Weight Lifting Update

So I did my usual and forgot that I was updating this with weight lifting information. Aw well.

I'm doing well. I had a brief time (during my birthday month) where I stopped eating well and working out, but I'm back on track now. Cheers!

BMI: 20.8
Body Fat: 21%

Happy days. My goals are:

BMI: 19.4
Body Fat: 20%

So I don't have that far to go!
______

I'm loving the new book, really helps me plan some fun workouts. I don't get bored doing them. B (boyfriend) decided to work out as well and has been challenging me to lift with heavier weights. I was totally underestimating myself as far as pounds-I-can-lift goes. Today I did one awesome work out with a barbell (45 lbs) lifted over my shoulders stepping one leg onto a fairly high bench, balancing, then stepping down. I felt like a badass!

If you are new to weight lifting, definitely tone it down a bit on the weights. I started with no weights, moved up to 3 lbs and still have to do light weight on some exercises. You don't want to hurt yourself or overextend something.

Speaking of injuries, just the other day I was doing box jumps. It was my first day at the gym with new shoes. I didn't consider that I may need to jump slightly differently with my new shoes (which are fatter and longer then my previous shoes). I caught the edge of the shoes when I jumped and nearly fell. I did catch myself, but I sure hurt my ankle! It's better now, but injuries happen to beginner, intermediate and advanced lifters. So, choose your exercises carefully, make sure you reference the exercise with a trainer or a how to video/book and make sure you are completing the exercise in good form.

New Rules of Lifting-Supercharged...for me!

So I am very excited today. I have been working with a personal trainer for almost three months. The trainer has really helped me meet a lot of my fitness goals. Check out Leah's program here: http://www.facebook.com/bephyt?fref=ts.

I am excited about that, but also what i purchased today. My time with my personal trainer will end this month, so I need to learn more about putting together good programs for myself. I purchased this book: http://www.thenewrulesoflifting.com/nrol-supercharged  to help me learn more about lifting. I really feel that lifting versus total cardio is the way to go. While I may be able to burn 300-500 calories on the treadmill or elliptical, the calories burned during strength training are also building more muscle. This leads to a more toned body (Sofia, 2011). Strength training burns calories for more time throughout the day versus just during the exercise (Plosser, 2012). You need to balance cardio and strength training to blast away the fat on top of the muscles you are building!


I am super excited to start the lifting programs outlined in the book. I am going to update my process here!

Starting measurements:
Body Fat: 23%
BMI: 21.1

References:

Sofia, V. (2001). Should I be doing cardio or lifting weights? http://life.gaiam.com/article/should-i-be-doing-cardio-or-lifting-weights.

Plosser, L. (2012). Cardio vs Strength Training workouts. http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/cardio-vs-strength-training-workouts

Here we go again (the beginning of a new series)

My first blog post of the new year, congrats to me. Happy New Year to the general internet public. Hope it's going well so far. My new blog goal for the next few months is to inform everyone of my thoughts on the purpose of higher education. If you read the cute little "about me" post somewhere to the right side of your screen, you will see that I am currently studying higher education. I am also very interested in education. Therefore, my interest in the purpose of this institution. Spurred by a short writing assignment in my new class (The History and Philosophy of Higher Education through the graduate program at Montana State University). So, I want to explore this topic in a short series over the next few months.

My questions/thoughts revolve around:

• What is my personal philosophy or purpose of higher education?
• What's the who, when, why and where of higher education in the U.S
• Are there multiple purposes of higher education (yes), if so, what are they? Who do these purposes actually serve?
• Has the purpose changed over time? What was the purpose when higher education institutions were first formed versus now?

I am sure I will think of more in the future. For now, what are your thoughts? What is the purpose of higher education in the U.S? If you truly begin to consider this question, you will see that the answer may be more complicated than one would first think!

Cheers and see you soon,

L

New Recipe: Corn Flake Almond Crusted Salmon

This past summer B and I went to Canada with my folks. We had an amazing time visiting and fishing for salmon and halibut. We came home with an abundance of fish (including three halibut caught by yours truly and a 100lb halibut that B caught!). 

My 3 halibut. Much smaller than B's, but still pretty great

This was our second trip to Canada, and, as you can imagine, I am always on the lookout for new recipes!

The recipe below is a compilation of lots of different recipes I found using Pinterest and random cooking sites. Most of the original ideas came from this outstanding Taste of Home recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Company-Ready-Crusted-Salmon


This was a hit last night at the dinner table. It's gluten free and can be dairy free (as always, just watch the ingredients-especially on the corn flakes and mustard).

Ingredients:

• 1 fillet salmon (1 1/2 lbs) 

• 3 tablespoons honey

• 3 tablespoons dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1/4 cup cornflakes

• 1/4 cup crushed/chopped almonds (you could also add pecans to this. I am allergic so I did not)

• Cooking oil (I used coconut oil)

Preheat oven to 450.Combine honey and mustard and brush over salmon. Place the cornflakes almonds in a small food processor; cover and process until ground. Press onto salmon.Oil baking dish with cooking oil (I just rubbed the coconut oil onto the dish and then left a couple very small pats of the oil around the dish). Place fish in baking dish.Bake, uncovered, at 450° for 18-22 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

I served with brown rice and green beans. It was excellent!

I wanted to share. Any other great fish recipes out there? Post links in comments! Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Catch ya later!

Mother Teresa said that “we shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” I completely agree with that statement. Just simply smiling makes me feel good. I also can’t help but feel a little happier whenever I see someone else smiling.

However, once place I do not believe smiley faces belong is in professional documents or emails. While some professional people apparently believe that a smiley face emoticon can help ‘make your email more personable’ or ‘bring some fun into a paper,” this is just not true. While the following emoticons are quite fun, I will keep them:

1.       To myself, and

2.       In personal communications and not professional ones.  

_________________________________________________________________________

Smiley		Smiley with a nose
:)	Basic smiley	:-)
;)	Winking smiley	;-)
:(	Unhappy smiley	:-(
:|	Apathetic smiley	:-|
:-	Neutral smiley. The user made an ambiguous comment.	:-
:D	Laughing smiley	:-D
:*	Kissing smiley	:-*
:X	Smiley keeping quiet	:-X
:P	Talkative smiley (or smiley sticking its tongue out)	:-P
:o)	Clown smiley	:o)
:O)	Very funny smiley	:O)
;(	Sad smiley	;-(
:o	Surprised smiley	:-o
:O	Very surprised smiley	:-O
O:)	Angel smiley	O:-)
>:>	Devil smiley	>:->
>:)	Impish smiley	>:-)
:->	Sarcastic smiley	:->
8)	Smiley on vacation/holiday (or with glasses)	8-)
:\	Unsure smiley	:-\
:/	Innocent smiley	:-/
=|:)	Abraham Lincoln smiley	=|:-)
<:o}	Smiley for, oh, let's say Merlin the Magician	<:-o}
:&	Spaghetti-eating smiley	:-&

Smileys copied from http://en.kioskea.net/contents/www/smiley.php3

______________________________________________________________________________

My personal favorites are the Abe Lincoln smiley and the spaghetti eating smiley.

What are your thoughts on smiley faces in professional papers or emails? Know any other interested smiley faces?

Comment below!

Catch ya later!

Lins

Integrity. Really?

I recently started a Masters program at Montana State University. As a new graduate student, I attended the orientation program in hopes of learning more about ‘what it means to be a graduate student.’ The orientation program did provide some insights into the life of a graduate (we did get to watch the Grad Student Rap, which was just entertaining!) One portion of the orientation was a presentation by a group of current grad students on academic integrity. Apparently it’s important…and now, very newsworthy.

Check out the Harvard cheating scandal that reminded me of the orientation presentation here. Students saying that they did not cheat, but collaborated on a take home test as was expected by either their professor or their T.A. Now, I have not taken the government course nor do I know any of the students, but it seems that most of the undergraduates are blaming poor course design and bad teaching as the reason they cheated. Or, excuse me, the reason they misunderstood the directions on taking the test. Several students who were interviewed advised that they discussed test questions with other students, even though they understood that was prohibited. The test even stated that working with others was not acceptable. Apparently in the past students have gotten away with it, so why not make it a tradition and continue?

In my opinion, a test is a test. In elementary school, Junior high and High School we didn’t get to discuss test answers with others (unless specifically directed to do so). Where did these individuals learn that this was okay? Many of the students were quoted stating they would lose their jobs or academic standing if the professor continued to charge them with cheating. As someone who has worked in an organizational setting, I say GOOD FOR THE PROFESSOR.

I have taken many classes where I didn’t quite understand the expectations of me as a student. When that occurred I either used the syllabus of the course to understand more effectively, or I spoke with the professor. I certainly did not take “it’s been done that way before” as my guide to the class. I also did not work with others unless told that I could. Especially if the assignment had the word “TEST.” Students also say that the professor told them that the test was “open note, open book, open internet.” They questioned why they could use online resources but not each other. They missed the point here. Using online resources shows that you are able to use those resources to find information, which is a very valuable tool. Using someone else in your class shows that you have never learned how to find information on your own. If I was interviewing a recent college graduate I would love to hear that your government professor did not teach you anything, but for the tests you were able to find the formation and got a great grade in the class. I don’t want to hear you complain about the professor and that you got the information from someone else.

I hope the students who didn’t actually cheat can prove that they were innocent. I also hope Harvard pursues those who did share answers. Perhaps this will teach them about integrity. Perhaps this will also teach them to ask clarifying questions when they are confused on simple instruction.

Think my stance is too harsh? Tell me about it in the comments below!

Uh oh, the Kindle's on Fire...

My thoughts Re: Kindle Fire

So I love my Kindle. As an avid reader, I used to spend inordinate amounts of money on books. I read quickly, so most of my purchases were once hardcover, on pre-order. The Kindle saves me a lot of money, time and space. I still purchase some books due to sentimental value or completion of a set, but most of my reading is done electronically. I have had two Kindles and hope to purchase a new one soon (Kindle # 2, 2nd gen, is cracking from use, lol!)

The new Kindle Fire, a full color, 7”, touch Kindle with Wi-Fi only, will be released on November 15^th.  I could read my books, watch movies, use apps, play games and listen to music. It’s linked to Amazon’s Cloud web browser (interesting that I just learned all about that recently…). Check your email, read your documents, store life on the Amazonian cloud... It all sounds pretty cool.

Pros:

Amazon Cloud = pretty darn great.

From the specs the battery life sounds nifty. Eight hours of continuous reading, 7/5 hours of video with the wireless off.

There’s a touch screen.

It’s in color. Whoa.

Better web browsing-cloud accelerated

As far as a tablet goes (it’s almost a tablet anyway) it’s pretty cheap. $199. That means people can try and afford something with this technology without break the bank. It’s got some great applications and content that will really be useful to those who can’t buy an IPAD.

Reasons I haven’t pre-ordered the monster now:

You can only use Amazon created content. Not too much of an issue considering I already subscribe to Amazon Prime (cheap shipping, free instant streaming, pretty cheap rentals). I have purchased all but one of my Kindle books from Amazon. However, if I used this as a music device I am unsure how I would make my music that I already own work here.

It’s only Wi-Fi. Nuff said.

I keep reading things about ads on the $199 version, which makes me nervous

It’s V-1. The first version of the regular Kindle was neat, not great. They just kept getting better. I need to see one to check if it’s a great update to a regular Kindle, or if it’s a less than awesome V-1 of an Amazon tablet.

Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Color-Multi-touch-Display-Wi-Fi/dp/B0051VVOB2/ref=amb_link_357575542_7?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gateway-center-column&pf_rd_r=0NRHBE7PV4RVRKEKZ87W&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1321408942&pf_rd_i=507846

Daily Tech’s great article (with some great comments too. I really love the Vader/tablet discussion near the end) http://www.dailytech.com/Amazon+Launches+199+7+Kindle+Fire+Tablet/article22869.htm

Edit:

For those wondering, I don't mind about the lack of the camera and microphone. I honestly would not use either on a tablet. These may even be a plus. I am sure they were a small factor in driving down cost.