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 ❤

   

Strength

You are stronger than you think. Never doubt yourself or what your body is capable of.

Sore Today, or Sorry Tomorrow

You Can be Sore Today, Or Sorry Tomorrow. You pick. So many times I'm sure it has run through your head, "ohhh, I really don't feel like working out right now", or "I really don't want to run today..", I, myself, am quite guilty of this on those days where you just don't feel like you have the energy to do anything. But I know for a FACT that I will completely regret skipping my workout the next day, which is what motivates me to do it. I would rather workout and be sore, than regret that I was lazy tomorrow. So get up and do your workouts guys! :)

Strong is the New Skinny

Strong is the New Skinny. Girls, don't get obsessed with being rail thin and doing everything you can to be small and "skinny". It makes me sick to see all these "Thinso" and "ProAna" things on the web. It is totally unnecessary and encouraging acts that can potentially put girls in the hospital. Don't worry about your workouts causing you to bulk up and not be skinny. Trust me, I've been there, obsessed with being small, to the point where it was not healthy, and it's much better to be healthy and strong which still looks "skinny", if you will. As opposed to starving yourself to be small. Eat the right foods, and train right, and you will not only be skinny, but strong. :)

Train Insane

Train Insane or Remain the Same. You can not expect to see great results with just going through the motion in your workouts, and not pushing yourself. If you want results, train the hardest you can! Train Insane.

Push Through.

Push Through The Pain. Pain is only temporary guys, give it your all.

Don't Stop.

Don't Stop When You're Tired, Stop When You're Done. Push through your workouts and training guys! Your body is so much stronger than your mind leads you to think.

Motivation!

Okay, so above are some of my motivational posters I made with my workout pictures. Those of you who follow my instagram account have probably already seen these, but don't worry, there's plenty more to come! :) I just wanted to get these on my blog.