h2o for the Win! Spice Up Your Water!

I was chatting with one of my clients this morning, and she wasn't the biggest fan of drinking JUST water, so she asked if she could put lemons in it...Inspired blog post!

I can't explain to you how important and beneficial it is to drink the proper amount of water!! A few of the many benefits are:

• It helps keep your body fluids in balance (say bye-bye to bloating!)
• It helps energize your muscles (when muscle cells don't have enough water, they can't preform at their maximum potential!)
• It helps keep your skin and hair fresh and healthy

However, if you're like me, you might not always drink enough water. At one point I was really good about getting in my 2 gallons, but nowadays, I'm not as dedicated as I should be. It normally just slips my mind honestly, not to mention I love sweet tea... But, I have found that fruit infused water is a life saver! The fruit gives the water flavor, some extra nutrients and detoxifying properties! There really isn't much to it! Just pick your fruit, slice it up and throw it in your glass, bottle or pitcher! The longer it sits, the stronger the flavor. The fruit can be used up to three days in cold water. Enjoy! :) 

Sweating... in Pink Pants

Happy Friday FitFam! 

How about those quad lines! 

Do you know what the best deterrent at the gym is? Wearing some sort of colored pants that shows every drip of sweat that comes off of your body. Yum. No one will bother you when they can see your butt sweat, just sayin'. Who cares though? You aren't there for anyone but yourself, so wear what you want; Sweat like a pig, look like a fox. Promise the sweat is worth the outcome! ;)

 Speaking of sweat, I have a confession to make...

I was venturing around the workout section at Walmart and saw this $4 neoprene waist training wrap. I've never used any kind of waist trainer or wrap or even a belt to squat and dead lift. I've always been opposed, however I see everyone and their dog with all of these workout waist trainers that cost anywhere from $40 to $70, which I don't have, so I figured I'd give this little $4 wrap a shot. I was feeling super bloated, so what did I have to lose? Ummmmm apparently like 5 pounds a workout. I must say this little velcro neoprene thing makes you sweat so much! Even if it isn't actually doing anything, I feel "smaller" when I take it off because I've sweat off so much water weight! $4 well spent. Maybe it works, maybe not, but I love a good sweat, so I'm in! If you happen to be wandering around Walmart in the exercise section, maybe look at one!

Anywho, so as promised, my 3 favorite workouts of the week!

Upper Body: Landmine Press! This one is new to my routine, thanks to my boyfriend's recommendation, and its a shoulder crusher! Shoot for 3x10.

Lower Body: Lateral Swaying Lunges! Not gonna lie, I really didn't feel them much while I was doing them, but boyyyyy are my inner thighs sore! Stay at parallel and shift from one lateral lunge to the other. I use a barbell on my back and shoot for 3x12 each way.

Core: Good 'Ole Leg Lifts! You can literally superset these bad boys with anything and guarantee and great burn! I shoot for reps of 20.

Transformation Tuesday: Once Upon an Eating Disorder

Happy Transformation Tuesday Fitfam!

Sometimes when we think about transformations in fitness, the first thing that comes to mind is weight loss; which is awesome!! Other times though, we forget about the transformation that have gone the opposite direction, with growth changes in both the body and mind. With that being said, here is my story.

Once Upon an Eating Disorder...  

It has taken me a while to find a happy balance with my body. I've always been super self conscious and never satisfied or content with my own body, starting as early as high school. I let a silly number control my life. I started out how I looked on the left. I was 17 and suddenly became obsessed with the number on the scale, the number in my jeans; NUMBERS. If I wasn't under 120 pounds and a size 0, I wasn't happy. (May I remind you, I'm 5'10, and that is NOT a weight that is anywhere close to healthy for my height). My freshmen year of college, I was a collegiate athlete playing both indoor and beach volleyball, and was told by my strength and conditioning coach that at 5'10, 122 lbs and 19.5% body fat, that I was a "Skinny Fat Girl". If someone told me that now, I would laugh and shake it off. But being that fragile 18 year old in a new place for college, learning what it's like be away from home, in a controlling relationship and in the state of mind that I was already in, it wasn't something I could just shake off. That 18 year old girl heard "FAT" and that's when my anorexia turned into anorexia athletica. In the middle picture, you can see what my body had withered away to. My arms were twigs, my hipbones were protruding far past my actual stomach, you could count every bone in my sternum. Despite family and friend concerns, I convinced myself I wasn't hungry, barely ate anything if I was, and would run about 5 miles a day with a 1 hour workout a day. In my mind though, I was still FINE. I was always tired, I can't even explain how tired I was after a volleyball match. I was starving both literally and figuratively for self happiness. I hated so many things about my body. God forbid I walked past a mirror or scale because those were prime opportunities to tear myself apart. It was such a mind game. One day I woke up and just didn't want to feel like that anymore, and I finally made a decision to change. I got out of the controlling, unhealthy relationship I was in, (little did I know how big of a part that was playing in my negative self image), strengthened my relationship with God, and started to learn about fitness and nutrition. With my new self freedom and newly found knowledge in fitness and nutrition, I started my fitness journey. I put on 15 lbs, and found out how much better I feel with the proper nutrition and working out combination. A year later, I met the man of my dreams, who showed me what it's truly like to be loved and appreciated by your significant other, and through his love, taught me to love myself. So through God, my loving Godly boyfriend and family, and fitness, I have found a healthy balance! In the final picture above, a happy healthy girl, who has learned from her experience and grown from it. Fitness and health is a lifestyle change, not a fad or a temporary fix. ❤ 

Respect the process, enjoy the journey, and love yourself every step of the way ❤

   

Long time, no see.

Happy Friday FitFam!

Happy New Year too! Long time no see! ;) January 2015, wow! Time flies. A new year with new goals. So far I’ve launched my new website,www.tayraesfitnesscraze.com, and for those of you following my IG, you’ve noticed that one of my 2015 goals is to make crazy glute gains! 2014 was all about that 6pack, 2015 is all about that bass. ;)

Speaking of 6 packs and glute gains, let me just show you the raw post-holiday damage. I can’t tell you the last time I saw my abs… Actually, maybe my show; good for me. But that’s okay! I’m happy and eating without restrictions or worries, and building a booty. Anyway, this is my January 1^stphoto-op in all its glory. I’m the bloat queen. What do you do when you’re bloated and retaining water? Drink a bunch of water!! Whatttt??!  I can’t stress enough the importance of large water intakes. It flushes your system out! These were taken just a few days apart of drinking the right amount of water. I felt 100% better! Then it was back to consistent lifting.

Bloat vs hydrated 

Now here is where I currently stand with my build. SUPER stoked with my glute gains. I can honestly say, though I’ve slacked on some of my workouts, glutes were not one I slacked on, so that peach was/is being built by yours truly. The rest of my body looks quite a bit bigger than it really is, promise, due to a nice thick layer of fat on top of the muscle (it’s acceptable because it’s winter, right?); ie my she-hulk biceps. Maybe if I was as dedicated to the rest of me as I am my glutes, we wouldn’t be having this problem. New goal: glute dedication everywhere…. We’ll see.

Little bit of abs, Lotta bit of glutes 

She-hulk biceps and glute gains 

Anyway, back to my Friday thoughts. I think that for Friday’s every week, I’m going to post my favorite exercise for Upper body, Lower body and Core of that week. What do you think??

Let’s give it a shot!

So, for lower body this week, my favorite exercise would have to be…..

Weighted Hip Bridges, HEAVY. What a booty-burner! 3x10

For upper body I’d have to sayChin-Ups have been my saving grace to give any kind of shape to my arms. Do as many as you can without any assistance first, then burn out with assistance.

For Core I can say for sureWeighted Cable Crunches for the win! Forward and side to side, heavy. I’m so sore from those I can’t see straight. 3x12 each direction

Give these a shot, let me know what you think!

Website Launch!

Today brings some exciting news! Today I launched my website, Tay Rae's Fitness Craze!!
www.tayraesfitnesscraze.com 

New Year, new goals! I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store!

In the mean time, if you need help reaching your 2015 fitness goals, check of my new website!

Look forward to hearing from you!