If you’ve read my blogs in the past, you know I LOVE FOOD. Now, I’m not always talking about good, healthy food. I have droned on about my love of fast food (see October 10, 2007 blog) and about restaurants from NY to CHINA, AUSTIN to LA (see August 22, 2007 and November 28, 2007 blogs). I love food and I love to eat! Now, the problem with this fascination with food is that I have to work my ass off to stay fit and slim.
Yes, I was blessed with good genetics (check out my parents! They are both good looking and fit), but you cant get away with gorging yourself on Big Macs and pasta and chocolate desserts and not WORK OUT. Luckily, I have always enjoyed getting sweaty from a good WORK OUT!
When I was very young I was a dancer. My mom had this amazing African Dance troop on stage with her at the concert at Central Park and I fell in love! Instantly, I decided I wanted to dance and I joined the Anita Zahn dance school (where the African dancers were from). I danced my little heart out and performed ballet, tap and African on the stage at Lincoln Center. It was amazing! As I hit my teen years, I dreaded the drive to Brooklyn because I felt like it was taking away from my budding social life and so I dropped out. I regret it now, but at the time it seemed like the right idea.
About a year ago, I decided to add dancing back into my WORK OUT regime. I bought a leotard and some ballet slippers and started taking classes at the Santa Monica Dance studio. Holy shit, is it hard to go back to ballet as an adult (and I don’t look nearly as cute in my leotard), but I’ve been doing it for a while now and it’s getting easier. Ballet is amazing exercise and it creates long, lean muscles. I go once a week to break up the monotony of WORKING OUT at the gym all the time. Variety is the spice of life, you know (and it makes staying fit a whole lot easier!)
In high school, I ran cross country and played basketball and lacrosse. I was never particularly good at any of the sports and spent the majority of my high school years warming the bench, but the activity set up a life long love of exercising and staying fit. Also, It’s so important for kids to be a part of team sports even if they are not particularly athletic at an early age.
When I went to college, I knew I wasn’t good enough for the cross-county, basketball or lacrosse teams, but I craved the structure and camaraderie of team sports (plus I didn’t want to gain that freshmen 15). But then one day, in the middle of campus there was a long boat. The crew team was recruiting! I went to the meeting and decided to give it a shot. Most people dropped out like flies due to the early morning practices (I woke at 5:45am almost everyday of my college career) and the hard WORK OUTS, but I’ve never been a quitter (though there were many times I wanted to throw my oar and run back to my bed). I stuck with it all four years. I even got to row in the women’s Henley in England (what an amazing experience)!
I was so fit and muscular it was almost disgusting (Seriously, I was HUGE!). I had practice 6 days a week. I lifted weights 3 days a week, ran for an hour twice a week and I ate like a hog (I was almost 20 pounds more than I am now, BUT it was all muscle). Though I never want to be that big again, I really got a lot out of having a WORK OUT schedule and all that exercise.
When I graduated, there was no way to stay as fit (and muscular) as I was, so I started cutting my extreme amounts of food and doing cardio, cardio, cardio. Luckily, the weight came off! Now I try to do some cardio everyday.
I go to the gym at least 3 days a week. I start with cardio (either on the treadmill or elliptical machine) then I lift weights and do squats and lunges and crunches. I watch TV, listen to my ipod and do some serious people watching (I watch Tyson pump up, Nelly play basketball and lots of buff body builders lift extreme amounts of weight), but going to gym gets boring and monotonous, so I try to switch up my WORK OUTS on other days.
I found this cool class called YAS (30 minutes of Spinning and 30 minutes of Yoga). It’s quick, but intense (and there is a very cute boy that’s always there that I make sexy eyes at threw the sweat dripping from my brow. HOT! Ha!) I also love to hike, bike and paddle around in the ocean (I love being outdoors).
A good WORK OUT keeps your mind clear, your body fit and allows you to eat to your hearts content and not end up overweight and round.
WORKING OUT is FABULOUS!
10 comments:
i have extremely bad knees so my working out has dwindled down to walking, which i can't do now b/c it's winter and it's too cold for my baby to be outside with winds slapping her in the face. but boy, does THAT get boring! *grumble* i would LOVE to join a dance class right about now, but i'd prolly fall on my face!
Happy Valentines Day. Unfortunatly is it for me not a happy day, because You are not with me. I pray to God everday, he should be hurry with his decision to bring us together. Next year on Valentines Day, I would like to have a romantic candle light dinner with you and a great walk in the moonlight.
The Man of your Dreams
ps: Yes, working out is fabulous. And it will be more fabulous when we do it together.
First of all-good to know that even those who are genetically blessed with being naturally slender also have to work out! The Ross girls are blessed!
I really like your work out sillouette pic on the beach. I have placed it on my desktop to inspire me to get myself to the gym more than once a week! (Hope u don't mind)
Last of all...Happy Hearts Day.
I hope you feel warm & loved today =)
Tarquin in LA
I like the way working out tones my arms and thighs. It helps with getting a good nights sleep. Also a not too good eater, but I'm trying. Keep it up! I totally agree about your Mom and Dad. Both beautiful!
Hey Chudney!
Came across your blog ... glad to hear you're doing well! Are you going to the 15 year reunion?
Amanda
Chudney,
Love you, but your life seems to be filled with fluff. One day you will look back with regret that your life was filled with too many marshmellows and not enough meat.
What do you want your legacy to be? The daughter of a celebrity who enjoyed those perks or a woman who made the world a better place for all who inhabit it?
Work That Body! (Ross '81) and I Want Muscles (Ross'82-Silk Electric). Listen to the I-Tunes! Chudney--you go girl!
Chudney, the below article even tells you that doing a variety of types of excercise will help your body burn more calories than just one type. So you're defenitely on the right track!
Your Body Can Burn Fat on Its Own Posted Mon, Jan 28, 2008, 2:43 am PST
Wouldn’t you just love it if your body decided to burn fat and calories on its own?
It can:
1. Exercise in short, intense bursts (interval training) for effective fat burning after exercise.
2. Increase the amount of resistance/strength/weight training you do, to build more lean muscle. Muscle is ‘metabolically active’ and burns more calories than other body tissue even when you’re not moving.
And of course, for best results:
3. Chill on the amount of food you are eating.
Technically:
1. Our bodies are built to survive, so when you exercise for long periods of time (often and consistently) your body thinks it needs to hold on to fat for energy. Doing short (12-15 minute), intense exercise sessions builds strength and burns calories, but not fat, so it “feels safe” using fat stores for energy after exercise.
2. Resistance training (using extra weight) helps build lean muscle mass (and strong bones), and muscle burns more calories than fat.
3. If you are obsessing over things like fat grams and not eating a nutritious diet, your body will reserve energy (store fat) to survive.
Realistically:
1. Varying your exercise is the most effective and efficient way to stay lean and healthy. You must do some longer exercise to build cardiovascular endurance, burn lots of calories, and yes, even burn fat during exercise - your body will not click in to “save” mode unless you exercise for long periods of time, regularly and often.
2. You must do resistance training in order to build muscle and strong bones.
3. Nobody wants to exercise more - and we don’t want to train our bodies to need more exercise to stay fit. So exercise efficiently – two short, very intense (relative to your level of fitness) training sessions weekly, like a 15-minute fast run/walk or fast cycling sprint intervals, and two moderately long, moderately intense sessions (30-45 minutes) of strong walking, cycling, or yoga, with one long day (60-90 minutes) of a moderately paced walk/hike. That’s a great five-day/week training schedule.
4. Instead of adding more days to your workout schedule, add a weighted vest to your training. I have said this before, but this is the most efficient way that I know of to build muscle while burning calories. For more information, go to http://www.walkvest.com/.
5. Eat moderately - stop counting fat grams and calories and look at how much food is on your plate! And eat more nutritiously by eating foods that are natural and unprocessed.
Some of the contributors to the blog should also read the rest of your site. Teaching, writing, acting. producing. You do a great job and come across as a good hearted person. So you may not have the cure for cancer or the solution to world peace but what you do does count. For all of us, as long as we are still breathing, our legacy continues to be written Keep up the excellent work and thanks for sharing.
Hey Chudney, that last anonymous posting was really mean. Why would someone who doesn't even know you right such cruel and hateful things? This is truly a very sad and unhappy person who is resentful of you because of your success in both your personal and professional life.
My life has been better because I have adopted the positive attitude toward life that you, your mother, and your sisters have professed over the years. My life is better because of the positive spirits you have in your family. I only see good in what you are doing for yourself and for other people.
I genuinely feel sorry for people who are so bitter and hateful that they write cruel comments toward a remarkably happy person. Next thing, that person will attack your mom for being happy and successful. How sad!!!
I hope you know that people who aspire to greatness, like you, really appreciate and admire you. Because hateful people will hate you no matter what you say or do. In the mean time, just be the best person you can be and know that you are loved by many. Especially me!!!
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