do hundreds try vertical!
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up, soft elbows but not bent. Arms are forward of shou...lder, they should be able to meet at bottom not hit legs.

Advance in April Day 3: Delts! Palm Up Delt Raise w/ Band

2011-04-03T16:44:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure

Advance in April Day 3: Delts! Palm Up Delt Raise w/ Band
Unlike the traditional lateral or side delt raise, this one is done with the palms facing upward.
For size use heavier band for 3-4 sets of 8-10
For cut use lighter band for 1-2 sets of 20-100
Try not to scrunch neck, keep chest up, soft elbows but not bent. Arms are forward of sho...ulder, they should be able to meet at bottom not hit legs.

Advance in April Day 2: Skipjax

2011-04-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure

Advance in April Day 2: Skipjax
Tired of burpees, mountain climbers and the usual boring plyometrics? Check out this fun fat burner!
3-4 sets 20-100 jack outward with feet then come in with one crossing the other off the ground and over the grounded leg.
Plop this exercise between weights to max out leaning and pump the body!

Welcome to my Advance in April month long series of competitor exercise videos!

2011-04-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Butt Lifts

Starting in a bridge you raise from there, do not drop under bridge much, its more about up! Squeeeeeze!! Ham glute tie benefits greatly here.
Do these for timed reps, high reps.
This is part of a 30 day, 30 exercises Competitor Prep series April 2011 for Fitness, Figure and Bikini competitors or the ladies who do not compete but wish to work toward a similar body type.

April is Almost Here!

2011-03-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting on my Fitness Figure Competition Facebook Page one exercise video per day to help build that competitor sleek body.

Who is this good for: If you are a competitor, you want to train toward a competition or you may just want to shape your body like a competitor even though you are not going to compete.

Uses: Other than sculpting and shaping the body into a bikini masterpiece these exercises are great for conditioning, fat loss, lean muscle tone and spot shaping.

Take competitor prep to the next level with some of these new and innovative training techniques which can be done at home.

30 exercises in 30 days

HAVE FUN learning how to work towards 1 arm pushups, pull-ups and chins!!

I will be targeting six muscle areas:

1. Glutes & ham glute tie

2. Legs (inner, outer, thigh leaning, ham smoothing for cellulite decrease)

3. Delts, focused side delts for X frame

4. Arms

5. Abs

6. Upper Body (bringing out that X frame)

I hope you are able to join us! One tie per week we will post all 7 exercise videos for that week so you can follow along, but make sure to 'like' my competition Facebook page, Fitness Figure, for the videos daily!

2011-03-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Click this link and 'like' my fitness figure page to follow along!

Starting in April I will be featuring a new training exercise every day to get you ready for a competition. Follow along via Facebook & Twitter (@FitnessFigure) to get your body ready to compete!

Training for a Figure Body

2011-03-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Regular Girl Dreaming of achieving that Figure Competitor Body

Linda Cusmano Competition Vid Blog 3.24.11

2011-03-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Boxing Exercises: Jab, Punch & Kick Your Way to a Leaner Body

2011-03-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Boxing Exercises - Jab & Punch Your Way To A Leaner Body

Did you ever realize how winded you can get with shadow boxing. Of course if you have a heavy bag you can boost that by a few notches but even just shadow boxing can give you an excellent all body workout. Buy yourself a skipping rope which will run you under 10 dollars. Use this for a warm up trying to begin with non stop skipping for five minutes to start, working up to 15 minutes within 4 weeks. There are several recipes toward making your own heavy bag which can be found on the internet if you wanted to prepare things so that you have a bag ready for when you are ready to advance in difficulty. There are also great deals on heavy bags all the time from those who just don’t use theirs or who have to move and need the room. I would suggest craigslist as a place to start.

If you have joints which do not appreciate the impact of skipping, try doing it on a track surface or soccer field which will soften the impact. I also suggest you do not jolt or jerk the joints during your punches, keep them controlled and never lock out the joints.

For your shadow boxing you will focus on combining 5 basic movements on the left and right side. Make sure to alternate sides frequently to keep the training balanced.

Jab
Cross
Punch
Uppercut
Bodyshot

A jab is a short fast compact hit compared to a punch which comes from the power of full extension. Jabs are used to confuse and distract so normally you would precede any punches with some jabs, alternating left and right. The arm never really fully extends on a jab, it’s like a fast hit with a quick pull back.

A punch is thrown from the core with body coming forward and driving hips. Stance will always be with one leg forward and one back, in a comfortable lunge being aware to switch them and keep moving at all times. Knees should always be softly bent allowing you to swivel and duck.

A cross is thrown wide from the side with elbow out. During all punches the other hand is up protecting the face and between all punches you are protecting the face, elbow in and head tucked like a turtle. Use your obliques when you throw your crosses.

Upper cuts come from the legs and squat with fist driving up for the chin or gut. Shoulders will bob up and down on these again working the core and also working middle back.

Body shots are lower shot variations of the above, which were all head shots. With body shots you want to drive with the lats. Breathing properly through this training is essential. Drive the bodyshots as if your fist were to go straight through the person.

Now try combining these with one of each or picking four and trying one of each per side, two of each per side, and other combos. I would repeat combos at least five times each per side consecutively. You should be surprised how quickly time flies when doing these combos. Before you know it you have completed 20 mins and have a tshirt soaked with sweat.

Make sure to stretch after your session and hydrate appropriately.

The Spring Model Body | FitBeautiful! Magazine - The Source For Fitness & Beauty

2011-03-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

The Spring Model Body | FitBeautiful! Magazine - The Source For Fitness & Beauty

Check out my article in Fitbeautiful! online Magazine. Learn how to prepare for a photo shoot body.

Linda Cusmano's Competition Prep update 3/15/11

2011-03-15T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
I am prepping for a contest mid July so I figured it is time to get the personal vid blogs in!
I can let you know how prep is going along the way with some clips and pics!
Thanks for all the support!!!
Feels like coming out of hibernation after taking the year off, a bumpy year at that.
I am loving getting leaner and seeing muscle mass, tone, firmer curves!
The food part is subtle but my hardest part is cutting down the pepsi........this week, I fell to the obsession......its a special week so I can cheat a bit but I got my training in~

Today I did 1900 reps. The head judge said I need to tone down my legs so that works well with me not being able to lift heavy with squats or deads anyway so I am testing my muscular endurance with high reps today, 100 reps for 19 exercises hitting each muscle group at least twice, breaking legs down further.......only took me an hour and feels great to feel the muscle and the work as I type right now!! I ended with cardio and am keeping up 20-30 mins 3-5 times per week with intense spurts throughout.
Its also routine time.....I hope to have it all learned by end of month!

Linda

Survivor Workout - Strength Training For Speed & Agility

2011-03-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Survivor Workout - Strength Training For Speed & Agility

There won't be tribal buffs nor voting but you will be put through a sweat! This is a strengthening program which targets muscular endurance, agility, speed and coordination. The balance of these training modules will enhance toning and fitness overall.

Similar to the Survivor challenges you will go through different stations and do so with form being the first priority then speed. Being the fastest in this workout does not win you any prizes but could cause you injury so I cannot stress enough how important it is that form is put before speed. My suggestion is to do this in a park which has a child section of jungle gym.

Stations may include but are not limited to: monkey bars, ladder handles to travel by hands and upper body strength, balance beams, child swings, zip line, slides, park benches, chains, and hurdles.

These are some of the things you may see at playgrounds and they can vary in shape or size but be creative!

Here is your obstacle course, now some ideas on how to use it. You can order them in any way you wish and add things such as squat leaps, tuck jumps, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, burpees, crunches and pushups in between each stations or wherever you wish to place them. Do these for a certain number of reps or seconds. Go through the stations as fast as you can with good form. Sprints and shuttle runs are a nice variation to include.

Monkey bars can be used in three stages depending on your fitness level. You can go across once for beginners, go across then turn around and return for intermediates or advanced and go across then back along the monkey bars backwards. You can also use these and single bars for chin ups and pull-ups. Sometimes you don't find monkey bars but do have the hanging handles which need a bit more coordination.

Balance beams which are only ½ foot or so off the sand are another option you can find at some parks which are great for running across forward, backward and shuffling across sideways. Another use would be to hold the beam with two hands and hop over and back with both feet. You can use the beams as hurdles for parks without hurdle stations.

Child swings are great to hop through and back while holding the chains, keeping both feet working together in sync. Swings make lunges harder by keeping the front foot on a swing. Zip lines are not at all parks but use it if you have it, great for a quick break then as you get off you move on to the next station. An ab station after a zip line is a nice blend.

Try getting up the slide from the bottom, excellent thigh and upper body work as you hold the sides with hands and feet.

Use park benches for step ups, dips, push ups and two foot leaps onto the bench in repetition. Chains which hang lateral are good for lateral travel across and those which hang vertical are good to use for upper body climbing.

Remember to warm up and cool down at the end with stretching of the muscle groups worked. 30-45 minutes of this workout and you will be a Survivor too!

Basic Fitness Equipment to Build Muscle & Increase Strength

2011-03-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Basic Fitness Equipment To Build Muscle & Increase Strength

There are several workout equipment pieces that everyone should keep on hand at home. These are all pieces which can be traveled quite easily with convenience. No matter your fitness level, no matter how light or easy your training commitment is everyone needs to have a few minimal items in order to maintain an active lifestyle toward optimal health. No need to break the bank either because these workout equipment pieces come with very reasonable price tags with ease in availability.

My first choice is the body ball. You may think weights would have been first but you can do so much more on a body ball just with body weight to get you started and keep you going so because of this I feel it nicely falls into first choice. Body balls can also allow you to progress your exercises from a beginner level to advanced level training. For example you can use a body ball to help you learn to do pushups by lying over the ball and keeping it at your midriff making the pushups much easier. As you accomplish this over a few weeks until it is easy you can then slowly advance the ball slowly over time toward you feet until you end up doing pushups with feet on the ball which is an advance exercise.

Body balls can also help you accomplish a good clean squat making it easier for you to lower while keeping knees from falling inwards. You can keep feet slightly forward to ensure the knees are always over the ankles and not creeping past the toes. Combined with resistance pieces such as bands, dumbbells, water bottles, and medicine balls you can really push your training to new levels and all done at the convenience of your home or on a warm day you can take it to the beach or park. Traveling this stuff with you to a track or area outdoors allows the option for cardio intervals which would really maximize your session.

Exercise bands fall into second place. They are lighter to travel than dumbbells yet still add excellent resistance to your workout. They also offer much more variety than the dumbbells for exercise choices. I purchased the Bodylastics set for a client and for myself at Christmas time and it is amazing how much use this system gets from myself, my family and my clients. They come with bands which can be attached to handles or ankle straps and you can use combinations of the bands to increase the weight resistance. The set comes in a convenient sac which velcros closed and has a door attachment so that your bands can be anchored enabling you to do exercises such as lying leg curls, multi hip extensions, lat pull, rows, vertical pressing and tricep pushdowns. The package is affordable and shipping is not too bad if you live in the US. I am in Canada but even so it was still worth it in shipping costs.

Dumbbells and a bench are the final pieces on the list. You can use the body ball as a bench in many ways but once you want to get heavier you need to upgrade to heavier dumbbells and an incline/decline/flat bench. These benches are so useful and are also affordable. An upgrade from here would include a small squat rack and Olympic set, which works will all the equipment you have accumulated; of course you want to ensure there is a pullup bar on this rack too!

Now we are talking some serious weight training. If you were to being at the top and over a year or two work your way down this list while training the whole time at home you would have progressed nicely into an advanced fitness level and be very happy with the results, ready to go beyond them!

Belly Dancing: Fun Exercise to Burn Calories & Get in Shape

2011-03-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Belly Dancing - Fun Exercises To Burn Calories & Get in Shape

Are you getting bored of your current workout routine? Is it still too cold outside to play outdoor sports or change up your cardio routines? Consider an indoor activity that'll get your body shaking!

Over the past few years belly dancing has grown in interest with lessons becoming more readily available. In gaining popularity, like pole dancing, it has become an exercise class being introduced into the gyms. A fun form of exercise and sensuous art, there are many muscle groups triggered when doing the belly dance movements in repetition. Core is one of the areas which are stimulated by belly dance exercise. You can attain some nice vertical lines down the belly by incorporating this exercise into your regular workout program. Eliminate boredom by using this class to shock your system and stimulate more results especially if you are stuck in a rut and not seeing changes to your body but training hard. The body tends to respond best when you change things up every so often forcing it to adjust in turn showing fat loss, strength and other positive body changes.

The gyrating movements enhance partial squat positions; firm, core controlled rotations and extended arms also moving in a very controlled manner. In order to accomplish such fluidity and smooth transitions you must engage many muscles which include the ‘helper’ muscles not just those directly related to the movement.

Balance and coordination are also enhanced by belly dancing. The joints and connective tissue benefit greatly and in turn become much stronger and tolerant. This all equals slowing of aging. Typical issues such as the onset of various arthritis conditions or just the simple bad knee, back or hips will be prevented by doing some activity such as this.

Practice variations starting with a simple clockwise then counter clockwise hip revolution. Make sure your knees are slightly bent with knees NOT falling inward. Keep head, shoulders and chest up and use a mirror to work on making it look pretty! Control your timing with music to ensure you do not speed through the movements. Belly dance skills are done with upmost control and form which means you practice a lot and do not expect to get it right away unless you are well coordinated already but know that the challenge of each movement and the hours you put in for practice will all equal fat loss and conditioning results positively.

Once you can work with the hips more fluently then you can experiment with some arm and hand movements to enhance the workout. This will add more calories burned to your total and work with shaping and toning the arms, shoulders, back and chest.

Progress the time spent on the activity so that you are doing what you can tolerate safely but are adding time each sessions even if just a minute, so that you can comfortable do 45 minutes to an hour. The next progression after that would be to up the intensity and maybe add a few new movements with kicks or squat motions mixed in.

Fancy body waves can be so much fun to learn, for the 80s babies it can also add some flashbacks!!! Make sure to take a good fun attitude to this class because it will tickle your tummy with giggles as you and the other classmates experience some good clean fun.

Free Custom Workouts & Exercises

2011-02-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Custom Workouts & Exercises - 3 Day Split Training Routines

Because I'm in a great mood today, here is a one month workout & exercise program comprised of four weekly three-day split routines which you can try out no matter what your fitness level. Two-three sets of 10-15 for beginners, three-four sets of 10-20 for intermediate or maintenance. Choose weight according to your sets and reps with higher weight at lower reps and lower weight at the higher reps. Those seeking growth will want to stay with the lower reps and higher weight meanwhile those seeking fat loss or muscular endurance and toning would go for a higher rep and lighter weight.

Keep your movements moderate in speed and well controlled. You can take a day off between each day and take your weekend off if you like.

Day Split Workout Routines - Week #1 (Upper/Lower/Both)

Day 1 (Upper)	Day 2 (Lower)	Day 3 (Upper/Lower)
Pushups	Squats	Pullups
Mid Back Row	Hamstring Curls	Lunges
Shoulder Press	Calve Raises	Pec Dec
Bicep Curls	Inner thighs	Hamstring curls
Tricep Dips	Outer thighs	Front Shoulder Raises
Hyperextensions	Hip Extensions	Calve raises
Wrist curls	Tib Pulls	V sits
Oblique Crunches	Ab Crunches	Hanging Oblique Raises

3 Day Split Workout Routines - Week #2
(Three muscles split)

Day 1 (Back/Biceps/Abs)	Day 2 (Chest/Triceps/Glutes)	Day 3 (Legs/Shoulders/Obliques)
Deadlift	Chest Press	Squats
Chins	Tricep Dips	Legs Curls
T Bar Rows	Pullover	Calve Raises
Bar curls	Kickbacks	Military Press
Alternating Dumbbell	Dumbbell Fly	Side Delt Raises
Curls	Cable Tricep Pushdowns	Rear Delt Raises
Crunches	Hip Extension	Side Crunch
Leg Raises	Multi Hip Heal Push	Hanging Obliques

3 Day Split Workout Routines - Week #3
(Front/Back/Both)

Day 1 (Front)	Day 2 (Back)	Day 3 (All Body)
Chest Press	Deadlift	Squats
Crunches	Mid Back Row	Pec Flys
Front Delt Raises	Tricep Dips	Barbell Bent Rows
Leg Extensions	Rear Fly	Tricep Dips
Bar Curls	Hamstring Curls	Seated Dumbbell Curls
Tib Pulls	Calve Raises	Shoulder Press
Wrist curls	Hip Extensions	Crunches

3 Day Split Workout Routines - Week #4 (Machines/Freeweights/Bodyweight)

Day 1 (Machines)	Day 2 (Freeweights)	Day 3 (Bodyweight)
Chest Press	Squats	Pullups
Shoulder Press	DB Chest Press	Dips
Mid Back Row	Deadlifts	Lunges
Leg Extension	Front Bar Raises	Crunches
Leg Curls	Good Mornings	Tricep Dips
Seated Calves	DB Standing Calves	Chins
Cable Pushdowns	Raises	Side Crunches
Cable Curls	Tricep Kickbacks
	DB Curls

Make sure you stretch the muscle used in between sets. Additionally I would suggest a minimum of 5-10 mins doing some type of warm up such as riding the stationary bike or jogging on the treadmill to get the blood flowing which prepare the body for the exercise to come. Once you have completed your workout you should stretch or cool down on the bike at a very very low pace.

Keep track of your daily training by logging what is done, sets, reps, weight used, cardio intensity and so on. This will show you improvements as they occur and will keep you accountable to complete each training day without missing.

Lastly I would suggest a pre-workout protein shake (protein only) and a protein carb combo shake or meal post workout to ensure proper fuel and energy stores are replenished. This will not hinder fat loss if you use the right foods!!

*Tib pulls - using cable or band, hook the band or cable to your toes, seated facing the weight stack or area the band is secured. Pull toes toward you.

*Good mornings – bar on shoulder, on rear delts, bend forward at waist, knees soft but not bent, work toward bending to 90 degrees.

Juice Diets - Juicing the Right Way for Weight Loss

2011-02-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

With a huge rise in health conscious diet choices such as raw food diets, vegan and organics; juice diets have become an art with juicing machines ranging up to 700 dollars per unit. Wheat grass juicing uses a specialty juicer which has started popularity in slow juicing in order to not destroy the properties of the product. Centrifugal juicers are more of the mainstream in cost and popularity but are still said to be less favorable than wheat grass style juicing.

I have been using juicing options in my clients’ diets including competitors in Fitness and Figure. One of my Figure clients had developed a preference in raw foods and juicing, opting for vegan choices save maybe some goat cheese and eggs and had requested I focus her diets on seeds, produce and lower protein intakes.

Contrary to beliefs that only higher protein intakes will produce lean muscle gains, she was a multiple first time winner in her Figure divisions as an over 40 competitor competing with women half her age. Her muscle is dense and well formed showing a 1st place Figure physique. What really stands out to me is how she never seems to age, looking much younger than she actually is, and she attributes this to her diet.

If you are not on a raw diet you can then utilize whatever bulk is left and use them in muffins and various other meals. On a raw diet plan you can make use of certain fruit and veggie bulk left from juicing in order to get some of the fiber in by way of raw soup blends. I always lean toward more veggies in the day than fruits and that would go for the juicers as well.

Some of the great choices for juicing options would be:

Parsley
Kale
Carrots
Beets
Bananas
Tomato
Pineapple
Ginger
Blueberries
Grapefruit
Wheatgrass

Additionally some other popular choices are oranges, apples, romaine lettuce, celery, coconut, strawberries and pomegranate.

Parsley has a slight diuretic effect but if you add some dandelion leaves you increase it. Fruits are always a great choice for added natural sweetness, citrus fruits being the flavor du jour for those seeking a hint of tart.

Juicing should be done right before you drink it because the juice looses its nutrients as time goes by especially when it is not kept cold. If you must pre juice then do keep it very cold and sealed well.

Fresh organics are the best route to take with juicing especially because you can use the skins which retain many precious vitamins, mineral and phytochemicals yet using non organics mean you must omit the skins which are loaded with pesticides.

I would not suggest juicing all your meals unless you are on a fast or cleanse suggested by religion or your doctor. Juicing is a great substitute for your mid morning and mid day snacks between your main meals especially for those seeking fat loss.

An addition to your juicing for those seeking higher protein in a vegan source would be hemp protein. A meal in a glass made to blast your body with efficiency.

Linda Cusmano Fitness

Eating habits of society

Build a thinner waist.....by working lats!

Making do

Moving on into 2012, sticking with fitness

Juicing for health and other updates!

Time to click 'Refresh'!

Wow, Sept already???

Into the OFF Season with Legare Wear

Back to lyyyyyfe, back to re-al-ity

Nationals 'the experience'

Nationals here in Saskatchatoon.......

Off to Nationals!

Linda on the Fanny Keifer Show

Whirlwind Week

No Power??? Boot Camp at home then......

Join me today in my Arm workout

What a Weekend!

Competition 2 Weeks AWAY!

Beautiful Day for a Bike Ride in BC

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, to CPR we go......

Flat Tummies and Smooth Skin

Friday Photo Shoot, Broad Swords and more!

And the Beat Goes On...........

Photo Shoot Weekend

Happy Italian Day!

Hot Rods!

Summer hits Vancouver, just before the Stanley Cup expected to be won!!!

7 weeks and counting! Pre contest success!

Lower Body Inch Loss

A couple months to go......eat clean, train hard!

Advance in April Day 30: Upper Body! Spread Rows

Advance in April Day 29: Abs! The Flag

Advance in April Day 28: Arms! Prone Nose Crushers

Advance in April Day 27: Delts! Shoulder Raise Combo

Linda Cusmano Contest Prep update

Advance in April - The Home Stretch: Are You Feeling the Burn Yet?

Advance in April Day 23: Abs! Pike Slide

Advance in April Day 22: Arms! Reverse Tricep Kickback

Advance in April Day 21: Delts! Rotational Shoulder Press

Advance in April Day 20: Legs! Scissor Slide

Advance in April Day 18: Upper Body! Ball Backstroke

Advance in April Day 17: Abs! DB Reach Crunch

Advance in April Day 16: Arms! Overhand Horizontal Chins

Advance in April Day 15: Delts! Band Curl to Overhead

Advance in April Day 14: Legs! Side Climbers

Advance in April Day 13: Glutes! Heel Prints

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure Advance in April Day 13: Glutes! Heel PrintsTarget and shape your glutes with this butt exercise using weights for muscle and working up the reps to 500 per leg with weights up to 20 lb per ankle. Can you say 'bowling ball butt?"1 or more sets

Starting Contest Prep

Advance in April: Another Training Week of Competitor Exercises

Advance in April Day 11: Abs! Dead Bug

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure Advance in April Day 11: Abs! Dead BugThis is just a cool ab exercises, challenging the whole abdominal wall!

Advance in April Day 10: Arms! Horizontal Chins Palms In

Advance in April Day 9: Delts! Ball Side Delt

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure Advance in April Day 9: Delts! Ball Side DeltLean the ball, hug with knees, engage core, and lift.Higher weight and less reps for size, lighter weight higher reps for cut.

Advance in April Day 8: Legs! Cross Country

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure Advance in April Day 8: Legs! Cross CountryThese can be done on a tile or wood floor with paper towels under runners. Burn more fat by speeding up, using this in between weight training exercises for more fat burning.Do these for timed reps

Advance in April Day 7: Glutes! Single Leg Butt Lift

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure Advance in April Day 7: Glutes! Single Leg Butt LiftStarting in a bridge you raise from there, do not drop under bridge much, its more about up! Squeeeeeze!! Ham glute tie benefits greatly here.Do these for timed reps, high reps.

Advance in April Day 6: Upper Body! Pushup Elbows

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure Advance in April Day 6: Upper Body! Pushup ElbowsChange up and challenge your pushups, add 2 elbow touches and see how much more intense a push up can get just when you think you got them mastered!Women competitors in fitness should do these for sure!

Advance in April: Train like a Competitor, Look like a Competitor!

Advance in April Day 4: Arms! Horizontal Chins

Advance in April Day 3: Delts! Palm Up Delt Raise w/ Band

Advance in April Day 2: Skipjax

Welcome to my Advance in April month long series of competitor exercise videos!

April is Almost Here!

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure Click this link and 'like' my fitness figure page to follow along!

Starting in April I will be featuring a new training exercise every day to get you ready for a competition. Follow along via Facebook & Twitter (@FitnessFigure) to get your body ready to compete!

Training for a Figure Body

Linda Cusmano Competition Vid Blog 3.24.11

Boxing Exercises: Jab, Punch & Kick Your Way to a Leaner Body

The Spring Model Body | FitBeautiful! Magazine - The Source For Fitness & Beauty

Linda Cusmano's Competition Prep update 3/15/11

Survivor Workout - Strength Training For Speed & Agility

Basic Fitness Equipment to Build Muscle & Increase Strength

Belly Dancing: Fun Exercise to Burn Calories & Get in Shape

Free Custom Workouts & Exercises

Juice Diets - Juicing the Right Way for Weight Loss

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 13: Glutes! Heel Prints
Target and shape your glutes with this butt exercise using weights for muscle and working up the reps to 500 per leg with weights up to 20 lb per ankle. Can you say 'bowling ball butt?"
1 or more sets

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 11: Abs! Dead Bug
This is just a cool ab exercises, challenging the whole abdominal wall!

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 9: Delts! Ball Side Delt
Lean the ball, hug with knees, engage core, and lift.
Higher weight and less reps for size, lighter weight higher reps for cut.

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 8: Legs! Cross Country
These can be done on a tile or wood floor with paper towels under runners. Burn more fat by speeding up, using this in between weight training exercises for more fat burning.
Do these for timed reps

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 7: Glutes! Single Leg Butt Lift
Starting in a bridge you raise from there, do not drop under bridge much, its more about up! Squeeeeeze!! Ham glute tie benefits greatly here.
Do these for timed reps, high reps.

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Advance in April Day 6: Upper Body! Pushup Elbows
Change up and challenge your pushups, add 2 elbow touches and see how much more intense a push up can get just when you think you got them mastered!
Women competitors in fitness should do these for sure!

Linda Cusmano Fitness Figure
Click this link and 'like' my fitness figure page to follow along!