Sundays are restdays, but restdays are active days too! Went for a walk with my man around the lake (one that is just close to the one I wrote about a few weeks ago) and it ended up walking for 4 kilometers, squinting on the fabulous houses overlooking at the lake, thinking maybe one day we'll live there too!

Then we drove to the beach and I spent some time climbing up and down the rocks, it really is a good cardio exercise! If the rocks have different heights it becomes a cool sunday challenge :) Now we're home, enjoying the few hours left before we go to work tomorrow morning ♥ Have a good sunday evening my friends!

// Les dimanches sont des jours de repos, mais le repos peut-être actif aussi! Nous sommes allés marcher autour du lac (un autre juste a côté de celui dont j'ai parlé il y a quelques semaines) et au final, 4 kilomètres de marche à lorgner sur les villas qui surplombent le lac, en se disant qu'un jour peut-être nous aussi, on vivra là!

Après on a roulé jusqu'à la plage où je me suis amusée à grimper sur les rocher et ça devient du cardio! Si les rcher sont de tailles différentes, ça devient un challenge du dimanche pltôt fun :) Maintenant, retour à la maison, à profiter des heures qui restent avant le boulot demain matin ♥ Bonne fin de week end les amis!

Today being my restday, and the weather being what it is, I decided to pamper myself a bit by having a bubble bath with really hot water so I don't feel the pain in the muscles so much :) I even felt the sweat pour across my face because to be honest, the water was not far from 45°C !

I've had some time to think abut my fitness journey so far, and the major things I've learned from it. I started three years ago jolting every tip I could see about fitness, diet and workouts, and I ended up with a pretty bad routine, not reaching my goals and being not healthy because I had not understood back then that we all are different: what works for someone won't always work for you. Same for every aspects of daily life, people sometime hate what you love, avoid what you look for and vice versa ... That is what is extraodrinary with us, human : we can never be done with knowledge about ourselves.

I also thought of myself, back to years ago, when I really, deeply thought I could never train because I had a weak body. I now know that in fitness, nothing is out of reach, you just have to be clear and honest with yourself, set goals and let time and growth play in your favor. I don't do as great as many people do in the fitness community: I can't squat with the bar over my head, but I can squat my boyfriend's son. I can't lift 180 lbs at shoulder press, but I am a queen when it comes to low impact cardio and low weight- high reps. Don't focus on your weak points, but remember your strenghts!

And then, I conclude by telling myself I am on the right track, mentally rewarded myself for always pushing myself and getting back on track with the sole help of MY mental. There was a time a compared myself to others and undervalued myself. Now I compare myself with my OWN old self and appreciate my evolution!

//Aujourd'hui étant mon jour de repos, et le temps étant ce qu'il est, j'ai décidé de prendre soin de moi en me faisant couler un bon bain chaud qui m'a laissé un peu de répit quant à mes courbatures :) Je sentais même la sueur rouler sur mon front parce que, pour être honnête, l'eau approchait des 45°C!

 J'ai un peu de temps pour penser à mon évolution "fitness" jusqu'ici, et aux plus grandes leçons que j'en ai apprise. J'ai commencé il y a trois ans en notant tous les conseils fitness, diète et training, et j'ai fini avec une mauvaise routine, des buts non atteints, et une mauvaise santé parce que je n'avais pas compris à l'époque que nous étions tous différents: ce qui marche pour les autres ne marchera pas toujours pour vous. Pareil pour tous les aspects de la vie, certains peuvent détester ce que vous aimez, fuir ce que vous recherchez et vice versa ... C'est ce qui est extraordinaire avec nous, humain: on n'a jamais fini d'en apprendre sur nous même.

J'ai aussi pensé à moi-même, il y a des années, quand je pensais sincèrement et profondément que je ne pourrais jamais m'entraîner parce que mon corps était faible. Je sais maintenant qu'en fitness, aucun but n'est inatteignable, il suffit d’être clair et honnête avec soi-même, se mettre des objectifs et laisser le temps faire les choses. Je ne fais pas aussi bien que beaucoup de sportifs fitness: je n'arrive pas a squatter avec la barre au dessus de ma tête, mais je peux squatter le fils de mon chéri. Je ne soulève pas 80 kg aux développé épaules, mais je suis la reine de la cardio basse intensité et des poids légers/ reps nombreuses. Ne vous concentrez pas sur vos faiblesses, mais souvenez vous de vos forces!

Et j'en ai conclu que j'étais sur le bon chemin, je me suis félicité mentalement de m'être toujours botté les fesses avec la seule aide de MON mental. Fut un temps je me comparais aux autres et me sous estimais. Maintenant je me compare avec mon PROPRE ancien moi et  apprécie l'évolution!

When I was young, my mum ketp telling me that those who worked out had generally better grades at school. I was confused with the different stereotypes spread by medias and life itself, and I was absolutely convinced that the population was divided into three categories: The nerds, who were superstars in class but never kick their asses in gym, the sports lovers who barely know how to read, and those between who don't rule neither of the two.

Well truth is, working out can boost your results at school. Of course if done consciously, and if you don't let the gym take over the homeworks.

The first main benefit you can get from workig out is that your attention span is lengthened: you also practice it during the workouts and it shows during the studies.

You also learn to make decisions faster, and feel more at-ease when working as member of a team: you show your opinions, and mentally workout to make them known.

New cells and blood vessels are improved during the workout, which can lead to a better use of your cognitive capacity .

This could seem to be just like one of the numerous sudies showing incredible things, but "a high school in Naperville, Ill., implemented first-period PE classes for everyone and saw math scores improve by 20%" and that, my dears, could not be avoided.

" University of Illinois at Urbana found that after 30 minutes of moderate walking on a treadmill, boys and girls aged 9 and 10 performed better on cognitive and academic test. " Woah !

To put it in a nutshell, don't hesitate AT ALL when it comes to working out if you fear lowering your grades because if done wisely, it could even boost your skills!

My week is finally over ( and the exams too) and I'm starting my internship on Monday with a five-day trip to Bordeaux (South of France) for a tradeshow ! So there are chances I won't post anything 'til Friday 17th and I will probably come back with picture rom the city which is told to be beautiful !! I also won't have the time to train but I'll be back with a hella lot of motivation to bring to you guys! (and I'm happy I'm already a few pound lighter. Here's my back as starting pic, I lost muscle in this area :( )

Today was intense! I only had german exams -and I have strong difficulties- so the pressure was real and I am really tired right now. I also have lower back pain due to the stress and general soreness in the legs, core and upper body after the last workouts I did and posted below. 1 year ago, I would only have had lower body soreness because I hated upperbody training and stayed away from it but man, its so good to feel that your entire body worked efficiently!! So today I take a day off training because my workoutsealmost always engage my back and I dont want the pain to worsen. So instead I wanted to make a food post of today!!





Morning:

1 slice of ham with 1 egg, pan fried (no fat added). I usually have to eggs but this time I only had 1 left so I made do.

Lunch

I had a salad for lunch that I bought in the nearest supermarket. It was made of  lettuce, roasted chicken, corn and grated carrots. I also had a  litchi/coconut water Mogu Mogu, which is water with like chunks of gum. This is low in calories and very hadrating and delicious!! We also bought a box of strawberries, so yum ;)

Dinner

Well, I haven't prepared dinner yet but I can already tell what itll be! Mixed salad with tuna, white rice, tomatoes, mung beans, aspargus !!

Snacks

I had a banana around 10am and a few strawberries at 3pm

I hope every single one of you had an amazing day and if you experience soreness as I currently do, then take a rest and I love you.

Hi everyone ! I only have two days left of final exams before my studies are over!!! Three years have passed by so fast I can't even realize it yet. Yesterday our english teacher wrote on a board during the exam "Have a nice summer" and then he stood still , contemplating the whole class. I felt like I was close to crying because you get so close to good teachers in a way, and I felt sad because in Fall when every student will go back to uni, I won't be part of it and won't see the teachers I've loved so much anymore. I turn the page and start a new chapter in my life ☺

Anyway, I did good this morning and booked a rendez-vous with one of my closest friend, Vanessa. We don't see each other a lot because we're both very busy but when we have the chance to spend time together it's always quality time ! ♥

I have severe soreness in my quads and glutes from yesterday's workout (posted below). I truly thought it would tear down my abs but well, here's the sign I did an entire good body workout so you can inspire from my last workout if you want a guarranteed soreness in the ass. And as I love it here's my workout for today :


Sorry for the lazy fitness picture but I was very into it and I totally forgot to take photographs of my lunch with my beloved Vanessa and Deborah and my workout! but here it is, with a strong ocus on arms and I am really into push-ups because I have a weak upper body and this is the best way to get started in my opinion. I will soon release some other pictures here as I booked and appointment with Solen (the third beloved friend) for an upcoming photoshoot ! ♥ I hope you had a wonderful day ♥

A new monday, a new week is on.. And it is the perfect moment yo set youserlf some goals. I have previously talked about my Summer Body program and I would like to say that I don't have any pre-planned sessions. But I have my motivation -enough for you all- and I know it's not an impossible journey!

I have always been a little overweight, yet not fat, and I've never liked the way I looked. I've had several severe incidents and I really came to think I would never workout AT ALL. But one day I decided it was enough and that's how I got motivated:


First of all, my body works in its own way. Yet, the difference between us all isn't obvious. There's a basis (nutrition and workout) and then come little particularities for each person. These you have to find, and in time you will. For example, a low-carb/high-fat diet works wonders with me.

I have stopped working out for approx. 6 months, because I moved alone after my ex-boyfriend and I broke up, started too many projects and got lost, and ED's came to say 'hi'. I am so grateful to be back on track and so happy I have defeated ED's twice! I didn't lose much muscle but I covered it all with some excessive fat, which is exactly why I started working out again. Then, I've learned to love my fitness life, and even if I got a little disgusted, I missed it quite terribly!!

Well here's my "before picture", taken this morning after a junk week-end so please no offense. Soon I'll give the after ones and you'll be blown!


My preworkout is from Scitec Nutrition ( Attack! 2.0 )
My BCAA 2:1:1 is from Myprotein

Yay!! Finally saturday which means.... my week is over! Now I just have more free time to work on other projects and my translations. I wrote in my last post that I wanted to do a kinda GRWM Summer Body post because time is going by very fast and I have admittedly put on some extra weight during winter as a lot of people and I'd really really love to get rid of it.

To begin a physical activity, you should first look for workout gear: one in which you'll feel like a beast. You don't have to look for expensive workout clothes, but the only thing you should really look after are the shoes. If you like to run or to lift heavy, then you will probably need to invest in a good pair of shoes.




I'm a really grey/pink person when it comes to workout ! to give you an idea of the price of my equipment, the clothes don't cost more than 40$, 40$ for the Reeboks and approximately 95$ for the POLAR watch. Remember that the point here isn't to be pretty but to feel comfortable.

The next compulsory element is water, of course. Don't drink to much at a time but be sure to drink between each set. You should also choose a highly-mineralized water because you lose many during the workout.

Don't spend an hour of training without resting between sets. It's the combination of the sets and the rests that makes the muscles grow.

Don't lift heavy if you are a beginner. Start at a minimum weight. If you can do 20+ reps, then add up weight. If you can't do more than 8-10 reps, then it's the perfect weight to increase your strength.

Listen to music!! Being active is also closing the windows, putting the music loud and dancing like crazy. Do something you like and you will really look after doing it again.

Be consistent. If you decide to work 3 times a week, then don't exceed this pace and try to commit to it. Maybe there will be weeks you won't have the time to work out, but just try to be as close as possible of the "rules" you've set.


I'll try to post exemples of easy and quick routine !
Have a nice saturday !

Nail varnish: "Endless Blue", Sinful Colors