I Keep It Real

I received an email from a reader and a few lines in the email really stood out to me. She wrote,

"I have to tell you that I really enjoy your blog and

 I enjoy it for several reasons. You are real. 

You don't sugar coat, you don't pretend.

 I especially love the pictures of your workouts that you share. 

You aren't made up or glamorous. 

You're just you."

When I started writing this blog two years ago, I knew that this would be a place where I shared what was going on in my life whether it was good, bad, ugly, or fugly. In my "real life", I try to be as honest and bullshit-free as possible and I wanted my blog to be an extension of that. 

I have talked about the positives of prep and also the negatives. I've shared with you my insecurities, my frustrations with competing, my accomplishments, my dreams & goals. I have shared these things because I want you to know me, my journey, my path in its truest form. Yes, I may not write about everything (positive and/or negative) that's going on in my life but y'all get a pretty good amount of it :)

As for the line about the pictures from my workouts, I am not about being cute when I go to the gym - bottom line. I will make sure that my clothes match and that my elbows & knees are not ashy but that's really as good as it gets. However, there are exceptions to this! If you were to run into me at the gym during my lunch hour, I would probably have eyeshadow & mascara on B-U-T that's because I put it on for work, NOT the gym :)

The gym, for me, is serious business. I am there to work and I don't need to look cute to do that. I'm a sweaty, grunting, frowning beast when I'm in the gym...#sorryimnotsorry. Now, let me make it clear that I am not knocking folks that put themselves together before they go to the gym. If that's your thing, that's awesome. I'm just saying, it's not mine.

With that said, I promise to continue keeping it real - ugly gym pictures, rants about how prep sucks, and random pictures of food and all! :)

*click the picture to enlarge*

New Release Tuesday

I am so in love with this song, it's crazy. It's smooth and sexy...kinda like me....completely kidding..not about it being smooth and sexy...about me being like that...anyway...moving along... :)

I need to learn more about this Miguel fellow because I might start diggin' him like I dig Robin Thicke...just sayin'....

I Am Now A "Baddass"!

photo credit

Recently, you may have noticed the appearance of the above whatchamacallit (lol!) in the bottom left hand corner of my blog. If it didn't catch your eye, take a moment to give it a quick glance then bring your eyes back here :)

I am now a featured publisher/blogger on Shareaholic's Fitness Channel! I am so excited about the opportunity for my blog posts to appear on this channel with some really incredible, motivating FitFluential bloggers. Check out Shareaholic's blog post officially welcoming the FitFluential bloggers here.


So...you might be thinking to yourself..."ok...but that doesn't explain the whatchamacallit..??" The whatchamacallit or Shareaholic button will allow you, the awesome readers of my blog, to share my blog posts quickly...from anywhere...with anyone you would like! You can share posts using services like Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, Google Mail, and more. It is my hope that, if you read something here that you think others might benefit from or enjoy, you will share it with them using the Shareaholic button!

Let's get into some workout & training fun, shall we??

Last week, I tried another supplement sample from the November Muscle & Fitness sample box that I received. The sample was the Pre & Post Workout Drink from Baddass Nutrition. I was really excited to try this sample because I saw their booth at the Olympia Expo but there were a bazillion people in line so I never got close enough to pick up a sample or talk to one of the folks working the booth.  

The directions state to take this pre-workout supplement 15 minutes before your workout on an empty stomach. My drive from home to the gym is about 20 minutes so I didn't add the mixture to my water and drink it until I had been on the road a little more than 5 minutes. The fruit punch flavor of the pre-workout drink was subtle and I can happily say it did not taste one bit like Hawaiian Punch! The powder did mix fairly well with water but there was a layer at the bottom of my shaker bottle when I had finished the drink. I think I am to blame for that as I didn't stir the mixture as long as I normally would have - I was trying to mix the drink while getting my workout stuff ready while getting out of the door on time.

I felt very strong while using this supplement - not She Hulk strong but Tenecia 2.0 strong :) It did give me a boost of energy that, in my opinion, spiked at the beginning of my workout and maintained at a consistent level throughout my workout. I am really happy that I tried this supplement when doing my back workout because my body didn't tire out on me and I felt like I could push myself a bit harder than I normally would have. Operation Build-A-Back is still in effect so every strong, I think I'm going to throw up workout is a plus.

The post-workout component of this stack is grape flavored and is tasty! It reminded me of the grape Glutalean that I love so dearly. According to the Baddass website, the "Stack Post contains CarnoSyn, to delay muscle fatigue as well as BCAA's, which aid with muscle repair. You tear it down, so you can rebuild it even stronger the next time."

Again, this is one of the best things about the Muscle and Fitness Monthly Supplement Sampling Program, you can try & learn about products and figure out if they are a thumbs up (like this one!) or a thumbs down (like Universal Shock Therapy) without spending a large amount of money to do so. I'm definitely digging the products from Baddass and will definitely order from them in the near future.

photo credit

I have to leave you with this excerpt from the home page of Baddass Nutrition's website - it's awesome and I'm pretty sure it confirmed my love for this new company & its products!

"YOU GET CALLED CRAZY A LOT.

Crazy is just a name the lazy use to describe the dedicated. One more rep is the difference between an average and an excellent workout, and one more rep (or five, or six) is exactly what

 BADDASS Nutritional supplements give you. 

BADDASS helps you train harder, longer, better. 

Some people need others to tell them who they should be. 

Some people already know. 

You know. 

You Are BADDASS."




Disclaimer:
I received these products free of charge and was given no compensation for this review.
All opinions expressed are my own.

If You Build It...

photo credit

Do you remember that quote from The Field of Dreams --> "if you build it, they will come"? This was the quote going through my head yesterday afternoon as I tried to annihilate my shoulders in the hopes that next competition season, my Dwight Howard boulder shoulders will arrive :)

photo credit

Muscle and Fitness was gracious enough to send me one of their November sample boxes and you guys, I swear the boxes & samples just keep getting better and better! If you are unfamiliar with the monthly supplement program they currently offer, here is a quick overview of the program --> You may sign up to receive 5-7 samples of different products each month. The cost of the membership is $15 a month or $11.25 with an annual membership. Shipping is free and members receive $15 off any $75+ order from the Muscle & Fitness store when they join. If this sounds like something you might be interested, you can find additional information about the program at the Muscle & Fitness Store.

Some of the samples included in this month's box include:

Universal Atomic 7- Grape Splash 

VPX Carbonx- Chocolate

Muscle Pharm Assault- Watermelon 

Baddass Nutrition - Pre & Post Workout Drink

For my "Buildin' Boulders" workout, I decided that I would start with my sample of Universal Shock Therapy - Grape Ape. I am going to be honest here, I did not like the taste of this product at all. It was very hard for me to stomach and the smell was a bit strange. It did mix well with cold water and there were few granules left at the bottom of my container after pouring the contents of the packet into water. Even though it was very difficult for me to drink all of the mixture (I don't like to eat or drink things that smell funny), I did finish it all and started my workout a little less than 30 minutes later.

The product description states "Shock Therapy harnesses the power of the NO boosters, muscle volumizers, energy substrates, antioxidants and nootropics and fuses them into a single cutting-edge supplement" so I expected big things from this supplement. I was slightly disappointed when I didn't feel a significant surge of energy, focus, or power at any point after I had taken it. Now, that is not to say that I did not have an incredible workout....cuz I did! Below is the shoulder workout that I threw together with the help of The Boss #2 - try it out and let us know what you think!

I've sampled some of the other supplements provided this month's box since trying the Shock Therapy sample. I will share my thoughts on the different products and the workouts I did in an upcoming post! I do want to say that this is what I love about the monthly supplement sample box program - the fact that you can try products before fully "committing" to them. Some of the samples I received were awesome and when I need to restock my supply, they will definitely be on my "Add to the Rotation" list. Other samples, like the Universal Shock Therapy, weren't quite for me and I was able to determine that before spending my money on something I probably wouldn't use again. Just something to keep in mind if you're considering signing up for the program!

Disclaimer:

I received these products free of charge and was given no compensation for this review.

All opinions expressed are my own.

Playlist Thursday: High School Jams

Playlist Thursday is this great weekly posting that Pavement Runner features on his blog on...you guessed it...Thursdays! Each week, he features a theme and shares one song that is something old, another that is something current, and one that is something to consider. I find myself heading over to Pavement Runner each Thursday to see what songs are going to be featured and felt brave enough to participate again, after a short hiatus, this week!

I also like to live vicariously through him in terms of the running and miles this man logs. He is the definition of "beast mode" and "Fitfluential"!! Don't believe me?!?! The man just completed a 50 mile run in some serious conditions (rain, mud, etc)...anyway....you have to head over to his blog...not only for the music but his posts about running, training, and the beautiful First Lady! :)

This week's theme is "High School Jams" and while high school was not the best time in my life, some of the music I still love to this day was discovered during this turbulent time :) Here are some of the songs that add some flava' while taking me back into time!



Something Old

Artist: Jon B.

Title: Are You Still Down?

Side note: I spent many hours daydreaming about this white boy who sang like an angel and was gangsta' enough to have 'Pac on his song  *sigh*

Quotable: "Yeah, I can see that you want me. By the way that you smile. R u still down for me?"

Something Current

Artist: The Fugees

Song: Killing Me Softly

Side Note: My friend Tiffany introduced me to The Fugees one morning while we were waiting for the bus to take us to school. Tiffany was C-O-O-L....her clothes, her makeup, her attitude...and I knew when she told me this group was the best group out there, she knew what she was talking about.

Additional side note: Our classmates would ask Tiffany and I to sing this song in our Journalism class. I'm not gonna lie, our harmony was the sh!t :)

Quotable: "I heard he sang a good song. I heard he had a style. And so I came to see him and listen for a while."

Something to Consider

Artist: Angie Martinez, Lil Kim, Da Brat, Left Eye, Missy Elliott

Song: Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)

Side note:  I love this song!! No beef, no catfights, no one giving each other the stank eye! See ladies, you can be awesome in your own element while joining forces with other equally awesome women on projects!

Quotable: "Aiyyo Kim, heheh, ya kno' what I'm sayin? I ain't even gon' leave without sayin sumthin' on this track.You ain't gonna use me to just be singin' hooks. What I look like? Patti LaBelle or somebody?"

*please note there is profanity in this video*

If you want to see playlists from other bloggers, head over to the Playlist Thursday Catalogue page!

New Release Tuesday

I'm not really sure how I feel about the video but really, who cares? I'm not watching the video when I'm doing my fast walk run to this song. I'm enjoying having this as a part of cardio playlist and think you might as well!

Oh...before we go...I may or may not have but the leather bustier Florence is wearing in the video on my Christmas list....just sayin'.... :)

December, Where Did You Come From!?!

Can someone please explain to me how the month of December arrived so quickly?!? I could have sworn that it was just May and I was bawling like a baby at The Princess' 5th grade promotion!! C-R-A-Z-Y!

It's full blown "off-season" or "improvement season" up in here! With that in mind and to keep me on track, I thought I would share my goals for the month of December with you. Nothing like accountability to keep you on the straight & narrow :)

1) Drink at least a gallon of water daily

2) Take my vitamins!

3) Log 6-10 miles from running each week

4) Weight training at least 3 times a week

5) Be in bed by 9:00 pm at the latest during the week

6) Eat the food I take to work and stop eating out!

"Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you become. 

Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be;

your Ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at least unveil."

*James Allen*