Girls, Gains and Growing Pains

Reps and Recaps: A Quick Life Update

May 30, 2024 Rachel Johns and Julia Ross Season 1 Episode 19

In this episode, Julia addresses her all-or-nothing health habits and reflects on her weight loss strategy as the one year anniversary of her training approaches. Rachel is on day 16 of intensive prep for her upcoming competition, and she’s sharing her go-to workout routines and recipes for leaning out while staying energized. We end with a quick round of this or that’s, fitness edition!






Follow us on Instagram @gggp_podcast and contact us by sending a direct message or emailing girlsgainsandgrowingpains@gmail.com!

Speaker 1:

This is Girls Gains and Growing Pains, a podcast about working smarter and harder to achieve your fitness goals. In every episode, we break down common health and fitness questions in a fun and relatable way.

Speaker 2:

Whether you're a beginner or far along on your fitness journey, this podcast is for you. I'm Rachel Johns, a bikini bodybuilder, nutrition certified through Precision Nutrition and NASM certified personal trainer.

Speaker 1:

And I'm Julia Ross, just a regular gal trying to get healthier and lose weight.

Speaker 2:

It is important to note that neither of us are medical professionals and the views expressed on this podcast are those of the host.

Speaker 1:

And so today, in light of us creeping up on our six-month podcast-versary, we thought we would celebrate with another little just life update episode the life of fitness girlies.

Speaker 2:

Exactlyies, exactly exactly, two very different but parallel fitness girlies the good, the bad and the ugly of what a fitness life looks like. The whole, the whole experience. The whole experience would you like to share your update where you're at.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I feel like so much has happened and yet nothing has happened at the same time, but you are a year older I am. Yes, that's been the most exciting. I turned 27. I had a very exciting birthday party. We did a Barbie bash at the hangar. It was very fun. Excellent turnout, by the way. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Oh, it was very. Everyone dressed in costume and it was so fun. I made a zero calorie drink for those who are not drinking alcohol, which I thought was a hit.

Speaker 1:

Was it? Because I don't remember, because I was drinking alcohol. Well, it was.

Speaker 2:

It was definitely a hit. Good that was actually Ephraim's first party not drinking Totally water party. It was wonderful, it was great. It was a great party.

Speaker 1:

He's doing awesome. I really even if you're listening I'm sorry, I didn't think you would last this long. I'm impressed You're doing great Last longer than I ever would have. That's how we felt about our podcast. Honestly so true, he had no hope.

Speaker 2:

No hope for us. But here we are. Well, how has the gym been going?

Speaker 1:

Gym is good. Yeah, I've been really all or nothing with the gym lately. Lately is in like the last six months. I'll go like really intensely every day of the week for like three to six weeks at a time, and then I won't go at all for a whole week and then I'll go three times the next week and then I'll keep ramping up until eventually I'm going a ton again. And so we're working on kind of shifting towards a consistency mindset.

Speaker 1:

Yes, I've never been great at gray area stuff, so definitely focusing on a little bit every day being better than a lot on some days yeah, a lot worse on other days.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, no, you've been killing it. Yeah, we're going to go to the gym on.

Speaker 1:

Saturday, it's true, and we went to the gym last Saturday.

Speaker 2:

We did. I had a quick in and out gym, but this Saturday will be different.

Speaker 1:

You, just you came, you made your starring appearance, you said hello, yes, tazai, and then you did your cardio, bowed out, left.

Speaker 2:

Well, 45 minutes of cardio. I was still there for a long time.

Speaker 1:

You left me unattended and I failed an exercise for the first time in my life. Did I tell you this? No, oh my God. Tell you this. No, oh, my god. Okay, so I've never failed an exercise outside of you, specifically like helping me one, relling you max, like on a bench, yeah, like trying to get me to fail, like I've just. I've never. It's never happened to me before and I have just been so I haven't slept in weeks.

Speaker 1:

You guys, the cats like oh, that's another update. I got a kitten and he's adorable, he's so cute, but he has a very different sleep schedule than me and I don't have the heart to sleep with my door closed, and so both of us are on his very regular sleep schedule. But long story short, I'm benching and I'm not doing anything crazy for me and I fail it, and I'm. I didn't, thank goodness. Normally I I always have clips on, but we were also thank goodness, not at my home gym, and so I think clips that speakeasy is like a mission no, literally it's like forging for berries in the woods, it's like impossible, you can't.

Speaker 1:

No, it's just not worth it. So thank goodness I didn't do it, because then I was doing what you do, where you just like put it down on your hips and you just like let it like go down to the you let it like tilt.

Speaker 2:

I'm trying to visualize it, but you can't see you tilt the bar to the side so the weights fall off.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so I'm doing that. And then, of course, this like very muscular, handsome man comes up and assists me and I have these over ear headphones on so I can barely hear him, and I'm panicking and I'm just like, oh my god, thank you, and I was so embarrassed.

Speaker 2:

I was like oh my god, I could never come here again. How much weight was on it? Just 25 on each side. I was so embarrassed. Well, it's still more than most females will bench on a normal day-to-day basis.

Speaker 2:

So today I benched 35s so okay, that's an update, not for many for like 45, 45 is so bad, I want 135 it's funny I don't know if you've ever heard this where, like gym, people are like 45 plus 45 equals 135, because a plate on each side is 45 on each side, but the bar is also 45, so that adds up to 135. So gym math is 45 plus 45 equals 135, because the barbells I love that, because I've also been thinking that way.

Speaker 1:

I did that with something else too. I was like, oh, and then you just add 45. I was like, no, oh my gosh, and that's how I can tell I'm in like a gym zone right now the mindset. All consuming folks, all guests.

Speaker 2:

Your sister's coming home next weekend.

Speaker 1:

That's exciting. Yes, sister is coming back. I am very excited to see her. She's been away at sea on a boat in the caribbean, so that's very fun just to clarify it's a cruise boat.

Speaker 2:

She's not, oh yes, doing anything scary or dangerous she's not a pirate.

Speaker 1:

She's not um sailing the high seas in like a sailboat or anything like. She's not a fishing rig. It's disney, right? Yes, she's okay, disney, and she's um doing props and puppets, so it's all very hush, hush. She can't tell us the industry secrets, but we're excited to get the information we can when she comes back. It's been very exciting aboard the ship from what we've heard it is.

Speaker 2:

She landed it right out of college too, so two successful girls yeah, that's great yeah, she was while she was gone, so yeah, it was so random that she was coming to, it was like yeah, I don't did you know she was coming back well, okay.

Speaker 1:

So here's what happened. I knew I had the date for my sister coming to, because she's coming to see me first. I get to see her before anybody. I'm so excited, okay. So the reason I didn't know that she was coming home is because I have been having a big issue with getting my hopes up, where I'll get my hopes up for stuff and then it'll get canceled or stuff will just fall through. And so I got the data for coming home like three weeks ago, and I just kind of blocked it out mentally in case something happened, because there was there was this chance that she could get rescheduled or a coworker could get sick and she could need to extend. Oh, very unpredictable, yeah, yeah, just life at sea you know so it's just really setting it now.

Speaker 1:

I'm like wow yay, that's exciting now you can get your hopes up. Exactly exactly.

Speaker 2:

She's on her way worst comes to worst you'll. You'll already be at our house.

Speaker 1:

You can just stay here the kittens would be so mad I still we're working up to doing an overnight away from the babies.

Speaker 2:

I know I left my cats alone so quickly. Maybe it's just the lack of maternal instinct I have.

Speaker 1:

Which is funny, because you have way more maternal instinct than I do.

Speaker 2:

I don't know, I feel like my mom would beg to differ. Fair enough, yeah, no, that's great. Oh well, another update. You texted me today. You're fitting into leggings. You were going to return. So the transformation is still happening. Yes, it is still happening. Things are still moving along.

Speaker 1:

You need to listen to last week's episode if you haven't yet, because the recomp is saving my life right now. It is doing amazing things. Long-term sustainability.

Speaker 2:

Yes, truly sustainable. That's how we do it here.

Speaker 1:

I still and I'm using all I'm not, you know, having a wild amount of food all the time, but I feel like I've learned a lot more about like how I can put the puzzle pieces together without necessarily tracking everything all the time, which has been interesting.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Because I really had to track, dedicate it all the time, which has been interesting.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because I really had to track, dedicated all the time, for a really long time to learn how to do that well, once you kind of learn like what you're putting in your body, it's much easier to be very, very mindful of it, like even if we're watching modern family and jay the the old, the older guy that's married to sofia vigar on them on the show his like brother calls and he's like happy birthday.

Speaker 2:

And he's like did you know? Dad died at that age too. And he's like, yeah, but it's okay, you take care of yourself. He used to eat like crap and not exercise. And it's jay eating fries and telling glory. He doesn't want to go to the gym. And then he's like, oh, never mind, I'm going. And so he goes to the gym. But e Ephraim's like dang. He's like I don't think I could even eat like fries like that anymore. I think my stomach would be upset. I think like I would be too aware, yeah, how my body's going to respond. And I was like yeah, that's why I like you. It's easier to do mindful eating after you learn what's in everything Mm-hmm, which I feel like at least you've done is like. You're like okay, if, if we can't fully track everything and we don't want to.

Speaker 1:

At least you know what what's in everything, yeah well we really, because I tried to flip that script.

Speaker 1:

When we started I said but can't I just eat only when I'm hungry? And he said no, and what you had me do is you had me track. This was after the initial shock of realizing how much I was eating, pre-training. So this was more of like a mid-training check-in, and you had me track on the days where I was like, oh you know, it's probably fine. And I found out that when I was eating mindfully you know air quotes I would eat like 800 calories a day or 2600 calories a day. There was no in between consistency, that's the key word consistency, months of work, and so we're getting closer.

Speaker 1:

We're not there yet, but we're closer, yeah.

Speaker 2:

I think, too, it's like having a good relationship with food, where you're like oh, it's also my fuel. So if I eat like a certain way and it makes me feel like crap, like then you're just, you're setting yourself up to feel like crap and like even I have that conversation with Enrique too. He's like you need to find foods that, like make you feel good, like don't eat foods that are really hard for you to digest or like upset your stomach, like don't do that Like or make you feel bloated. There's some foods that, just like some vegetables, make me feel bloated, so I'm like, well, even though they're healthy, I don't want to eat that. Like I need to eat to accommodate and make myself feel happy. Yeah, and there are some things that I eat that I'm like this does it for me, like this sounds so bad, this sounds and this maybe it's from my childhood.

Speaker 2:

Okay, no, but marshmallow fluff, just a little small serving of that and I don't know. I feel like my body just kind of relaxes. I don't know, I haven't been doing the chai lately either and I do feel a little less bloated actually, which is really. But then again my calories are lower now. So I don't know if I can fully attribute that to the chai, which I guess will lead me into my little update. Yes, please.

Speaker 1:

Why are your calories lower?

Speaker 2:

We are on day 16 of prep 16.

Speaker 1:

I feel like I want to do like a survivor on screen edit of like day 16 on the Island.

Speaker 2:

I don't know if you saw my my fitness story today. If you guys don't follow my fitness account, it's Rachel J, underscore fitness, Um, but I am day 16 on prep. My food has actually been the same now for the past week or so. Almost eight days, same cardio. Nothing has changed. And every day, I'm still looking leaner, so my body is responding extremely well to the food.

Speaker 1:

I'm on right now.

Speaker 2:

I feel full. I ate all of my food already. Actually, I ate it about an hour ago because my check-in is going to be super early tomorrow morning Cause I have a client at six. So I wanted to make sure I'm, like, digested for my check-in yeah, not feeling gross and I broke out my half a gallon water bottle today and took that at the gym and that helps me. If you struggle to drink your water, get a bigger water jug. Like don't drink, drink six cups of, like a small Starbucks cup or whatever.

Speaker 1:

Oh, please don't do that. No, no, no.

Speaker 2:

Buy just a big one because it is so much easier, and I got through my gallon by like 2 pm today, oh my gosh. So I've had over a gallon. I feel so, so, so good. I was telling like Enrique and I was telling like Enrique and I was telling Ephraim I was like I feel so good.

Speaker 2:

My legs are exhausted, they're tired Like they're tired for sure doing cardio, but my prep feels so good right now. My core is really tightening up, my legs are starting to tighten up, my arms I'm starting to see separation in my in my shoulders and my biceps. I've been listening to my bikini and the brain podcast that I'm obsessed with, which is miss Olympia and her coach, and it's so motivating because she, she's what I need as a coach like she's a harsh reality. She's like, oh, it's hard, okay, then don't be the best at this. Oh, oh, my goodness, that's what I need. I need honesty like that where I'm like, yeah, this is a sport.

Speaker 2:

like, yep, yep, you know it's cutthroat out there yeah, I did myself tanner last night, so I feel I feel nice and tan and good you are glowing, you are like, yeah, it's very nice. I feel great. I've been really trying to prioritize my sleep and stuff and, um, this is my party. I we've even and I actually have a wedding party on Saturday, saturday yes, yes he, oh. So Efren is um fiance also doing a fake prep for our wedding, because I'm gonna be shredded.

Speaker 2:

So therefore he wants to, and he's doing it with my coach and we're having a wedding party on Saturday with Efren's family and they're like, oh, we're gonna cook carne, asada and beans. And we're like we can't eat that. And then he called them today and they're like, oh, we're going to cook carne, asada and beans, and we're like we can't eat that.

Speaker 2:

And then he called them today and they're like oh, we're going to order chicken from a restaurant, all this stuff, and Ethan's like we're still not eating that. We need to know what's going into the food. Ethan's very strict on his diet right now, oh my gosh. And so we told them they. So the new menu for Saturday is they're buying chicken breast, we're buying vegetables, maybe some shrimp, and we're grilling wait for no butter no oil.

Speaker 2:

Okay, we told them they could order from a restaurant and they could eat it. But like we are going, okay, okay, like grilled food on the grill like yeah and which is also kind of cool is that like we're setting boundaries with the family too, like it's nice that e-friends like right on board with that, because that can be a hard conversation to have.

Speaker 2:

They're like oh, we're throwing you a party and you're not going to eat our food. Like I mean no, like I'm working really, really hard. Yeah, prep is my whole life right now. Like prep, I'm doing photography. If you don't know, I do photography. Well, and you graduated so, and I graduated.

Speaker 2:

One more free time after that, because that took up so much time for a while yeah, and so now prep is my pretty much priority. Um, and it's awesome, and I, I love it like this is the environment that I just thrive in, is like full control of everything that's happening, and I love that. I love being like I don't like to have free will folks.

Speaker 1:

You can't see she looks so happy right now. Like you know, when someone's in love and they just have that, that bask about them like the sunlight is upon Rachel right now, so good it's awesome and, um, yeah, it's.

Speaker 2:

It's really.

Speaker 1:

It's very rewarding because it's a cool seeing all my hard work paying off with with the cut that is happening and well, and you mentioned, didn't you say that more people come up to you too at the gym for requesting sessions, as, like a trainer, when you're cutting, yes yes, it's amazing how many people all of a sudden want to train with you when you're like absolutely shredded.

Speaker 2:

But that's also, I think, partially because they see that you are capable of losing weight and therefore could coach someone to lose weight. I think there is an aspect of that which I think is my specialty is weight loss yeah so, um, I do. I do notice a big difference with my clientele at the gym, kind of spikes up when I start to lose weight.

Speaker 1:

There, you go.

Speaker 2:

So I mean, people like to look like they're trainers. That's just typically. That is typically how it goes. And so I always tell my guy clients I'm like one day you'll have arms like mine.

Speaker 1:

Literally every time I'm with them just want Rachel shoulders, Rachel shoulders every time. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

It's been a lot of work, though. A lot of work to get where, to get where we're at, so, yeah, I feel really good. Um, and oh I just want to throw this out there I am getting my sleep, stress management and recovery certification, so after I'm done with that, I will be adding that to my online training as well, which would be very cool to help people manage their stress and their sleep, and I'll teach I'll teach me how to manage his sleep oh my god, so you can get sleep.

Speaker 1:

I know, man, I could use all of that stuff. That's good. Yeah, it's gonna be a really cool certification.

Speaker 2:

I'm excited to see everything that I learn and whatnot, so I think that'll be cool. Let me sit on up here you're good.

Speaker 1:

I feel like the other thing I've been hearing you talk a lot about lately during prep is discovering new recipes and new foods and stuff that I would never think would be so macro friendly. So I feel like we should not gatekeep and share some of your latest macro friendly finds, because I feel like a lot of people are in like a summer shred kind of mindset right now. It's kind of creeping up. Memorial Day might have hit us a little strong, so do you have any tips?

Speaker 2:

Okay, I've been having a weird thing lately where I'm oddly into, like this is so weird. This is where I know some people won't relate to me, but it's okay because maybe some will. Someone will.

Speaker 2:

I've been eating, you know, like butter lettuce. I've been having that with turkey slices on it, with fat-free mozzarella cheese and fat-free ranch. It's a salad, it's essentially just a salad, but it's like essentially no fat, but the turkey breast which is like one gram of fat or something, and that's been very good to eat when I first get home, because I notice a lot of people when they get home from work they just go to whatever is ready to eat. They just want something quick to eat and typically that's not something that's super healthy.

Speaker 2:

So this is something that you can quickly throw together and just like mindlessly eat and it's not, you know, it has some fiber in it and stuff like that. Like it's. It's something that's very easy. Um, I've been doing a breakfast with like well, my carbs are a little low, so I either do low carb tortilla shells, so three like small like taco shells.

Speaker 1:

When you say taco, do you mean like street taco or like the street taco?

Speaker 2:

OK, ok, yeah, that's, I feel like that's also for me, also me first calling them shells, yeah aren't like, they're tortillas.

Speaker 1:

I mean, you're from the midwest, I wasn't gonna talk you for not knowing but you know, I told him that I'm like, look who I am. Tell him to get off your back about it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so it's either those, or I'll do like an english muffin and I'll toast that and then I make just egg whites and then I'll mix like spinach or something into it and then, oh, I got to see this happen live folks. It was very aesthetic yeah, the cod.

Speaker 2:

and then I add cottage cheese to the eggs so that it's like higher protein. And then I'll use, like reduced fat, cheddar slices, so I'll do like a half a slice on each side of the muffin or on the taco shells or whatever. And then, um, hot mustard, and it is high protein, low, a little bit of carbs to get your day going so good.

Speaker 1:

And then, oh, yesterday, oh yeah, cause I FaceTimed you See, I'm telling you, this has been my whole life People.

Speaker 2:

Ephraim was like, oh my gosh, we need to do this all the time. It was so pretty, it was amazing. First of all, it was actually so cheap because Vons had like a great sale on like their chicken breasts that were already trimmed and cut thin, which was awesome. And then I just um, you can just spray them with water, and then I put on this like ranch buttermilk seasoning. That's zero calories. I put it all over that and I just baked in the oven, like the little packet literally told me to, and then I made the instant mashed potatoes that were also ranch flavored, because I am from the midwest, there's a ranch trend here.

Speaker 1:

I was gonna say are you noticing everybody? The potatoes and my salad were all the three line. Yeah food group that matters most to Rachel is the ranch the ranch.

Speaker 2:

I'm from the midwest um, so we okay. So I made the potatoes, but then I also made chicken gravy, because chicken gravy is also not that high in fat. What is? Chicken gravy it's just gravy with a chicken base instead of um like beef and what is gravy?

Speaker 1:

I don't know I barely ever eat gravy I literally never eat gravy.

Speaker 2:

This was like a random found it at the store and made it kind of day wow, but isn't, isn't it mostly like a little? It's a little bit of fat and stuff I don't know. Google what gravy is. While I explain that.

Speaker 1:

Alton Brown would be so disappointed in me.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, make sure your grandparents don't listen to this. They're going to be disappointed that we don't know. Um, so I made, but I made it out of like a packet.

Speaker 2:

I didn't like homemade, make gravy because I'm not, I'm not, I'm not a chef by any means, but honestly, me not being a chef is actually a blessing in disguise, because that means I don't want all the creams and butters and everything that would actually make everything taste like a restaurant. I feel like it's good that I don't know that stuff, that is true. So I made that all and it was high protein, a little bit of carbs, because we both needed some carbs, but it was awesome. It was really good. So did you look it up?

Speaker 1:

I did, I did I was laughing because I was right in my head, but I thought that was so ridiculous. There was no way people eat that. But that's the picky eater and we talking. It's just the meat juice mixed with corn starch oh, okay, okay, there we go.

Speaker 2:

That's how you make a like thickened teriyaki sauce. But yeah, no, no, that's what I made. That's what I've been making. I've been eating cucumbers with this, like Greek yogurt, spinach and artichoke dip oh, I do.

Speaker 1:

That does look cute. I like the thought of that.

Speaker 2:

It's good If I just need regular carbs. Even got apple juice and I love apple juice.

Speaker 1:

So how much apple juice are you allowed to have on your macro plan right now?

Speaker 2:

However many I can fit into my carbs, but I don't waste a lot of my carbs on apple juice.

Speaker 1:

It's like that's what I mean.

Speaker 2:

I'm drinking like this much Like a little pinch with some water.

Speaker 1:

That's what I would say, I feel like that's important to clarify, because I also like I went to go drink the pog juice from my birthday party and then I looked at the calories and was just mortified.

Speaker 2:

And then it was like for your birthday party. Everyone kept asking if we wanted to keep the juice and I was like I, I won't be able to have this for like six months, and then they'd ask if I wanted the juice.

Speaker 1:

And she goes and she doesn't want it either, and I'm like, oh, don't have your personal trainer there when they're giving out. You know what? The key?

Speaker 2:

with something like apple juice, though, is you can do it, you can. You can make it like you would make it for a kid and add water to it. That's what some people do for less sugar for their kids. Is they add water to it? Oh no, to dilute it a little bit, oh no.

Speaker 1:

Well, it's already really sweet when you don't dilute it so well and when you don't have a lot of sugar and then you have juice again, like with the pog. I will admit, I busted her open last night and I had, I counted, I had eight sips and this wasn't like a freaky calorie rationing thing, it was more just a curiosity with how much sugar I could handle. Yeah, and I could do seven eight, and that was it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sometimes we just your body changes, it does.

Speaker 1:

It's awesome I'm sitting I'm literally guilty caught red-handed sitting next to my fries that I got for dinner. I had four and then I was like, wow, that's a lot of friedness in my mouth. I can't do that I can't either.

Speaker 2:

Man I used to love, but my face breaks out. My face will, my whole stomach will erupt and my face will break out, and it's so bad. Wait, what were you going to say? You looked like you're about to say something.

Speaker 1:

I don't know, I've just, I've been, I've been noticing that a lot more. I feel like I my tummy is giving up over time. As I'm nicer to her, I'm noticing that, like the foods that betray me are standing out. More is what I'm trying to say, and so before it was oh well, I don't know what hurts me, because my tummy hurts all the time, whereas now my tummy doesn't hurt all the time, and when it does hurt, it's very clear what the culprit was. And so it's hard because a lot of foods. I'm like oh, we can't do this anymore.

Speaker 2:

I'm sorry, this is toxic, I can't you know, isn't there a song called body talks by like Tovelo, or something?

Speaker 1:

I think there is I?

Speaker 2:

I think this, our bodies do talk, in the form of stomach pains and everything.

Speaker 1:

My body is in fact keeping the score.

Speaker 2:

Yes yeah, listen to your body, people listen to it, it does talk to us, it does tell us what it wants.

Speaker 1:

It's just most people ignore that and so it will continue to tell you until it gets too loud for you to not listen any longer yes, exactly, okay, we don't have a lot of time left.

Speaker 2:

That went by really fast. I know my gosh, but we wanted to do a little like this or that. This is kind of like another get to know me, because now, julia, you're pretty far into your fitness journey, so I feel like this is more fun now because, like you, know, I actually know what I'm talking about.

Speaker 2:

Yeah it's a this or that, like what we prefer. You've probably seen them on like instagram, so we'll do this. We'll do like a speed fire round because we only have a few minutes left. That'll be fun. Are you ready? Am I yes, okay, okay, weights or cardio weights what about? You weights yeah duh. So I've been watching gray's anatomy again during my cardio and I'm not gonna lie, that's awesome for me oh, my goodness I love that for myself.

Speaker 2:

Um okay, group fitness or solo solo? This is hard for me because I was a group fitness instructor for a very long time but with my current goals. I will let no one stand in my way exactly solo yep um okay morning. So yeah, okay, morning workout or evening workout. Oh, I know my answer is 6 am. Put me in coach. Oh my God, so functional in the morning. My aura ring tells me that I am the most functional in the mornings.

Speaker 1:

I I can only estimate and wonder, but I do love me a 5 pm workout. There's just something so fun and selfish feeling about taking the prime hours. It's fun it just feels I don't know. I think it's, it's nice being like single too. It's fun to be at the gym at like five, because it doesn't feel like you're missing out on social stuff. That is true, so arm day or leg day?

Speaker 2:

wait, uh, what's my answer? Arm day, yeah, yeah, duh. I feel like yours is slowly turning into arm day yeah, mine has become arm day.

Speaker 1:

If you'd asked me six months ago, it would have been like day.

Speaker 2:

It is now firmly oh you mean when you used to skip your shoulder workouts. You mean when I didn't do back day at all I literally just did not do back day.

Speaker 1:

I omitted it from my training plan. Yeah, that was creative of me and we don't do that anymore um, okay, let's oh protein shake or protein bar um protein shake mine's protein bar I knew you were gonna say that kettlebells or dumbbells for what?

Speaker 2:

just in general, I'm a kettlebell girl.

Speaker 1:

Dumbbells okay, I just, I like, I like how easily you can show how heavy it is that you're lifting something you know, like it shows the weights on the side. Okay, lunges or squats, anything but lunges, oh my gosh that is so funny because I hate squats what, oh I?

Speaker 1:

I will do lunges over squats. You know how people are afraid of heights. Like I'm afraid of lunges, like I feel like I'm gonna fall over and crash to my death every time I do a lunge my lunges are much stronger than my squats, in my opinion.

Speaker 2:

Like not the weight wise, but I feel stronger yes, he minds to say my lunges.

Speaker 1:

It's not the weight, it's just the stability.

Speaker 2:

Interesting squats and I hate the leg press. I hate the pendulum squat that wait till you try pendulum squat.

Speaker 1:

Those suck um incline walk or stair master used to be stair master, now it's incline walk see mine switched.

Speaker 2:

I think mine's more stair master. I feel like the incline walk just feels like forever. I feel like it feels for ages and ages and ages. I think the stair master has been going quicker, I don't know why. Interesting, right, we float, okay cables or free weights, free weights interesting. I'm loving the cables.

Speaker 1:

Lately, most of my workout is on the cables now okay, okay, I just have a harder time like activating the right muscle, I feel like, but I think that's just leg cables, I think, because upper body cable is fine, you know.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, um would you rather do circuits or cardio machines?

Speaker 1:

cardio machines with circuits I feel like it's the same thing, like I'm gonna fall over. What about you?

Speaker 2:

yeah, I would rather do it on the cardio machine um, and then I know your answer is music or no music literally, if there's no music, just no.

Speaker 1:

No, I'm done working out that was. That was a wonderful time. I'm done. Could you?

Speaker 2:

I hear you on it, but ever since I listened to arnold schwarzenegger talk about, how he doesn't.

Speaker 1:

He doesn't listen to music.

Speaker 2:

I. I do do that sometimes just just to be in the mindset of a champion. I just I need to.

Speaker 1:

I need to be where he was at. Okay, see, you say to be in the mindset of a champion, but, like the real, slim Shady was my top Spotify song of last year, solely because it was my gym workout song, because my music puts me in the mind of a monster.

Speaker 2:

I understand your logic, but I understand his where he's like. I need to have my brain focused on every single rep, every single step, every single movement, and I hear him on that.

Speaker 1:

And you know, for the people that are listening, if you're trying to decide between whose method is better, just know mine's probably more fun. You can just take my word for it. I that's. I don't have any medals to prove it, I just that's all I know.

Speaker 2:

You know, it's either Julia or Arnold. Guys Take your pick.

Speaker 1:

See like a comparison just of me, and just of me versus Arnold fitness advice.

Speaker 2:

One day I will meet him. I would love to meet him.

Speaker 1:

He'll be our next guest on this or that right right now, arnold.

Speaker 2:

That's why I need to qualify for the arnold uh bodybuilding show one day. He has an amateur one. You won't be amateur for long. You have to compete fast. Yes, okay, shorts, oh that's a good one.

Speaker 1:

That is um, because I'm doing treadmill cardio again. Back to leggings.

Speaker 2:

Okay, I've been really in the shorts life lately. The gym has just been scalding hot.

Speaker 1:

You keep texting and you're like the gym is so hot. And that's another one for me. If the gym is too hot, I'm just going to leave, cause I'm just going to pass out and it'll be disruptive. I gotta go, you know well this.

Speaker 2:

This happened on my prep last year, where I thought my metabolism sped up and I started getting hotter, so that could be also happening. I do remember this happening, yeah, and then, uh, oh well, I'll ask would you rather wear like a sweatshirt pump cover? Uh-huh or like just the sports bra outfit kind of thing hey I can't. Some girls are like the baggy sports people and some people are like the tight, like I, I don't know.

Speaker 1:

I feel like I'm very all or nothing, very all or nothing. The whole fit has to be baggy or it has to be all tight. Yeah, but I'm normally tight because I like to see which muscles are activating, because I'm very visual when it comes to that kind of cueing stuff.

Speaker 2:

Okay, wait, there's one more. We disagree on this one, I think, oh my god, last one, and then we'll wrap up steam room or sauna oh my gosh freaking.

Speaker 1:

Leave me to die in the steam room. I'll just try to roast me alive. I love the sauna I have to do this on and no, I can't just like. I use something that's changed. This is, this has changed. Rachel's not wrong. In the early days I was all steam room and now I just I suffocate in there and they're not gonna find me, I can't breathe.

Speaker 1:

Well, my ex used to be waiting for me at the end of, like, the locker room so if I died he would know to come check in the steam room if I died. But now that I'm single I can't there's no one.

Speaker 2:

No one's gonna leave you die in the steam room. Yeah, but that's hilarious that you did the practicality very frequently I did, I did okay, so let's wrap up real quick so we can explain what we're gonna do. Yes, okay, so we are almost to a thousand downloads, which is so exciting, so close thank you all so much, yes, so what we would like for you guys to do, as our lovely listeners, is to repost this episode or any of the episodes please pick your favorite.

Speaker 1:

You don't have to pick this one. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, Before next Wednesday. Reload it to your story. Tag our Instagram at ggdp underscore podcast. Tag us there, and that will be one entry.

Speaker 2:

And then if you, we're going to post a this or that on our story and that is going to get posted as well. So if you want to repost that, that's an extra entry and whoever we randomly choose, we will do a cute little 30 minute meet and greet zoom call with you, just so you guys can get to know us better, because we appreciate you guys listening and we'll answer any of your questions that we possibly can all right, and this has been another episode of girls gains and growing pains you.