New Release Tuesday - Theme Song Edition

A couple of years ago, I started picking a theme song for my year. I felt like I should have a song that represented my goals for the year and so I began choosing a song that "spoke to me". I would then proceed to play the hell outta the song for the year at any given moment :)

Last year's theme song comes from the same artist as the song I have chosen for this year. My 2014 theme song was "Good Life". Whenever I was feeling pouty about the direction my life was going, I would play the song. Whenever I needed a reminder about why I was making certain decisions, I would play the song. When I won my show in July, I played the song. You get the idea.

This year, my theme song is "I Lived" by OneRepublic. The first time I heard the song, I stopped everything that I was doing at the time to listen to it. And then I started crying.

I'm serious.

I started to do the ugly cry, especially when the chorus came on.

Finding this song came at the perfect time. I had just discovered a quote by Henry David Thoreau that reads "Oh, God, to reach the point of death only to realize you have never lived."

My goal this year is to live.

I will do things I have only talked about doing.

I will bend, possibly break, the rules.

I will set lofty goals for myself.

I will break out of my comfort zone.

I will take chances.

I.

WILL.

LIVE.

City of Angels

A couple of days ago, I wrote my LA, Here I Come post and shared that I would be traveling to Los Angeles to cover TheFitExpo for Fitfluential. As I hit publish on the post, I knew that there was a possibility that I might not actually make it to the City of Angels. Issues/hiccups/speed bumps were appearing out of nowhere and I started to stress....BIG TIME! For days my stomach hurt, there was a pounding in the center of my forehead, and I wanted to cry. #idontdocrying

At the eleventh hour (Wednesday evening), everything fell into place and there was nothing left to stress/worry/cry about!

After sending the Princess off to school and doing a few chores Thursday morning, I hit the road. The drive from Tucson to Los Angeles is about 7 hours and while I have driven to California before, this was the first time I would be doing the drive by myself. I had my snacks and fruit punch HelixBCAAs handy, music and book to listen to, and I made sure to pee! :)

After 1 stop to fill up the gas tank and take a potty break and almost 7 hours later, I arrived. I may or may not thrown my arm in the air and screamed "yes" when I saw downtown...lol...I had survived the drive (which really wasn't that horrific) and rush hour traffic.

I will be staying with my brother Jonathan while I'm in town and I have to say, the man knows how to introduce you to his city! He took me to Katusya, which is owned by the company he works for, and is right by Staples Center. The food was perfection. The service was impeccable.

It was a really proud moment for me to see the managers of the restaurant come over to talk to my brother and to watch how professional he is and how well he carries himself. The kid (technically he's not a kid...but he will always be a kid to me! #bigsister) is definitely going places. Don't believe me? Check out this film project he and his friends created in less than 48 hours. They are currently one of the top 5 projects in the nation and are 1st in the online voting for People's Choice!

I'm off to see more of the city and enjoy some good eats. Tomorrow is the first day of the expo so stay tuned - follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter for updates!

LA, Here I Come!!

Happy February! How fast did January go?!?! I swear Christmas was just here and I was enjoying opening presents & chomping on candy canes!

I'm extremely excited to share with you guy that I will attending the TheFitExpo in Los Angeles this weekend! I, along with several other FitFluential Ambassadors, have been chosen to be a part of the Social Media team covering the event! 

Now, y'all know I love when fitness-minded individuals converge and take over a city. I mean...do I need to remind you of Olympia weekend and all of the shenanigans, supplements samples, and celebrity sightings that took place??

From my fb page -
Steve "The King Snake" Kuclo!

From my fb page -
IFBB Figure Pro Kim Jones

Big Ramy and Dennis James made me feel super small!

I found my favorite BCAAs!
Helix BCAAs from
NuBreed Nutrition for the win!!! #ffobsession

From my Instagram

Nate, the Official Cookie Monster! The man is supa' gorgeous in person!

Chad, owner and creator of The Drive Clothing
That beard tho! #yummy

There are so many things that I am looking forward to seeing at TheFitExpo. I have actually started planning out my days hour by hour. There is going to be so much to see and I don't want to miss any of it!

Saturday's agenda includes the Strongman Competition, Elspeth Dana & David Morin "Cooking with Protein" which will be presented by Team Dymatize, "My Favorite Protein Shake" with Lita Lewis, the Iron Man NATURALLY Bodybuilding, Physique. Figure, and Bikini competition, and the Bodyspace Spokesmodel Awards.

Sunday I am going to to try and attend the seminars with Dexter Jackson, Dennis Wolf, and of course....the love of my life...Phil Heath! I would also like to make time for the USPA American Cup Powerlifting Championship.

The tentative schedule that I've made for myself can definitely change because each time I look at the Schedule of Events I find other interesting seminars, competitions, demonstrations that I want to attend!

Who else will be there?? Who is trying to decide if they're going?? You know you want to go! A weekend pass for the expo is only $40 and can still be purchased online. 

I would love to meet up with any folks going. Maybe we can stalk look for Phil....or treat-or-trick at the expo booths (Nubreed, MuscleEgg, and others are calling my name!)...or just people watch!

New Release Tuesday

I will be the first to say that I have no intention

of going to watch Fifty Shades of Grey when it comes out.

Yes, I read the books. 

No, I did not fall in love with them.

No, it did not make me want to start biting my lower lip.

No to any other question you might want to ask....lol...

With that said, I am in L-O-V-E

with this song by Ellie Goulding and 

if I had been living in a cave, I would want to 

watch the movie after watching this video!

Definitely adding this to my playlist!

Mind Games...

I have always been hard on myself. I have, for the most part, felt like I was "average" when it came to certain things. One of these being competing.

I am making the following statement without a shred of cockiness (I am merely stating facts) - I have done very well during my last 3 years on stage. I have won my class twice, one overall win, and seven top five placings. However, I still feel like an underdog. Like I'm not quite at the level I need to be in order to be a contender. Like I'm average. Like I have more weaknesses versus strengths in terms of my physique.

In my "More Than A Month!?!?" post I mentioned that during this off-season, I am working on, not only my physical well-being, but my mental well-being as well. During one of my earlier text exchanges with the Boss Lady, she told me "A healthy mind leads the way". She and I have discussed on numerous occasions how I tend to let my negative, self-deprecating thoughts take over and cloud my vision. The Boss Lady explained to me that in order to be my best self, I had to start working on changing my mindset and clear my head of negative thoughts.


I decided that I wanted to read a book that could help me figure out why I tend to be so critical of myself. Why to I get in my own way when it comes to making goals and pursuing them.

I found this book while searching my library's catalog and at first I was going to pass on it because it was only available in audiobook format. Then I decided that I would check it out and I would listen to it to and from the gym. It turned out to be a great decision.

photo credit

photo credit

One it helped me wake up and get ready for my workout. Two it helped me really think about what was going on in my life, the decisions I've made, the chances I have & haven't taken, etc. I now joke that I worship at the Church of Jen Sincero. She has really changed my life. This book is definitely librarian approved - read/listen to it if you can!!

Awhile back, Tom found this incredible video on youtube and played it for me. I instantly fell in love with it and told him I wanted to figure out a way to put it on my workout playlist. The man worked his magic and converted it, along with a couple of other videos, into mp3 files that I could add to my playlists.

And one of my all-time favorites:

 

One of the men that you hear speaking in the first two videos is Eric Thomas aka ET. The man is incredible. I feel like every time I listen to him, I can conquer the world. I downloaded his app and listen to him constantly.

photo credit

He really makes me want to do better - train harder - fight for more - aspire to be greater. His words breathe life into me every time I hear them.

I am learning how important it is to fill my heart and my mind with positive thoughts and people. While it may seem weird to others, this is what is working for me. This is what is helping me realize, like Jen says, that I am the only Tenecia there will ever be....and that I'm kind of a big deal. I get to perceive my reality so why would I choose to perceive myself as anything other than a super huge rock star of a person?

photo credit

Getting Things Done...

In my "Final Decision" post, I shared with you some of my last season shit show drama events. I let y'all know that while I had started prepping for a fall show, a decision was made to end my prep and focus on an off-season.

My bedazzled suit and 5 inch clear heels were packed away and my focus shifted from getting show lean to other things.

I am now about three months into "Operation Physique Overhaul" and I have to tell you, off-season is not as horrible & squishy as I thought it would be! :)

My off-season body....

From my coach's Facebook page

At the beginning of my off-season, my coach explained to me what some of my goals were going to be. Some of these goals were about physical improvements like adding width to my back, working on my glute & hamstring tie-in, building my chicken legs (my words...not her's! lol). Others were focused on working on my mindset and helping me stop comparing myself to others & recognize my potential/strengths.

How I felt after my first official workout with my coach -
whose idea was this?!?!

Checkin' on my booty gains.... #cakecakecakecake

Working on improving my physique has been fun, challenging, and at times brutal. I love the workouts that I'm receiving. I love that I can drive up to Phoenix to train in person with my coach (even though I'm pretty sure she's trying to make me throw up, cry, die, or all of the above...lol). The in person training is a great time for me to ask questions, have my form corrected, learn about my body and what things I should be looking for/feeling as I'm doing a particular exercise, and more.

Am I growing??? :)

At the start of all of this, my metabolism was a bit sluggish so my body was not responding to the work I was putting in. I will be honest when I say I was feeling frustration about things not happening the way I felt they should be or as quickly as I wanted to. I was told to be patient and give my body time to get itself back in order. I made a conscious decision to throw out my timetable, focus on working my plan day in & day out, and let my body do the rest. I am very happy to say that I have received very positive feedback from my coach about the progress I'm making (a compliment or two may have been given....score!) - #happymeathead

The Mister caught me taking a selfie :)
Check out my cool lifting belt that he made me for Christmas!!

What I looked like after my first 2 hour spin & battle ropes class!

My daily schedule hasn't changed just because I'm not in contest prep. Most days I wake up between 3:45 - 4:00am and will be in the car heading to the gym no later than 4:15am. I work out until about 6:00 am, head back, put my mom & wife hats, and then head to work. In addition to my weekly lifting & cardio sessions, I have started attending a Saturday morning spin class at my local YMCA! It's from 8:15 am - 10:15 am and we do battle ropes at the end of class! I know the instructor from the library and he had been challenging taunting encouraging me to attend his class for quite some time. When I was told I needed to start spinning, his class was the first one I thought of and now, I can't live without it!

This has been an incredibly interesting time for me - signing with a new coach, officially being in off-season, setting lofty goals for 2015, trying new things, etc. I am thankful that my body continues to put up with my rigorous training and that I have remained healthy & injury-free. I am excited about the journey I am on and what is to come.

2015 is going to be the year of badass - I just know it!

New Release Tuesday

Damn you, Nick Jonas!

Damn you and your delicious vocals,

your mesmerizing beats,

and your drool worthy too young for me body!

DAMN YOU!!!