Fitgirlsrock!! Be Bold. Be Badass. Be You.

Fitgirlsrock

 Be Bold. Be Badass. Be YOU!

It occurred to me just now, yes just now, weird I know, that I have never explained the meaning of my logo or where it came from. Now with that being said, I guess it can be fairly self explanatory in one respect but I figured I’d break it down and explain it from my own perspective. 

Fitgirlsrock! That’s a given. I mean who can argue that!?! We just are. We are strong, confident and yes, we are badass. 

I recently saw this thing on Facebook that goes something like “anyone who knows me knows I love ______________” and your friends get to answer what they think you love. One of the first responses for mine after squats ( ;) ) was empowering women. I love, love, love this!! It’s absolutely true but I never realized other people saw me that way as well. 

To be bold is to be daring. To step outside the realms of your comfort zone and discover your limitless potential. To choose what you want from life, give fear a punch in face and not stop until you've reached whatever it is that you decided you wanted from this life of yours. 

I discovered my own boldness, my own limitless potential through weight lifting. In fact, I found myself through lifting heavy shit. Weight lifting has a special way of seeping into all other aspects of your life. It just does. There is just something to be said for that moment when it’s just you and the bar; completely focused, all other thoughts gone. You against you. That’s not to say it’s easy because it’s not but isn’t that the point? It shouldn’t be easy; the hard is what makes it great!

To be badass is to be confident, strong and passionate. To carve your own path. To know what you want and to be fearless of the hard work it takes to get it. It’s about caring less what people think of you and instead, just being yourself. It is that certain 'je ne sais quoi' that comes from being your own free self. Grabbing life by the horns and doing what you are passionate about.  

A few years ago while I was still working in the corporate world, I had a one-on-one meeting with a fellow colleague; another woman actually. In this meeting, this woman told me that I was overly confident and, not in these words exactly, but that I needed to be knocked down a peg. Now, I am not going to sit here and tell you that this didn’t affect me because yes, it absolutely did. It bruised my self confidence for a little bit and I even began to doubt myself. That is until I realized something, I am confident, I am bold and I am the master of my own ship. It was because of my bold attitude that certain people were resentful, even jealous. You will run into them in this life as well but don’t let them break your confidence. Exercise your boldness. Dare to be yourself! 

Lastly, to be YOU is probably the most important. Why try and be someone or something you are not? We were all created as wonderful, unique individuals and that is what makes us great. Learn how to be who you are, who you were meant to be. Accept yourself; your weaknesses and your strengths, they make you, you. Shine your brightest, be happy, embrace who you are, flaws and all, and love your ‘You’. Be proud of your very own uniqueness. It is beautiful!

And so, this is what it means to be bold, to be badass and to be YOU! 

Until next time,

New program - an update

In mid February of this year, I hired a new coach. A coach who specializes in metabolic damage and repairing it. I needed the help and the expertise. My own research was helping but even though I'm a personal trainer myself, I couldn't seem to come up with the right program that would fix it. In hindsight, it seems as though I really wasn't following a particular program at all or at least not for long enough. 

In the beginning stages with this particular coach, I was following a 4 day split push/pull program with 1 cardio day/week and 2 rest days. I was, and still am, eating a considerable amount of clean, whole food and I noticed differences in my energy levels, hunger levels and so on almost immediately. This stage of my program lasted for 16 weeks. In that 16 weeks, I counted no calories or macros but I did stick to a solid meal plan eating every 2.5-4 hours that included weighing and measuring all my portions, but DIDN'T include me giving up any one macro. Woohoo....lots of carbs!! 

Early May, at about week 12 of the phase 1programming, our city was evacuated & some of it destroyed by wildfire :( Homes & businesses were lost, everyone was displaced and we were all anxious and stressed. Almost immediately, upon being forced out of my home, my digestion was off, my appetite was all but gone, my sleeping patterns were off and so much more was out of sorts. To say the program was disrupted is an understatement. We were evacuated for a month; thankfully our home was ok but others were not as fortunate. Coming back to the city was also very traumatic, emotional, devastating, HARD but we are here and we are strong! #fortmacstrong

While evacuated I maintained the majority of my workouts and cardio. The biggest area of struggle for me was my food intake. I just didn't feel like eating; so although my nutrition was still good & clean, I was eating like a bird for the most part. After getting home and getting back to a somewhat normal lifestyle again, I continued on for another 4 weeks of the phase 1 programming. I lost a total of 8lbs (scale). I noticed some slight changes in my bodies leanness and my clothes fit better but it was the way I felt overall that was the biggest improvement during this phase. Energetic, so much hungrier, sleeping better and just that feeling of being healthier in general.  

At 16 weeks, my program was switched to a hypertrophy and conditioning style. 5 day muscle group splits with no cardio requirements. My nutrition plan hasn't changed at all and I am actually just starting week 11 of this phase 2 program tomorrow. 

What have I noticed so far during phase 2? Well I am getting considerably stronger & pushing myself to lift heavier weight all the time. I feel full of energy and I feel very healthy from the inside out. Other people are starting to notice and comment on my leanness and I can notice a little more myself as well. I weighed myself today, just because I was curious, but no change since in scale weight. I am now at a point in my life where I just shrug this off. It doesn't bother me because I am educated & happy enough with myself to know the scale means sh*t lol. My clothes fit better than they have in awhile and I'm happy with the programming, weekly check-ins and my meal plan.

It's been a tough road for me, dealing with this issue. Lots of tears have been shed, but for once, I finally feel like I am on the right track. Doing it the right way! It's been a slow process which I know is the best way to do anything & maintain it for the long term. These are the things I preach myself as a personal trainer. 

If you've been following my journey from the beginning, you know how much I struggled with this issue. If there is one thing I hope you've taken from my experience it is that you've learned to never give up, to be resilient and keep pushing. 

The difference between those who succeed and those who don't is the fact they don't quit. When faced with obstacles, figure out a way through it. Never throw in the towel. When our desire to succeed becomes stronger than our excuses, then we will do great things.

Until next time,