Clumsy Injury Leads to a Rest Day

Normally around this time on a Thursday morning I'm already at the gym. 

But since I was a clutz on Monday and fell down some stairs in my lecture 

hall, I sprained my ankle and can't really do much walking. 

This was the leg workout I was going to do today to build that booty! Just 
because I can't do it, doesn't mean you guys can't! Feel free to tag me 
in your workouts on instagram with #sellychanfitness so we 
can support each other and show off our progress! 

Tip: Remember to squeeeeeze your glutes! I find that my

 glutes are more sore the next day when I really focus on 

contracting the muscles rather than just going through 

the motions of things. Squeeze your glutes for a couple

 seconds while the leg is extended during kickbacks to 

really feel the burn! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

Workout of the Day: 01/28 (Abs & Cardio)

I've never been a big fan of Ab workouts, mostly because my weak little 

ab muscles burn out so quickly :( This circuit will target mostly your

 abdominal and obliques, and get your heart pumping simultaneously. 

Nothing like a fat burning abdominal circuit to reveal those abs! 

(Along with a healthy, clean balanced diet of course ;) ) 

Tip: If you're used to including Ab workouts in your routine,

 feel free to add some weights! For example, you can

 use a medicine ball for crunches and russian twists! 

Baked Chicolate Brownie Quest Bar! Decided to try that out today after so long, and my oh my. My taste buds were in heaven. To make this:   1⃣  microwave quest bar for 10 seconds   2⃣   flatten/roll out the quest bar   3⃣   Cut into 3 or 4 pieces   4⃣   Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. 

Cheers to abs in the growing! :) 

xoxo

P.S. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog for updates and exclusive content! (Link is in side panel of blog) 

Workout of the Day: 01/27 (Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps)

Happy International Chest Day! 

As much as I wanted to jump onto that bandwagon, I found myself avoiding chest workouts on Monday's. Why? Simply because everyone at the gym was doing it and I could never get to a piece of free equipment fast enough. 

Eventually I gave up and did Chest a different day of the week, but I couldn't help but want to fire up my chest muscles today :D 

High reps with fewer sets gets my heart rate escalated and my muscles burning. 

Definitely going to feel this tomorrow! 

I've got piles and piles of notes to go through plus assignments to complete and hand in. Looks like it's going to be a busy and relatively stressful week ahead! 

But hopefully your week has been off to a great start as well! 

Cheers! 

xoxo

Workout of the Day: 01/25 (Back and Shoulders)

Today's workout focused on back's and shoulders again. I did lat pull downs instead of single arm rows this time. 

Shoulders is one of the lesser worked part of my body. But when I do work on it, I feel the strain and DMOS almost as fast as a couple hours later. It makes my shoulders tense, and my head feels heavier on my shoulders. 

But the efforts will pay off when I see it grow ;) 

Barbell rows - 30 lbs 

Lat pulldown - 57 lbs 

Cable row - 57 lbs 

Dumbbell press - 10 lbs 

Dumbbell raise - 10 lbs 

Side lateral raise - 12 lbs 

I suck at taking pictures of my back, but I will try to do that next time I work my back :) 

Have a great weekend! 

Cheers 

xoxo

Yogi Tea Quote

"Trust the wisdom of your heart"

Sometimes, there are days where you’re in doubt or feel lost about what you’re doing. If any of you have experienced that, my advice is to listen to your heart. 

If you feel excitement, happiness, or glory, then you know you’re doing something right. Something that makes you happy from the inside of your heart to the smile on your face. 

But if you feel darkness, sadness, or misery, then maybe life is bringing you more changes or obstacles than you would like to have. Regardless of what those obstacles or changes may be, listen to your heart, and trust what your heart is telling you. 

A fellow yogi friend once told me "take the leaps of faith", because that's what brings change and greatness :) 

I also came across this little spot today during my lunch break. 
It's this round table in the middle of a lounging room in the 
Humanities department of my campus. It was so nice 
to sit in the radiating sunshine, while enjoying 
my lunch and protein shake, and writing workouts
 along with updating my blog. 
That's what I call, the good life. 

Cheers

xoxo

Workout of the Day: 01/24 (Bicep Bananza)

Couple weeks back, I remember blogging about how I had the intentions of putting extra focus on one muscle group each month. Evidently that hasn't happened, but my biceps are definitely one of the prioritized areas for me. Why? Because it's probably what I flex the most in all my pictures (guilty!). 

Tip: It's easy to just go through the motions during 

bicep workouts. To really maximize the workout, 

focus on squeezing your biceps (or muscles in general) 

for a couple seconds when you're contracting 

your muscles (tummies in!) 

Here's a little progress update on my baby biceps 

(approx. september 2013 and now) 

Happy Friday! 

Cheers :) 

xoxo

Workout of the Day: 01/23 (Back and Shoulders)

Hey fellow readers! 

Here is my back and shoulders workout for today. 

If you haven't noticed, workouts are now being posted in a more fashionable  and eye appealing manner ;) I hope you guys like it! 

There will be more updates and many more changes to come on my blog, and I'm both happy and excited for what's to come soon :) 

Tip: When you're doing bent-over rows, focus on engaging 

your muscles rather than just going through the motions 

of it. Try to count to 2 in your head before moving 

on to the next rep :) 

Cheers!

xoxo

Yogi Tea Quote: 01/22

For a while now, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do at which point of my life, and accompanying that was a rough plan of actions. But after some thought, things have changed.

For example: I started this blog simply just to put my words down and release some stress.

Now it has become something that I share health and fitness ideas about, and hopefully someday will turn into a business of my own too.

It's not every day that you meet an inspirational person who makes you not only want to be better, but be the BEST version of yourself. Part of the reason to why things have changed is because of that inspirational person, and it has changed my outlook on things.

At the same time, it makes me question whether I really want to do this because I see it as "me", or rather because it sparks an interest in me and I want to try it. I have no idea if what I'll be able to reach my goal, but I'm going to give it my all and try my darn hardest to reach it. If it unfortunately doesn't work out, I'm sure there will be a dividend along the way that will lead me to the next chapter of my life.

So I believe that in order to recognize your self, you must figure out what you want to do. Don't be afraid to be open-minded and see what others have to say, but also stay true to yourself :) 

Cheers everyone! 

xoxo

Workout of the Day: 01/21 (Leg Circuit; Glute Emphasis)

Today's workout is "Booty Building Leg Circuit". It's another dollar a day training workout that I downloaded from Fitness Barbie Lauren Gleisberg's blog. 

This workout was supposed to be done yesterday, but the gym was super packed and people were being rude and weren't sharing machines. I gave up and left, but re-did the entire workout this morning.

After being incredibly sore from the upper body circuit workout, I knew exactly what kind of workouts to opt for when I'm looking for  a good challenge. 

Lying hamstring curls - 35 lbs 

Abductor machine - 30 lbs 

Wide stance squat (no machine)- 8 lbs db per hand 

Cable kickbacks - 10 lbs 

Db stiff legged deadlift - 5 lbs db per hand 

Walking lunge - 10 lb db per hand  

With my heart pumping and a lot of sweat dripping off my body, this was definitely one of the greater workouts I've had in a long time! Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and then another upper body circuit! 

Baby muscles are growing! 

Cheers!
xoxo

Yogi Tea Quote

"Live with reverence for yourself and others"

Reverence: deep respect for someone or something

This quote made me do some thinking about how much (or little) I respect and value myself as a person and an individual. It got me thinking about how, as humans, we need to respect ourselves more and not be so harsh on ourselves. 

How to Respect Yourself 

1. Be comfortable with yourself 

learn to respect yourself as an individual. Real self respect comes from listening to your inner self, and doing what YOU want to do, not what OTHERS want you to do. 

2. Deal with criticism in a non-personal manner

Learn to deal with criticism by not taking it personally. Try to look at it from a detached perspective and use it to improve ourselves. But don't feel defeated or lose self respect over it. 

3. Focus on motivation, not results 

More often than we'd like, results are not we expect despite the motivation and efforts we put in. And in a society where we equate self respect with wealth, success, and our social status, we often feel a lack of self respect for ourselves when things don't turn out the way we hoped for it to. Self respect comes with working with best intentions, and making the best out of what you've achieved. 

4. Look after your own appearance. 

Your appearance is important, and it's a reflection of your inner confidence. Your appearance differers if you're walk around with your eyes glued to the ground compared to walking with your head up high and a big smile on your face. 

5. Avoid jealousy 

Jealousy of other people's success often leads to losing happiness and self respect for ourselves. Instead of getting jealous over someone else's achievements, use this as an opportunity to learn from that individual - whether it's how you can become successful in your respective field, or how to have better management over your time, etc. 

"Slow progress is better than no progress" 

Cheers!

xoxo

Workout of the Day: 01/18 (Upper Body Circuit)

Today I really tried circuit training for the first time, and it destroyed me! 

It wasn't that it got my heart rate insanely high (but still higher than usual), but it was the constant switching back and forths that really burned out my muscles fast. I was trying to go from bench press to push ups and my arms would give in on me :( I switched to doing regular push-ups instead, in order for me to keep going. 

I finished the workout off with some much needed foam roalling.. ahhhhh, feels so good! 

If you're looking for a challenge, definitely give this circuit a try! 

Bench press, Shoulder press, Upright row, Bicep curls - 30 lbs 

Dumbbell overhead extension, hammer curls, tricep kickbacks - 8 lbs 

Thoughts of the day: 

This is a remind to myself and some helpful advice to all of my readers. 

"Be a warrior and not a worrier". Be stronger than your excuses. 

I am quite the worrisome person.  My boyfriend even pointed out that "I need to stop worrying so much". I worry about being late for class, missing the train, doing bad on my exams, messing up my workout routines and injuring myself... the list goes on.

So instead of coming up with excuses to avoid problems, focus on using strength to overcome those obstacles instead :)  

Cheers! 

xoxo

Preparation for New Adventures

Hey fellow readers!

I took the time today to focus on my studying because I have my last deferred final tomorrow morning. (Wish me luck!)

I'm also very excited about looking into the details of booking a photo shoot for the summer. It makes me feel more motivated to have something to work towards, as well as a solid deadline to get it done by.

On top of that, I'm looking into getting some branding and logo-ing done for my blog :)
My blog is my release and my most important tool to communicate with you guys! It's a big step up from the very initial reasons of why I started this blog, but I've learned a lot since I started it and I have big plans for myself in the future :)

Here's to new adventures!
(and much more studying to come)

Cheers!
xoxo

Rest Day Update

Hello dear readers.

Firstly, there is no workout to post for today. Personal issues have come up and got in the way of things today, so I wasn't able to make it to the gym.

Some days I can't help but feel depressed or really down about the situations I'm in. I can't really express the detail of the events, but some mornings it feels like I wake up, and just fall down a hill and can't get back up :\ Do any of you have those days? I would really like to wake up awake, energized, and ready to take on the day when I wake up in the mornings, rather feeling tired and weak.

Secondly, I've still got one more exam this weekend that I need to write, so no doubt I'm stressed and worried about that. It makes everything seem off schedule and throws me off! I'm hoping for the best - that after the exam is over, I'll go hard on catching up with my other subjects, and then carry on the semester just like I did last semester.

As I'm writing this, I'm also reading a blog entry about how to wake up energized. You should all give it a read, as I'm sure I'm not the only person who wakes up feeling the way I do.

Lastly, because circumstances have changed and things aren't going even close to what I had planned, I have decided to tweak my goals / new year resolutions a bit.

Saving money is still one of my biggest concerns, but I'd also like to put more emphasis on my mental health. I've always been a problematic person when it comes to dealing with stress regularly. So as I slowly start implementing some of this "wake up energized" strategies, I'll also focus more on bringing out the positivity of things :)

Thank you for hearing me out :)

Cheers
xoxo

Workout of the Day: 01/14 + What's in my Gym Bag

What feels even better/ just as great than stepping back into the gym on the first day, is going back the day right after. It marks the beginning of a new stretch, and it shows that I am fully committed.

Today's workout was a chest, tricep, and shoulder circuit - again, inspired by Fitness Barbie Lauren Gleisberg.

Shoulder press - 10 pounds/db 

Bench press - 15 pounds/db

Tricep extension - 20 lbs/arm 

Incline flyes - 10 lbs/db 

Side lateral punches - 8 lbs/db

I've never been a big fan of circuits, mostly because every gym is designed differently and it's so hard to do some of them. ie. One of today's circuit required jump rope, which I cannot do INSIDE my school gym (I must step outside to ensure I don't whip anyone in the face). So when I see circuits on the training plan, the first that comes to mind is - improvise.

Today's workout was great, except for a few things.

1. Someone has apparently stolen the ONLY set of 12 pound hexagonal dumbbells available in the facility - I am forced to either up my sets to 15 or dumb it down to 10 :\

2. I find that I have trouble getting my heart rate up during certain exercises - it never really goes over 140. When I hit the 150's and 160's occasionally, I know that I've been pushing myself.

3. On the very last rep of my last set of shoulder punches, I turned my neck at the wrong angle and I strained my neck - it still hurt's a bit to turn my head! Due to that, I wasn't able to finish the last part of the circuit.

What's In my Gym Bag? 

1. Nike Running Shoes
2. Polar FT4 Heart Rate monitor watch and heart rate monitor strap
3. Headband and bobby pins
4. Headphones
5. Lock
6. Student ID (required for entrance to facility)
7. My phone for some beats!!!!

All of those items you see there (+ my workout clothes) all fit into the tiny little bag underneath it, and it surprisingly all fits into my new lululemon bag, which I also use as a school bag! So really, there's a whooooole lot more of junk that's in my "gym bag/school bag".

Here's a little progress on my arms:

My left arm always looks more toned than the right! 

Wednesdays are always busy busy school days, so I'm going to give myself a rest day and focus on my studies for the evening!

Cheers!
xoxo

Back at the Gym + Inspirational Figures

It felt so good to be back at the gym today! It sucks to fall off the bandwagon so many times, but every time I get back on I'm a stronger person :)

Here is how I looked after 3 weeks of not lifting and enjoying the festive feasts.

Today's workout was inspired by Fitness Barbie Lauren gleisberg's workout.

Lat Pulldowns - 60 lbs 

Reverse grip lat pulldown - 45 lbs 

Seated cable rows - 57 lbs 

Bent over rows - 40 lbs 

My favorite part of the body to work is the backs, so I decided to do a back workout to give myself a good pump to start things off.

The idea of focusing on building one major muscle group for a certain period of time really attracts me, although I don't know if spending extra workout sessions for just one month will show evident change in ex. my back muscles. Definitely something I'll consider though!

On another note, today I am grateful for my #fitfam and my Instagram community. Someone in particular I want to mention is Miss Lauren Gleisberg (who also happened to have released her 12 weeks at home workout ebook, and I supported her by downloading my own copy).

What I was most interested in was hearing Lauren's story. She's such an aspiring person - a truly amazing individual! I am so glad to have came across her Instagram, because I have learned so much from her!

Aside from the health and fitness related topics, she has definitely opened my mind on the outlooks of things - how one sees things. Is your glass half full or half empty? Are you thankful for the things you have, or do you constantly complain about the things you don't have?

One of the reasons I started writing entries about things I feel gratitude for is also because of Lauren - her influential, positive, and vibrant personality makes ME want to be a better person - the better version of myself.

I hope after reading this, you too will take a few minutes of your time to ask yourself: what am I thankful for? What are the things/relationships I have that have really impacted me? What can I do to show others that I appreciate what they do for me?

That's all for tonight!

Cheers!
Xoxo

Ramble of the Evening: Showing Gratitude for the Little Things

I apologize if you've come to my blog today expecting some workout pictures and my routine, but lately I've been trying to focus more on the mental stuff rather than the physical stuff.

So my ramble of the evening begins...

Sometimes we're so busy and stressed, we get carried away and forget about the little things. While on campus studying on a Friday night, I went to get myself a latte at the Starbucks. Something as simple as the barista commenting on my make up and saying "I really like you're eyeliner, it's really cute!" easily made my day. It's these little gestures/comments that can make people's days. I know it sure made mine!

I walked away feeling happier and more cheerful, and it made me want to "pass on the good deed" of making someone feel happier/ helping someone out. On my way back to my study area, I bumped into two random strangers would looked puzzled and lost. I kindly approached them, asked where they were heading and if they needed directions, and directed them towards the right direction. The guy left with a big smile on his face and said "Thank you, I really appreciate that".

It kinda makes you think "hey! I'm putting faith back into humanity!", or maybe something like that.

I've also spent some time over the past weekend thinking about the different things I want my future to consist of, in terms of my career and my fitness related issues (personal training, running my blog, starting a business of some sort, etc).

It frustrates me that I want to do so many of those things right now, yet I need to focus my time on school and need to build my way up there. That being said, it only makes me want to work harder to do better, and achieve the many other things I also want to achieve. It's by doing that step, that will allow me to take another step towards my other fitness and business related goals.

So here's to the start of a new semester, of the continuation of motivation, concentration, dedication, and hard work on both my studies and my personal health and fitness levels.

(It's cold in my house hehe)

Cheers!
xoxo

Selina :)

Yogi Tea Quote: Gratitude Journal Entry

Tonight's yogi tea quote writes "May your inner self be happy and secure".

The first thing that came to my mind was inner peace and yoga.
My long time friend Alyssa is a strong believer and advocate for yoga. She occasionally tells me things about yoga, it's benefits, and how it can help build one's body and mind to be stronger. I listened to what she said, but I don't think I 100% fully understood the things she meant until the first day I tried out yoga with her.

Man, that stuff is hard. If you ever thought that yoga seems easy, boy are you wrong. It takes so much focus, energy, balance, and flexibility to accomplish even the simplest moves. Even though we were taking baby steps during our class, I was still sweating up bullets and feeling breathless and falling down throughout. But by the end of the session, when we took a few minutes of time to ourselves to just lay down, and clear our minds, that's when my inner peace kicked in.

I felt so relaxed, so weightless on my shoulders - I almost drifted off into sleep. Through that experience I understood why Alyssa and many others practice yoga. It really does bring inner peace and happiness. And when you have peace and happiness within you, you will slowly feel more secure, confident, and strong.

To wrap things up, tonight I feel gratitude for the many great friends I have in my life. Never under estimate what a simple friendship and the simple things your friends say or do can affect your life. It may not seem important at that moment, but somewhere along the road, you reflect back on what they've said and done, and realize how it's slowly changed your life.

Alyssa has moved away last week to pursue the next chapter of her life, and I'd like to wish her the best of luck in her studies and where-ever yoga and yogi tea takes her next!

Cheers!
xoxo

Selina :)