I never thought that I would be a powerlifter. Matter of fact, that isn’t something that I even knew about until I starting in a running club and a kind gentleman, and local gym owner in my hometown talked about his history with it and what it consisted of. Peaking my interest, I decided to troll (urrmmm….follow) some people on Facebook and IG. The more I saw heavy lifting women, the more I became intrigued. Not many (if any) women in my gym that I am currently at, powerlift, let alone lift. So I really had to look into my sources to find people who were going to help me get to where I need to be.
I also had Andrew and Joe, who in their own right of what they know, helped correct some form issues and helped me get the basics down of what I needed to know in order to kick it into high gear. Last year, I began getting my weight up in each lift and I ultimately volunteered at the powerlifting meet that Matt puts on every year. There, I fell in love and I didn’t look back. Well, maybe a little but life created a rollercoaster but I never really truly left the bar. I lost some strength, which I am trying to make up for now, and that is all that matters. Deadlifting? Deadlifting is my favorite! I tolerate benching and squatting. I tolerate them because I honestly need the most work in those areas, I feel. The truth. Powerlifting helps me feel in control of my body. Powerlifting has also taught me that it is about how strong you are, not how you look or how others see you. This was a valuable, but tough lesson to learn. Two years ago, I wanted to compete in a figure competition. With restricting food and doing endless hours of a week of cardio, I couldn’t help but imagine myself in the weight room. Every ½ hour session of HIIT or 45 minute session of steady state cardio, I just wasn’t in it. Then, the more that I was following people and the more I starting thinking about it, the less I could see myself able to be alright with myself standing half naked in front of strangers for them to critique me and my body. For me to potentially have everything I thought I was proud of, be nitpicked and pulled apart in a matter of a 30 second routine. For someone who struggle(s) with food issues, I finally decided that for me, that wasn’t a good idea. Now, I do love the bodybuilding sport and I still follow a lot of them. I love watching the shows but for me and how I feel about myself, I couldn’t do that. Applause to anyone that does. I am so glad that I get to use my talents for something that is just as amazing as body building. I love lifting heavy and that is where I feel the most at home. Sure, I know that my nutrition and my health come first and I will and need to work on that but lifting all of the heavy things is where I want to be. So, what does this mean? What am I going to do with this Powerlifting thing? Well, August 6th, along with my lovely mother (yep, you read that right), I am going to compete in my first ever Powerlifting competition. I am going to lift all of the heavy things (I can) and put them down. The best part really is for the experience and being with my mother. Following that, I already have a coach lined up and we are going to work on getting my weight down and my lifting numbers up for a meet locally in April. I am beyond excited/nervous about August 6th BUT I know that it is just a starting point to what is to come. I know that it will serve as a base line and learning experience (getting out the jitters) for the meets to follow. Look out everyone, here I come and I am determined to crush some weights!
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Running has always been something that I struggle to keep motivation with. I truly love being in the moment, feeling my heart beat increase while my feet hit the ground to the beat of the music in my ears. There is something nostalgic that just brings me back to simple things in life. Running is simple. One foot in front of the other, faster while creating droplets of sweat that run from my hairline to the tip of my nose. It is simple because it only requires your feet….and your willpower. Sometimes I lose my willpower and I can’t find a drive to get me motivated.
I often forget how it makes me feel after and I often forget the sites that I see when I am out of the car, on my own two feet, discovering new things. Lazy, is what you can also call my forgetfulness but that would be a little harsh. True. But harsh. Like I said, I have always struggled with running. I remember when I was in high school, I would beg, BEG my brother to drive me to school because I didn’t want to walk a mile. Sad Panda there folks. This probably attributes to my struggle now and how still, to this day, I love lifting more. I was looking up ways to help make myself fall back in love with running and how to get motivated. One of the best ways that I came up with is two apps on my phone. One is the Couch25K app. This starts out in longer intervals between running and walking. As the weeks go on, the running intervals get longer and the walking gets shorter. This allows your body to fully work up to consistent running through the entire 5k. The other app is called cardio boss. Now, this app has non-running cardio workouts but the workouts that include the running or walking at an incline are really good to compliment the Couch25k app. I try and alternate between the two (when I am motivated) to get my heart rate up and help my body recognize that it is ok to sweat now, it isn’t going to die (I still have to convince it of that). Sometimes searching for other outlets and other means of cardio to get the heart rate up is just what a body orders. When steady state cardio is part of the program, always, it is difficult for your body to make changes. Bodies are creatures of habit and this includes running and how it adapts to the body. Be kind to your body, it is the only one you have BUT also have fun. Treat it with love and kindness and well, cardio. **note: I am unsure if both apps are available for Android users, as I am an iPhone user but try anyway!** I found myself this year needing adventure, needing to put myself in a situation, any situation that would allow my mind to be free. Free of worry, free of headache, free of mundane, and free of my soul that had been so blue for a long time. Granted, I had just had a trip to help me clear my mind, which was amazing and full of adventure BUT I wasn’t done yet. I always have a craving to travel. I love the way that discovering and being a tourist makes me feel. There are so many things to look at when discovering new places. Structures of walls, how the roads wind with the beautiful landscaping covering the city. Whether it is exotic locations or random cities, I love to discover the wonder of things that are not in my hometown. Mostly, I like to way being in the unknown makes me feel. I like the feeling of my heart being a kid again. Big brown eyes searching for what could be lurking around the next corner. The constant question of “what is that?” or the resounding “THAT’S SO NEAT!” that I exclaim when something catches my eye. Every year, since Addie and I have gotten closer we have basically taken a road trip. The first year it was to Reading, PA to the Warhouse Gym camp. The second year was to PA also to do a battle frog race and this year we decided we would switch out a race and go to West Virginia to go white water rafting and head over to Washington, D.C. to tourist it up! Our mission was to leave on Wednesday after we dropped the kids off at their schools and head out, settle in, white water raft on Thursday, and drive to Washington, D.C. to bunk up in an Air BnB and enjoy the city the rest of the weekend. We did just that. I met Addie at a Park and Ride in order not to back track, loaded her things up into the SUV and we were off! Ohio is the worst state to travel through; I am just going to say that right now. The worst. Once we got through Ohio it went pretty smoothly until we approached the mountains and we were almost to our exit and “no service” appeared on our phones. One quick glance at each other, a shoulder shrug and Addie had us back on track. Thank goodness she knows how to navigate… Arriving at Adventures on the Gorge, we both were amazed at the beauty. Addie was particularly interested in the landscaping and it was truly beautiful. We have a short little drive to the camp site and we popped the tent up, got settled and grabbed some grub. Now, when you order a $10.00 drink somewhere that is alcoholic, expect it to have just that, because it did and Addie was a trooper sticking to her running streak and ran back to our campsite. I can’t say that my sleep was comfortable because I was in a tent and well, hard ground and I are not friends, but I managed. Thursday morning was early gusto for us and we were given breakfast (which was amazing) and coffee. We also realized during breakfast maybe it was a good time to single crochets a clothesline because well, that is how we roll. Quick change of clothes and we met our crew at 10am to head down to the Gorge. The whole trip down the gorge was a 4 ½ hour trip which included a very tasty riverside lunch, which was very tasty. The first part of the gorge, there was an option to hop out of the raft and swim downstream, so Addie and I did just that….well, Addie did. When I jumped out of the raft, I had gotten a big gust of water down my nose and I couldn’t catch my breathe. I literally thought I could drown (insert dramatic movie music here). I knew that I wasn’t going to, but it felt like it. I was pulled back into the raft and decided for the sake of my truly not wanting to die, I decided to skip the portion of jumping off the very tall rock and attempting again to get back in the boat. Addie could have done it thirty times and she would still be smiling. We both had such an amazing time and it was a wonderful landscape. Such a beautiful section of mountains. Docking back up after our trip, they gave us a crisp adult beverage and fed us dinner. I will say that they by far exceeded any expectations I had of the whole experience. They also helped us sleep like babies, so that was a plus! Friday morning we loaded up the SUV yet again (in a much less organized fashion) and headed our way to D.C. Now D.C. is only about 5 hours from West Virginia so that was a quick little drive. Once we entered Virginia, we did see a lot of Confederate Flags and Redneck type things (no offense) which were super neat to experience. Addie hooked up this Air BnB and when we pulled in, we knew it would be a good experience because well, they were runners and runners are awesome. They were such good hosts. They had maps and instructions for riding the metro (which, by the way, Addie hated). We basically dumped our bags and head out to get most of the memorials done. Teddy Roosevelt was being saved for Saturday, as he is Addie’s favorite president. Man, was it hot. By hot, we mean HOT. We have never walked so quickly to find bottles of water. I am pretty sure we both were sweating in places we never knew existed. Saturday consisted of Teddy Roosevelt monument first thing, then the Arlington National Cemetery. I have been to Arlington Twice before and every time, there is something that brings tears to my eyes. Addie and I did not take our cameras in for respect and for the experience of embracing all of its glory. Changing of the guard is a ceremony that should make everyone’s heart beat a little louder and respect grow a little greater. The men that guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and out in the heat, frigid cold for what they love to be called to do, serve. I am so glad I did not take my phone in but I could just soak in all of the experience. Following that we ate breakfast at a cute little diner and decided to ride the metro into town. From there, we went to the National Archive Museum, National Air and Space Museum, The White House, The Capitol, and Addie wanted to get her run in so she ran to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I opted to walk my sore feet to the metro, wait for what seemed like forever and we had perfect timing of the door of the car that I was on stopping right in front of her, and we carried on together to the Air Bnb. Gluten free pizza was a perfect “stay in” dinner option. Another night we slept like babies and Sunday morning we hit the 8 hour drive back to the Park and Ride. I know for certain that I got cranky because I was hot, my feet hurt and I was hungry BUT this trip was so great. I could little ride in a car with her forever. We always have things to talk about and even just singing in the car, we do it and it feels good! Thank you Addie for another amazing trip and I can’t wait to do it a trip again next year. Below are some pictures to enjoy. Sometimes doing something spontaneous and outside of the box is just what is needed for a little rest of the mind, clarity and redefining why I love lifting or love being involved in fitness. I was presented with a cheap opportunity to head to the Warhouse Gym and sit in on Dana Linn Bailey’s Women in Strength event on April 30, 2016. If you don’t know already how amazing she is or who she even is. A) I am not sure we can be friends anymore and B) you should probably go educate yourself. A lot of people criticize her for her looks but ironically enough, her women’s event was to educate women on how to battle that and find the reasons why they enjoy fitness instead of listening to the “haters”.
I took Friday off of work and caught an airplane to PA, picked up a rental and I was well on my way. I had met a fellow lover of fitness at one of DLB’s very first Warhouse Gym Camp’s, who happens to live relatively close, and he graciously hosted me in my crazy spontaneous adventure. Now, I am a pretty good navigator but I will admit, it had been a while since I have traveled alone and some parts were a little intimidating. Friday was a chill day, grabbing some dinner and preparing to rise early to head to the event. When I arrived at the event, it was packed full of women of all different races, ethnicities, sizes but yet they all smiled at each other and all greeted each other when one would walk past. There were women who had been in the industry for a number of years and others who sought out DLB for inspiration and were just getting started. I fall in between there somewhere. Miranda Oldroyd is a “DLB look alike” that is top in the CrossFit world. She graced everyone with her presence and also spoke at the event. When arriving in the basement, everyone semi-circle sat around what would be the “platform” for the ladies to speak. Rob gave an intro about DLB and Miranda then the ladies entered. Dana spoke first. She came from a place where “peer pressure” and not loving your body was part of her childhood/high school then competing just kept taking notches out of a passion she wanted to be in. She talked in depth about loving your body and doing fitness because you genuinely love it, not because it is something you “have to do”. Miranda came at it from a different angle. Miranda had an injury that if she had not taken care of her body or had muscle around her neck, she could have been dead. She too spoke in depth about fitness and utilizing it to be a tool for your actual health and to save your life. Both ladies did not speak from a script but rather from their hearts. It was genuine, kind and full of passion. You could really hear (not just listen) to what they are so in love with. After the session, we were able to get a work out in and I wondered around to find Rob. I stood in front of the 6 foot something and spoke to him about how much I have seen him grow as a person and as a husband. I thanked him for being so raw and genuine in his marriage the Dana. They truly are an inspirational power couple for Andrew and I. We hugged and I thanked him one more time. This was more than just going to see two people that I admire. These two people at 30 somethings doing good for their community and for the world. They have passion, drive and crush the stereotypes of “millennials” trying to ruin the world. This was more than just being spontaneous. It was a reset for me. It really took my heart back to what I love and what I need to sustain my mental wellness. It was everything I was hoping it would be in a trip. After my dad died, I have been rattled and lost and not knowing how to get back on track. I have been chasing after something and I didn’t even know what it was. Going to the WHG and hearing that I have to take care of my body and my heart for a million reason really re-focused. Like Dana says “train because it makes you feel good, train because you really want to do it, otherwise find something else you like to do and do that”. Saturday I stayed in an Air BNB and It was lovely. It was in a cute little neighborhood. I really had time to be by myself and really relish on what I had just heard and where I was going to go moving forward. I had never just been able to be in the quiet and be in the still just to think about me and what I want out of life. I needed Saturday. Sunday was a rush and ended in me being dropped off curb side in my rental car by one of the rental workers. THEN the line for TSA was so long, a nice lady told me to check in on the international side because my gate was on that side anyway (thank you ma’am, you literally saved me from a missed flight). I was greeted by my family back home and it was a lovely evening. Sometimes it is good just to randomly find yourself in a new place. Sometimes all you need in a reset is showing up unexpectedly somewhere to learn new things about yourself. I would do this trip again in a minute. Below are some fun pictures of my trip. Enjoy! |