Open Wide!!

Disclaimer:  I was provided with products from Designer Whey to review as part of my affiliation with FitFluential.  

As always, all opinions expressed are my own.

I think we all know that I'm a lover of food. Food makes me all warm & fuzzy inside (and that's not because it's spicy!). It makes me do my happy wiggle and sometimes even sing a little song. So when I was asked if I would be interested in reviewing a new food product, you know I practically screamed "YES!"

Designer Whey, which you may remember from the review I did of their Sustained Energy product, sent me an incredible box of their products. I was so surprised! I was excited to try everything in the box but started with their Protein 2GO product.

From my Instagram 

Protein 2GO is a post-workout recovery drink mix with 50 calories, 10g of protein, 1g of sugar, and 2g of carbs. It's gluten-free, lactose-free, and caffeine-free. Now....let me be honest....after reading the box..well...I thought to myself "this is going to taste like dirt!". I was wrong!! I added one packet of the mixed berry flavor to my water and I was pleasantly surprised by the subtle berry flavor. It mixed well with water, didn't smell funny, and didn't have a weird aftertaste!

In addition to the products in the box, Designer Whey included several coupons that I could use to purchase a new yogurt called Smari. This is a thick and creamy, organic Icelandic-style yogurt and is available in four flavors – pure, vanilla, strawberry, and blueberry. In Tucson, you can find this particular yogurt at ONE store so I made the drive (42 minutes!) during a lunch hour to pick it up.

From my Instagram 

When I made it back to library, I tore into the Vanilla flavor like a scavenger. My first taste made me stop, look at the spoon, and say "Ok...that's pretty good". I added half of a Len & Larry's Muscle Brownie to the cup, stirred, and just savored my tasty snack. I promise when I tell you that it was totally worth the long drive and fighting traffic just to get to the store - don't believe me - check my twitter account where I tweeted about the yogurt being worth the 42 minute drive :)

Smari is made in Wisconsin with organic milk from grass-fed cows that live on small family farms, organic cane sugar, fruit from Oregon with no preservatives, and uses natural tapioca starch as a thickening agent. This yogurt is so thick, you can stand your spoon in it without it falling over! It’s also gluten free and kosher!

My in-laws have a pomegranate tree in their backyard so each year, I impatiently wait for pomegranate season to arrive and the free pomegranates I know I will be receiving. On Tuesday, I got my first one and I knew exactly what I was going to eat it with! Wednesday morning, I put together this snack before heading to work. I put my spoon in the Pure flavor before adding anything to it and WHEW! It's tart!! Consider this your warning. If you don't like tart, then this flavor (by itself) is not for you. I think it's the perfect base to build upon. You could add fruit, protein powder, granola, or whatever you would like to it!

This simple snack is yogurt + pomegranate seeds (1/2 a pomegranate) + honey (to taste). I took it to work and shared it with one of my co-workers. For a second there, I thought it was going to get ugly because she liked it so much she ate more than half :)

You can win some free yogurt and have some Halloween fun at the same time! There are 100 chances to win! 1.) Click here to download & print the viking hat! 2.) Take a picture wearing your Viking hat - perfect for a Halloween costume 3.) Post it on Designer Whey's Facebook wall & share! The first 100 people to post their Viking hat #selfie will receive a FREE Smari Yogurt coupon!

Be creative & have fun with it! I can't wait to see what pictures you guys post!!

Mixin' Things Up

Sometimes I feel like I always do the same workouts for shoulders. When I look back at my workout log, I know this isn't true but still, I've been craving some new exercises. I save all of the Muscle & Fitness Hers magazines that I receive in the mail so this is where I went for some ideas on how to mix things up.

In the July/August 2010, there was a "Workout To Go" featured and the target area was delts. Umm....perfection! Some of the moves featured where ones I hadn't done in quite some time so it was nice to add them back into the rotation :)

I have been waking up at 4:00 am and leaving the house no later than 4:15 am for workouts. 4:00 am is EARLY and there are days when I just want to snuggle deeper into the covers and not leave the house but I can't! I have work to do (remember, this is my "improvement season"!) so I get my tired ass out of the bed, put my workout clothes on, and head to the gym. On this particular morning, I decided to try the N.O.-Xplode 2.0 that I received in one of my monthly Jacked-in-a-Box. Honestly, this pre-workout isn't one of my favorites but it gave me enough of an energy boost to get my workout done. I did enjoy the tingling in my lips when it started to kick in....I know....I'm strange...lol!!

As I walked out of the gym at 5:57 am, here's what I had accomplished:

Incline dumbbell press

20 x 8   25 x 8   30 x 8   35 x 8

Seated lateral raises (with dumbbells)

25 x 8 (2)  30 x 8  35 x 6

Seated iso-lateral low row

90 x 10 (2)   110 x 10 (2)   140 x 8 (2)

Front raises (with plates)

25 x 8   35 x 8  45 x 8 (2)

Bent-over row (with barbell)

95 x 8   115 x 8   135 x 8 (3)

Seated row (wide grip)

105 x 10  120 x 10  (2)  135 x 10 (2)

Has anyone tried any new exercises or workouts lately? I'm always craving variety so please share!

New Release Tuesday

Ok...this is one of those videos where every time I watch it, 

I get teary-eyed (yes, I have emotions...lol!)

This is not only an incredible powerful video which

will make you think about the power of the

words you speak, but the lyrics of the song

are just as powerful. Plus, Emeli's voice

is simply amazing.

I love this song & video. I hope you will too.

New Release Tuesday

Mario...is it wrong that I have a crush on this handsome young buck? I don't care...if it's wrong, then I don't wanna be right ;)

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my firefighter but what girl doesn't want a piece of eye candy that can also sing softly in her ear?  I know this girls does!! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

Revitalized!

photo credit

Has anyone had the chance to see Generation Iron?? When the film opened September 21, it wasn't being shown in Tucson. Tom & I were pissed! I even took to Twitter to complain about the fact that my crappy ass city wasn't showing the film (side note - Phil Heath retweeted one my tweets - eekk!!!). After pouting about the possibility of having to drive to Phoenix to see the movie, it was posted on Twitter that additional cities would be showing the film. No joke, I jumped up and down when I saw that Tucson was on the list!

It's a documentary on bodybuilding...the posed picture was necessary :)

We weren't able to see the movie when it opened here because of work schedules and other stuff so, we decided we would have a late date night on  the Wednesday night after it opened and see the last showing. We loved it!! It was amazing to get a "behind-the-scenes" look at the lives of some of the world's greatest bodybuilders. It was also fun for us to watch the Olympia coverage in the film because Tom & I were at the show & expo! Side note: I thought Phil Heath was delicious before I saw the film and after seeing it, I'm pretty sure that I might want to have his babies. *I apologize to his wife for lusting after her husband :)

I have been enjoying my time away from the stage and have been using this time, not only to rest, but re-evaluate my goals. I had made some tentative plans about what shows I would do next year and what I would do during the next few months to be ready for those shows. But the truth is, I've also thought about hangin' up my heels. Not because I no longer love the sport or have the desire to compete but because I have been thinking "Can I really be a force to be reckoned with? Can I be competitive at the national level?". To me, if the answer to those questions is no, then it's time to walk away from competing.

photo credit

In my AZ Open recap post, I mentioned a trainer that I have seen backstage at shows who I have briefly chatted with. After the show, I found his gym BYB Fitness on Facebook and sent him a message thanking him for always being so kind to me and mentioning that I would love to work out with him if we could make it work with our schedules. After several exchanges, Randy and I were able to set up a date & time for me to head to Phoenix and work out with him. Last Thursday, I made the drive north and proceeded to get my ass handed to me!

Before walking into BYB!

I'm pretty sure you guys know that I take my workshops very seriously. Very rarely do I walk out of the gym knowing that I didn't give 100%. I knew that Randy was going to put me through a hard workout but I had no idea that it was going to be such a physical and mental battle for me. There were moments of klutziness (I couldn't clear some of the jumps he had set up during my squat jumps), moments of gasping for air (I can still hear Randy yelling "Don't you dare do that, T" when I would lean over and suck wind), declarations of "I can't" (I got reprimanded for saying that!), and even tears! The workout ended and I laid in the doorway, trying not throw up. I was a broken woman.

Meet Randy!

Randy and I sat down to talk after the workout and it was an awesome conversation. He said some things to me that I needed to hear, asked me questions that are still making me think, and essentially added fuel to my fire that I realized was slowing dying. One thing he said to me that has been running through my head is that I shouldn't consider hanging up my heels until I've stepped on stage in GREAT shape (because up to this point, I've only been in GOOD shape) and see where I place. I can't walk away if I haven't really been on point and given it everything I have.

I have lots of decisions to make in the next few weeks but what I can tell you is there are some changes that will be taking place. Changes that I'm excited and nervous about. Changes that I think may shake this whole thing up. I promise to share with you soon and hope you'll join me on the next part of this journey!

The Obsession Continues!

I want boulder shoulders. I want them so bad I can taste it. My shoulders want to look like Candice's when they grow up! #realtalk

photo credit

If you think my obsession with growing my shoulders is something that just started, you would be wrong. Check out my Build, Build, Build and I Wanna Be Like Dwight posts, one is from earlier this year and the other is from last year. I'm tellin' you....the obsession is here and it's here to stay!

Shoulders post-workout!

I am hitting shoulders twice a week, one workout is "heavy" and the other I call my "burnout" workout and even though it's been a short amount of time, I'm pretty sure my shoulders are growing (or is that the photo editing filter I'm using?!?!).

I thought I would share with you the shoulder workout I did Wednesday morning and it's a good one! I'm still having difficulty lifting my arms to fasten my bra, put my mascara on, and comb my hair :)

Military press

20 x 8  25x 8  30 x 8  35 x 7  40 x 5

lateral raises

15 x 10/10   20 x 10/10   25 x 10/10   30 x 8/8   35 x 6/6

quarter lateral raises

40/40 x 8 (2)    45/45 x 8 (2)   50/50 x 8

bent over lateral raises (using bench) 

15/15 x 10 (2)    20/20 x 10 (2)   25/25 x 8

cable upright row

80 x 10  90 x 10   100 x 10   110 x 10    120 x 10

Has anyone else had a kick ass workout they want to share?? I'm always on the lookout for new ones to try! Please share them in the comments section!!!

Put It In Your Ear!

I discovered two songs this weekend that I want to share with you today!!

The first song is from Katy Perry. Now....umm...I haven't really been a fan of her music in the past. She definitely has made a few catchy songs that make you want to wiggle a little bit but I've never been like "OMG! Katy Perry's coming out with a new cd!"

I'm not going to be rushing out to buy her new cd when it comes out but I did purchase this single from itunes! The beat is sick and I'm not kidding, I attempt to twerk it and drop it like it's hot when the song is on!

This second song is from a British band called Rudimental. I was watching Black Ink Crew on VH1 and they were playing one of their songs during one of the scenes. When the show went to commercial, I hopped on Youtube to see what other songs I could "discover". The album version of this song features Emeli Sande (who is sheer perfection) so listen to both versions - I'm serious - you can thank me later!