Pushing Past Limitations to Get Fit!
As Lee Labrada Champion Body builder and Nutritional Expert summarized the 1st 3 months during which I laid the foundation in order to get in peak shape. Now, as I finish month 5 in my training I’m starting to see more definition come into my upper body as I have increased the intensity and frequency of my cardiovascular workouts which consist of running the Bayou park sidewalk in Houston going faster for longer periods of time. I went over the nutritional part of the workout as it is an essential part of anyone’s fitness plan who wants to get in great shape. If you want another look at my story please follow this link to see Labrada’s inspiration and motivational blog about this journey as well.
Please feel free to follow along as I lay out my workouts from beginning to end and what types of food you need to eat to get a lean body and stretches that must be done before and after your workouts to prevent injury. I’m paralyzed from the chest down and I’m here to share with you the information that can help anyone who wants to get Past Your limitations to Get Fit!
As I shared when I was in my early 20’s & had just graduated from Kansas State University I was injured in one of the worst explosions in U.S. & Texas history of its kind. When I was blown over a 2 story building flew over 300 feet onto & landed hard on a concrete parking lot. My body was broken over at the chest & my spinal cord was severed at the chest level.
This picture was taken just after finishing my workout for this week of my 12 week training schedule on 4-21-13. I started working out 3 months ago in late January of 2013 in order to lay the foundation to get back in elite shape, as I live a very active lifestyle even though I’m completely paralyzed from the chest down with NO CORE BALANCE.
Before I started my body fat was at 20.55% as I hadn’t really been working out or eating right since the summer of 2012 all the way to January 18, 2013. In 3 months my body fat has dropped to 10.8% and I have gained over 15.5 lbs. of lean body mass. While my weight has not dropped most importantly my body is getting leaner and my muscles are becoming more defined. Also my endurance and strength have risen significantly which is essential for a person like me paralyzed completely from the chest down. Being paralyzed from the chest down I have NO CORE BALANCE and I use my arms to get me and my wheelchair everywhere I want to go. By training hard and getting a lean muscular body mass I can live life with passion and travel around the world speaking to groups of all kinds. Whether I’m speaking as a motivational speaker or motivational coach it is important to walk my talk or my case ROLL IT in my wheelchair!
I also work as a safety speaker since I was injured on the job right after graduating from Kansas State University as a Federal Inspector where I was blown over a 2 story building and flew over 300 feet [the length of a football field] onto a concrete parking lot. God gave me a 2nd chance at life and I want to give my very best back to others by helping inspire & motivate them to reach beyond their limits & break new barriers of excellence, achievement & possibility. Whether it is speaking education or speaking fitness to our nation’s youth, teachers and parents it’s important to know that education along with inspiration, motivation and personal desire and passion can help you reach goals you may have never dreamed possible. The great thing is you can reach your fitness goals if you keep your faith strong, work hard knowing “There’s Always A Way!” to write your own “Blueprint for Success” when you Never Give Up working out with intensity and eating right!
A big part of getting in shape along with the intense weight workouts and warm up & cool down using exercises like plyometric a flexibility exercises like medicine ball or rubber band stretches before you begin your workout. Using cardiovascular conditioning exercises, strength conditioning and eating right by eating smaller balanced meals. This consists of eating 3 smaller balanced meals high in lean protein about 6 ounces for men, good clean carbohydrates like steamed rice 1 cup for men and cup of good vegetables – you can substitute a salad for the vegetables if you want. Then you can have 2 snacks, one in the mid-morning around 10:30 am you can have a Lean Body protein shake with a couple table spoons of some type of berries in it or apple, orange etc. For more information about Labrada Nutrition see: www.Labrada.com In the afternoon around 3:30 pm you can have another protein shake with fruit in it or another small balanced in meal in the same portion sizes listed above. Than have your small balanced meal for your dinner meal and have 6 to 8 egg whites or 1 cup of low-fat stage cheese around 9 pm.
In the next 3 months I will start to increase the amount and intensity of cardiovascular exercise combined with increasing the intensity of my strength conditioning and medicine ball throws which will help me get ripped or help girls or women just get all those shapely curls.
It has helped me greatly to not only change up my strength conditioning work outs every 2 weeks but also my cardiovascular workouts and my medicine ball 30 minute plus workouts which is a plyometric / flexibility exercise. When I use the medicine ball 6 lbs. to 10 lbs. passing back & forth to my partner approximately seated 10 feet away from me. We throw the ball using chest and overhead passes throwing them as hard as possible and being as accurate as possible. This allows us to get a great stretch before moving into our weight training session. This will also help me lose more body fat making it even easier for me to transfer from my SUV paralyzed completely from the chest down by using only my arms and pulling my wheelchair in and out and hopping curbs or riding escalators wherever I need to go. This way I can keep up with fast paced people on their feet. To find out more about how to get the proper nutrition or get a copy of the cookbook see this website who consults the best athletes in America Keith Klein at www.eatingmanagement.com
Wishing you all continued success in reaching your fitness goals and all the goals you have in your lives!
