Month: May 2015

Adventures in Engagement Photos (part 2)

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The day of the photo shoot, signed us both up for the Coronado Navy Bridge run. Why? Because it’s an awesome 4 mile race with friends. I wasn’t going to sit at home and attempt to be pretty all day. A girl’s got to exercise too!

Runners over bridge

Coronado Navy Bridge Run

We scooted home after crossing the finish line and shortly thereafter I had my first experience getting my makeup done by a professional. Loli Romo is like that edgy cool chick I always wanted to be but didn’t have the guts to try. Or the cool older sister I always wanted.  She’s incredible, talented and has been doing NY fashion week and print makeup for years. I was so psyched to get her a recommendation and even more psyched that I liked her as a person.

So I hand over my face and am like, “Girl, you’re the real thing. Do your thing.” She proceeds to take out about fifty blending brushes and buckets of makeup and does her Bob Ross thing. “You want soft trees? Yes, let’s add soft trees to the mountains.” Other thoughts included, why does my face need so much blending? Is it that splotchy? Once complete, I turned and looked in the mirror thinking I might just see J-Lo staring back and instead I saw a shaded clown. “Don’t worry, it’s shocking when you first see it but it photographs like a dream.” Um, was she joking? Am I being punked right now? Remember Han, “YOU are a flexible bride” (insert air quotes motion with fingers here). She then sprayed something magical and slightly wet on my face and the colors settled into a gorgeous better version of my skin with eyes and lips standing out. Voila, freak out avoided! I AM A FLEXIBLE BRIDE!

Larry and I popped a bottle of orange champagne (an engagement gift from a friend) and toasted to a fun shoot. I also casually used the time as a way to be competitive with him and assert the fact that I was going to smoke the photo shoot with my casual cool nature. Here’s the thing with my fiancé, he never engages in competition with me and the joke is always on me. ALWAYS.  I had assumed he would be stiff and semi awkward at the shoot so it was my idea to get the bubbly flowing because I certainly didn’t need it but he did.

I was the one who felt awkward in the beginning and followed his lead flirting and leaning and laughing. I asked him if he had a modeling past he never told me about. This has been our relationship in a nutshell, I never give him credit doing stuff outside of working and he always blows me away with how he really is good at everything he puts his mind to.

We arrive at the San Diego Rowing club (location 1 of 2) and Sydney Prather of Crowded Elevator Photography and Alyssa from Alyssa Marie Films met us there. If Loli were that cool older sister I always wanted to have, Sydney was that YOLO younger sister I’d be jealous of. Both Sydney and Alyssa were cool and easy to work with and they let us get into a rhythm of flirting and joking until we forgot they were even there.

beach engagement photos

Photo credit: Sydney Prather/Crowded Elevator Photography/Alyssa Marie Films

Okay, let’s talk about getting into that rhythm. I think Larry maybe was a model in his past and is just too humble to tell me about it. That man, falls right in on cue and is laughing and flirting and I’m intoxicated on way too much champagne and feeling dialed out of my body as opposed to occupying it. All of my talking crap and this is what I get. Karma. Thankfully, he set the tone and took the lead and I loosened up and we found a rhythm. A major difference between me and Larry: Anything he puts his mind to, he’s always good at. I struggle with the vision and awkwardly stumble through the execution but I will practice endlessly until I feel I’ve got a handle on something. We had fun changing in the car trying not to flash the crowd at Wind n Sea and joking about how rough it is to be a model. The true star of the shoot was Frankie. He ran across the sand digging for crabs and would come up with a snout full of sand and even more sass on his face. If I could’ve let Frankie stand in for me as bride to be, I would have. Afterwards, we went to a nice dinner reserved by a friend and she sent over a bottle of champagne! I was so touched by the kind gesture I started crying and then this bleary eyed picture was snapped.

celebration engagement dinner

Cucina Urbana

What I loved about the experience was the unexpected joys I felt and the way in which we both got to exist in the moment. The day itself is like a secret between the three of us and I hope someday my babies look at the photos and daydream about who we were back when we were cool, in love, and without kids.

Action Steps:

1. Don’t talk crap about being better than your fiancé in a photo shoot. Or if you do, be prepared to lose.

2. Sometimes you gotta look like a clown to then look like a photo shoot diva!

3. You’ve prepped, you’ve planned, you’re there. Enjoy the person you’re with and the moments only you two get to experience: the sand beneath your toes and the love in your hearts.

Adventures in Engagement Photos (part 1)

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engagement photo

photo credit: Sydney Prather of Crowded Elevator Photography

Okay, I can hear the voices against couples doing engagement photos: “Engagement photos didn’t exist when the generations before me got married. Who needs that many photos of themselves? How narcissistic…”

I’m loud and proud in saying I love photographs! In part I believe it is because I have a terrible memory and most of my memories are recreated based on photos. I also think it is because photos spark a creativity in me. As a kid I used to pour over my parents wedding album and imagine what they were saying to each other. I wondered who they were way back when before they had kids. I liked to imagine they had this free as a bird, hippie, kind of love. It was old family photographs that made me fall in love with love.

So when it came to engagement photos I found a great deal on recommended photographer, Sydney Prather, of Crowded Elevator Photography, and figured I’d slap together a few outfits, make sure Frankie was with us and we’d call it a photo shoot.

Here’s what surprised me:

  1. Planning for 2 people and a dog to take a photo shoot was a lot more work on the back end than expected.
  2. I had so much fun at this photo shoot! It’s definitely the most fun I’ve had in the road to getting hitched so far.

The checklist started with outfit planning:

  • Casual outfit 1- me
  • Casual outfit 1- Larry
  • Casual outfit 2- me
  • Casual outfit 2- Larry
  • Bow tie for entire shoot- Frankie
  • Dressy outfit 1- me
  • Dressy outfit 1- Larry

My mom happened to be shopping the dress section at TJ Maxx and scored a black and white romper, orange and white striped nautical looking dress, and embellished LBD (little black dress) she casually wanted me to try on for various occasions. When I went to visit her I was like, “Way to go, Mom! You didn’t even know it but I’m just going to roll with these as my engagement photo looks.” She responded with, “What is Larry wearing?” Ah yes, the “What is Larry wearing?” was the million dollar question. Larry, my love, is incredibly good at passing the buck and distinguishing between what is his realm and what he just doesn’t want to have to determine based on work obligations etc. He gladly handed me the planning and naturally Mom and I hit Macy’s for black slacks, a white button down and a black tie. He had a nice purple shirt and a teal plaid shirt with dark jeans for his two casual looks. Well my job is done here. I thought after a weekend of outfit planning at Mom’s I’d got the rest covered.

larry dressing1

Then I realized there’s grooming involved:

  • Hair trim- Me & Larry
  • Grooming (puppy cut)- Frankie
  • Nails- Boys need ‘em trimmed, mani/pedi for me
  • Hair styling product- Larry
  • Hair styling tools and product- Me

Getting my hair trimmed sitting in my girlfriend’s styling chair she and the stylist next to her asked me who was doing my make up for my engagement shoot? Naturally, I responded with,

“Me. I do a great job with makeup.” I was met with blank stares (INSERT cricket noises here).

“No, I can’t do my own makeup?”

“Well you can but it’s different in photos you put on way more than you would daily and you look ‘natural.’”

“Oh.”

Action Steps:

1. There’s a legitimate amount of thought that goes into planning a photo shoot. If you’re not into photos it may not be worth it.

2. Network with your trusted girlfriends for photographers, make-up artists and vendors in general. I’m finding some of the coolest small business owners thanks to friend’s recommendations

3. If the future groom trusts you whole heartedly and leaves the planning in your hands it’s often easier than talking through every small decision such as “Is navy and orange too matchy matchy?” or “Does orange and lavender even go together?” Be happy you’ve got the reigns and that he trusts you.

Becoming a Flexible Bride

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Each night before bed I sit on my yoga mat in the corner of my bedroom and well, I don’t do yoga. I close my eyes and visualize goals. Most recently I’ve been visualizing a lot about my wedding. Having to make a series of big decisions at once has never really been an issue for me but flexibility with a vision has. I’ll admit it’s not easy to veer from an idea of what I want my wedding to look like. The inspirational pictures and web links I’ve saved are like old friends who I’m suddenly disinviting from making their appearance on the big day. Here are a few initial surprise I’ve felt in the planning process thus far:

Surprise #1: I’ve been engaged for almost 2 months and I made some serious moves with my mom and Nai Nai to get a popular venue I’ve had my eye on that I also know books out at least a year in advance. Of course I already had pretty set idea on what colors I envisioned (black, white, gold and fuchsia) but when I saw the space in person the color scheme of the room would clash. I thought about bouncing to a more formal space I thought I wanted black and white with pops of hot pink. The space I chose has natural wood and earth colors (picture the lobby of an earth friendly hotel in Boulder, CO). “YES, I am a flexible bride.” Okay, so lighter colored linens and flowers to lighten up the space it is. And yet I mourned the loss of my loud and proud color friends.

black and white table

Surprise # 2: After locking in the venue I veered right off Wedding Planning List my Maid of Honor sent me and put down my credit card for a dress on a browsing session: first store, first dress I tried on. I thought I wanted more of a bombshell look and I ended up falling in love with a dress far more traditional. Thinking about it now, I wonder if I’ll regret the purchase by next year? What I love the most about my dress is the way I feel when I’m in it. I feel like a more beautiful version of myself.

sofia-vergara-white-dress-emmys-2014-h724

Surprise #3: I had no idea it takes six plus months to order and make a wedding dress. Who’s makes these dresses? Tiny little elves spinning white thread out of gold? I assumed all sizes were stocked in the back and I’d stroll out of there with new found prize in hand. Another thing that surprised me dress shopping was the silhouette I chose was not what I envisioned at all. I’d saved all of these pictures of a particular silhouette but when I tried this style on I just didn’t feel like me.

Action Steps:

1) I’ve learned to let go of an overly specific wedding vision. So what if my venue isn’t complimentary with fuchsia, black and white? The bigger question was what was the feeling these colors give me? By adjusting my thinking to choosing floral in a space that still creates elegance but isn’t stuffy helped me to not lose my $%#& completely.

2) If you ARE losing your $%#& completely (visibly or internalizing it) over a particular detail clearly it is important to you.  I’d had to choose between original color ideas or venue. If I felt inner turmoil at letting my original colors go I probably would’ve walked from the venue and found a more modern space that fit a more modern color scheme.

3) Be open to trying all types of wedding gowns even if you only save pictures and daydream about one particular silhouette. Be open minded and look for the dress that makes you feel like a more beautiful version of YOU. Not you trying to be Sophia Vergara.

Healthy Plane Travel (Part 2)

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Without emotional health there is no health. So let’s talk emotional health while traveling on a plane, shall we? Yesterday I flew to Philadelphia on the first flight of the morning. Here’s my issue with crack of dawn flights: The day before flying, as soon as I clock out at work, I’m like “Whoop whoop! I’m on vacation.” I ALWAYS have to express my newfound freedom from a consistent schedule by staying up as late as possible. Last night after work I worked out, went to dinner with friends, packed, re-organized my purse, cleaned my ring, watched Game of Thrones, flipped through magazines, re-watched Game of Thrones because I wasn’t paying good enough attention and did laundry. This took me right up until 11:45 pm. I get the biggest high staying up past my bedtime on vacation days. Freedom is important to me, apparently.

plane

 As a result, when my alarm went off at 430 am there was no amount of coffee I could chug to keep me from feeling like I was hung over I was so tired. By the time I waited to board at 600 am, it felt like lunch time to my body. I could feel the Grumpapotamos rising inside as I noticed the insane crowd around me with the same objective: board this plane ASAP to get space for my carry on and sleep off this hang over feeling. Now remember, I’m heading to Philly, where I’ve recently learned, all kinds of characters are made. One guy was clogging up the line dancing to blaring music in his headphones. The guys behind him started yelling at him to “move it” as if they could compete with the volume of what I’d guess to be reggae music by the sway in his dance moves. To make matters worse he was making it super awkward for people to pass him because he was dancing in a lateral fashion. I have minimal patience for crowds, slow walking people in front of me, and general a$$holes in airports. People were cutting each other in line and arguing for overhead compartment space once on the plane.

In times like this one, I like to play a game with myself called Aloha Spirit. If you’ve ever seen a plane loading to take off for Hawaii ain’t no one in a rush. They line up neatly and will always allow people who were not paying attention to the boarding calls step in front of them. Aloha spirit game is defined as me repeating “Aloha Oe” song over and over in my head to calm myself down and not react to the chaos surrounding me. The chorus goes, “Aloha Oe, Aloha Oe, until we meet again!” When Aloha Spirit doesn’t work, thank God there’s chocolate in my nut mixes.

Action Steps

1) Practice healthy habits so you do feel less like coming unhinged when someone cuts you in line to bored

2) If you do experience an flare up of anger ask yourself: Is this a fight worth fighting for?

3) If you’re traveling with your partner, friends or family be kind. It’s your responsibility to not take your frustrations out on them just because you’re HANGRY.

Healthy Plane Travel (Part 1)

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It saddens me that it takes so much planning to keep a travel day a healthy day. Nothing puts me in a worse mood than not having healthy options and being forced to pay for a $20 salad made of iceberg lettuce, croutons and strips of processed lunchmeat.

Here are some essentials I never get on a plane without:

My own water bottle–Chug one on your way to the airport, bring it through security empty and refill before you get on the plane.

Unsalted cashews and if I need a little more pizzazz in my life I love the sea salt and vinegar almonds from Sprouts.

My favorite chocolate nut mix from Trader Joes in case I am tempted by junky airport/airplane food called Happy Trekking: Almonds, cashews, pistachios, chocolate, cranberries, cherries.

Satisfies any and all chocolate cravings

Satisfies any and all chocolate cravings

I also like to pack a sandwich. Note: I don’t usually eat sandwiches unless I’m traveling. I like the neatness of eating half a sandwich on the plane and having the option for eating the other half later. I also don’t mind eating a sandwich at room temperature. Don’t use tomato or veggies that squish easily and contain a lot of water.

What if it’s just too hard to be Penny Perfect Planner the day before traveling? You’re screwed. Nah, just kidding!

Here are food/drink items I’ll buy in an airport in a pinch:

A protein style burger wrapped in lettuce—mustard, yes. Mayo, no. Easy on the ketchup if you must. Load up on the veggies.

Water- Not the giant bottle that won’t fit in your bag but a mid sized bottle you can refill multiple times. Try and chug as your standing by the water fountain to refill. Chug half, refill, repeat.

Coffee- Black. Avoid the new Starbucks coconut milk it’s not REAL coconut milk. All kinds of nasty stuff in it. Need some pizzaz? Sprinkle cinnamon in it.

Action Steps:

1. If you can plan your plane snacks and hydration before traveling it’s more cost efficient and generally better for you.

2. If it comes down to game time food decisions in airports keep within the general strategy of minimizing sugar, maximizing protein, watching the dairy and BIG emphasis on hydration.

3. Avoiding a sugar crash means a more stable mood, providing you with energy and patience you need in an airport (trust me).

What is Mobility, Anyway?

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In the beginning I was hyper-focused on training. How can I be consistent with my training and how can I continue to push myself to the next level. I’m good at pushing myself and unfortunately I did some pretty crazy stuff and am lucky I haven’t sustained any serious injuries. In college, I would party all night and jump in a 10k run still drunk and dehydrated and run the entire race. In my mid-twenties in San Diego a fair number of my long distance training runs were hung over as I was insistent on living it up Friday and Saturday night EVERY weekend. At twenty-nine it was like the fifth gear in my engine gave out. If I wanted to improve I’d have to start changing my lifestyle. What I didn’t understand is that coming out of the invincible twenties decade I can no longer neglect my body and expect it to perform. Mobility is a big part of how I care for my body so it will continue to meet strength training demands.

I thought mobility was stretching. Stretching was what we did in gym class before the mile run. We sat on our bums with both legs straight out in front of us until we felt an uncomfortable pull in the backs of our legs hold for 10 seconds then move on. I learned that mobility was a newer school of thought from Kelly Starrett of San Francisco CrossFit and MobilityWOD. He describes it as, “a movement-based integrated full body approach that addresses all elements that limit movement performance including short and tight muscles, soft tissue restriction, joint capsule restriction, motor control problems, joint range of motion dysfunction, and neural dynamic issues. In short, mobilization is a tool to globally address movement and performance problems.”

The simple way I began thinking about this was adding movement to “stretching.” Like in these banded good mornings where you hinge at the hip with legs as straight as possible (without locking out the knees). It works you posterior chain and can be incorporated into a warm up or cool down.

banded good mornings

Photo Credit: Sal Ocampo/CrossFit Humanity

Finding a mobility routine has shown me the benefit of 3 tools: the roller, the lacrosse ball and the resistance band. If you want to see some of my favorites download the free app MoveWell and it has a nice little timer feature to ensure you spend ample time on each side. Also, if you’re at all physically active, invest in a roller, lacrosse ball and band. They will soon become your best friends and are easily packable for travel.

Action Steps:

1. What are some ways you can be gentler on your body? You only get one, folks.

2. Think about health and fitness as a lifelong goal. I want to be active well into my eighties.

3.  If you love training hard how can you care for yourself to gain top performance?

I Lift and I Like It (part 3)

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After my first class I felt like I had a coach who was compassionate and heard my needs. I also realized as fit as I thought I was I had no upper body strength. I was unable to pull up my body weight and able to only do two push-ups without putting my knees (insert grade school taunting here: “You do push ups like a girl”). It was then that it dawned on me: If I’m as fit as I think I am, I should be able to pull up my own weight.

I still thought lifting heavy weights with a barbell was unfeminine but decided to join to be able to conquer the body weight movements and gain some upper body strength. Looking back, I think I really joined because I saw one or two super strong fit female members and I wanted to see if I could ever be like them.  My first year I loved going to CrossFit Humanity and taking as many CrossFit classes as I could. Like endurance sport training, I didn’t have to come up with a random gym routine, the programming was all done for me but even better than my endurance sport background was it didn’t over work the same muscle groups. It was also the first time I became aware of my soft core. I ran with a soft core, I swam with a soft core, I biked with a soft core. When a Strength and Conditioning class began I decided to give that a go and found how much I enjoyed the act of lifting a heavy barbell. With each small gain my confidence increased as well as my appetite for a challenge. I was still worried I’d look manly but I noticed the harder I pushed myself the opposite occurred: my waist shrank, my overall body fat decreased significantly and my body shape began to change into that of an athlete: my lats grew, I had visible traps, shapely quads and hamstrings, but I still looked feminine. I was getting compliments from my family and at almost 30 years old was kicking myself for not lifting weights sooner. As my confidence grew so did my curiosity for competing. The first team competition I did was a last minute fill in for Pete’s Paleo team. It was at least 80 degrees at La Jolla High School and while we got our butts annihilated, I loved being a contributing member of a team putting in work.

Last year, a power lifting coach, Sal Ocampo, joined our gym and was training three girls for a November lifting meet. Three weeks prior to the meet one of the girls couldn’t do it and the coach asked me to take her place. I was thrilled to be exposed to power lifting. At this meet I saw all sorts of female body types and was stunned to see some of the most petite girls moving huge amounts of weight. Since then, I’ve trained seriously for and competed in 2 more powerlifting meets and an Olympic weightlifting meet. I currently deadlift 290 lbs, back squat 240 lbs and bench press 133 lbs. I am 5’4” and weigh 133 lbs. Not only am I the leanest I’ve ever been but the byproduct of all of this lifting has been an exponential growth in confidence: the way I carry myself, the way I own a space when I walk in a room, the way I pose for photographs instead of hiding half of my body behind someone else.

CrossFit showed me I was strong and power lifting has taken my fitness journey to a whole new level. Gaining strength has increased my CrossFit abilities. As a personal trainer and CrossFit coach, it is always the top of my list to encourage women to quiet their fears and put the body image thoughts in a time out to just try. You can try with me as your trainer or without me, but please, TRY. You don’t get big from lifting big weight you lose fat and lean out. You get big based on whether or not you have a healthy relationship with food and an understanding of what it means to eat clean. If you love to run or hike or do triathlons don’t give that up but discover how adding weightlifting will make you faster and stronger in whatever sport you play. Still skeptical? Don’t worry, I was too. I believe strong women change the world and if all you need is information and a little encouragement I want to be the one to show you what I’ve discovered because I’m never looking back.

Action Steps:

1) You don’t get big from lifting weights. You get huge from eating crap or a combination of both.

2) Building strength builds confidence. Who doesn’t want a little more of that?

3) Try is a polite way of saying be CONSISTENT with your new training program and give it enough time to take effect. Then decide if it’s right for you.

Bulletproof Coffee: A Love Affair

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There is no shame in my game when admitting my love of and often desperation for coffee. I love the way it smells, tastes, and the ritual of brewing it. Even though I’m not a huge Foldgers fan. My have fond memories of my parents making Folgers every morning.  I usually hum the old commercial jingle as I make my own coffee, “The best part of waking up… is Foldgers in your cup!” Before bed, I religiously grind the beans and load my coffee maker set for auto brew at 6 am every morning (weekends included). When I wake up and the coffee is brewing, I down my lemon water (see my post Waking Up with Lemon Water) and a five minute intention setting for my day. After, I mosey back over and begin making bulletproof coffee.

 

 

I started drinking bulletproof as my first cup of the day because I wanted to take in more healthy fats throughout my day.  The idea behind buttery/oily coffee is an easy one: Ingesting good fat first thing in the morning provides energy and balances your hormonal system.  I personally like it because I feel full for about three hours after I drink a cup and I don’t feel the effects of a caffeine crash as sharply. It also is convenient. I start drinking my bulletproof coffee on the way to work and then don’t have to build in extra time before work to eat breakfast as I’m not feeling hungry until about three hours later.

Action Steps:

1. Grind bulletproof coffee beans and load coffee machine before bed. I order my beans from the Bulletproof website.

2. Blend 2 Tablespoons of grass fed butter. I like Kerry Gold Unsalted grass fed Butter in the silver foil and get it from Sprouts or Trader Joes.

3. Blend one tablespoon of MCT (medium-chain triglycerides) oil per one cup of coffee. I order this from the Bulletproof website and prefer using an immersion blender on the slowest setting.

Waking Up With Lemon Water

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I’ve had to wake up at 6 am for work for the past six years. I’m not a morning person but I’ve recently been interested in exploring ways I can make morning (my least favorite time of day) more joyful. I also want to work on being kinder to my body. Waking up from an average of seven hours of sleep nightly, my brain feels fuzzy and my verbal skills are non-existent. I used to have to drag myself to my coffee maker and Larry (the morning bird) knew it would be impossible for me understand what he’s saying or respond with anything coherent until half a cup of coffee had been ingested. While I still love my morning coffee I’ve recently adopted squeezing half a fresh lemon into an 8 oz glass of room temperature water and chugging it before getting ready in the morning. I’ve heard hot lemon water is also extremely beneficial but psychologically things I do when it comes to nutrition and hydration have to feel easy. So room temperature water it is!

lemon 1

The benefits of drinking lemon water are healthier skin, maintaining a healthy weight, slight immune system boost and a natural flush for the body. I would describe its effects as waking up my brain and body. Pre-lemon water I’m wandering around like a walker from Walking Dead (once they had a bigger budget and the zombies looked gnarly). Post lemon water I’m engaging in conversation with my fiancé, organizing my day in my mind and finding the access to creative thinking sooner in the day.

lemon 2

When Larry and I moved in together he came with a handy dandy lemon press. I made fun of him and showed him my lemon press (my hand). We then had a juice off and he got 3 times the amount of juice from the press that I did from a hulk squeeze of my half. Okay, Larry, I’ll use the press.

 

Action Steps:

  1. This is a super easy way to show your body some gratitude for all the sled pushes, burpees, and sit ups it did last night.
  2. Make sure you have access to a private bathroom because a glass of lemon water followed up by some coffee equals flush city!
  3. Lemon water is my mental re-set. If I have it, I’m more likely to make better food choices throughout the day.

I Lift and I Like It (part 2)

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After doing two more marathons throughout graduate school, I began to question how I was measuring my fitness. I would run for hours thinking. I started reading about the benefits of cross training and decided it would be a challenge to do a triathlon and it would mean incorporating two other disciplines as cross training. I bought a bike and started swimming in a pool to train for my first fall triathlon in Lake Geneva, WI in 2006. I still vividly remember feeling the lake weeds tickle my belly as I swam too close to the shoreline trying scared of getting kicked in the face by an intimidating pack of swimmers.

In 2008, I moved to San Diego and was excited to have arrived at the birth place of the triathlon! I scaled back the running limiting myself to half marathon distances and made it a long term goal to continue with the sprints and complete an Olympic distance triathlon.  One day my best girlfriend took me to try out a free class at her CrossFit gym, CrossFit Humanity. My skepticism soared and I remember asking her, “Is this for ultimate fighters?” “Why do I want to do boot camp stuff and get yelled at?” “I see a lot of guys getting ripped doing it but what do the girls look like?” “Are they huge?”

The gym environment she took me too looked like a playground for adults: Ropes hung from the ceiling, pull up rigs lined the walls and a putting green for sled pushes ran up and down the center. Fitness toys occupied each corner: barbells, kettlebells, and medicine balls to name a few. I feared my exposure to CrossFit would be too intense to enjoy and I believed that lifting weights would make me look heavy. Silly me. Below is one of my very first CrossFit workouts. It’s not apparent what lift I was attempting to accomplish (don’t mind the poor form) but it was a struggle to get 55 lbs overhead and I was sore for almost 5 days post workout.

Action Steps:

1)  If you’re not questioning the definition of fitness you’re probably not as fit as you think you are. Fitness is not all cardio or having visible abs for your instagram. Fitness is three dimensional just like you.

2) Challenge yourself to work new muscle groups. For example, if you are a runner, set a goal to be able to pull up your body weight.

3) Don’t judge a workout routine until you’ve tried it.