Just Keep Going

I Joined A Planet Fitness {and my thoughts on joining}

I let out a chuckle as I drove through town one day and spied the big purple and yellow sign.

"Planet Fitness coming soon!"

I hadn't heard much good about the place, and had only seen the jokes about them serving pizza.

Now, I like pizza. I think pizza has a place in everyone's life, and often make it fit in my macros. But to serve it a gym where people are often struggling to eat well, and workout? I don't agree with it.

Anyway.....

They moved in quickly, and pretty soon I had friends joining, and telling their friends. I didn't want anything to do with it after I heard you couldn't do deadlifts, or press a barbell overhead.

I'll stick to training at home, thanks.

Then my mom joined, and chose the option to bring a guest. She invited me to go with her, and kind of walk her through her workout, and I didn't turn her down.

I sat in my car Wednesday evening, looking at the front of the gym with it's big "Judgment Free Zone" , plastered across the front wondering what I was doing here, hoping I didn't see anyone I knew.

I was hoping for at least a squat rack and was sad when all I saw were Smith machines. :(

We signed in, and I took a better look around. It was pretty busy since people were getting off work, but overall it had a clean and relatively pleasant atmosphere.

I helped my mom through her workout, and was eager to get going with mine. I was starting day 1 of Triple Threat (still not running much at the moment) and was starting off with squats.

I made a huge mistake and completely forgot to warm up before diving in. I put 70lbs on the bar, and dove into my timed squats. When I finished those 5 sets my legs felt like jello. Then came walking lunges. Then leg extensions, and  more jello. The gym only has two leg press machines, and both were taken so I swapped that out for something else.

There's a little section with Kettlebells, battle ropes (which I thought were kind of cheesy), bands, an adjustable box jump,  and whatnot. 

My mom had gone to run errands, so I had some time to kill. I grabbed the 30lb KB and did three rounds of 10 KB swings, and 10 burpees as a finisher. I was sweating like a pig, and could literally barely walk. I hadn't had a workout quite this intense or heavy in quite a while!

I don't normally do cardio on strength days, but I still had some time so I hopped on the treadmill fully intending to just go easy as a cool down. I got on there and promptly started bumping the incline as far as it would go , and sped it up. The gal next to me looked like I was insane as I stood there, my machine beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beeping. I lasted all of two minutes before the shaking in my legs got so bad, so I called it quits and went to change.

The next day I was so sore. I was supposed to do conditioning, but I could barley walk or sit. My glutes, hamstrings and quads were hating me at work. Or maybe I was hating them?

I lay in bed last night debating whether or not to get a membership. It was cheap.....but no squat rack????? Back and forth, back and forth....

Then today I did a thing. A thing I said I would never do. I got a planet fitness membership.

Why?

Because I was in a training funk. I would groan as I bundled up in the cold to train with my weights and barbell, and I've been running the same road for three years. Once I got going I was okay, and enjoyed myself, but I needed a different atmosphere.

Would I rather join a Crossfit gym? Absolutely. Can I afford it? Nope. Do I wish they had a real squat rack? Duh.

I've heard people say "You can't get fit at a Planet Fitness, But I'm going to let you in on a little secret.....

You can get fit at home using just your body. You can get fit with a barbell and a few weights. You can get fit with machines. You can get fit at a Planet Fitness.

If you are eating smart and training hard, (and correctly), you can reach your goals. It's as simple as that.

I don't just love PF, but I'm looking forward to getting out of my rut and crushing my new training plan. I will still have days were I train at home and get in my deadlifts, front squats and (my favorite), push presses, but a change of scenery is very muchly needed right now.

So to all the PF haters, (speaking partially to myself), yes, there lot's of newbies who you'll see performing "Bro Reps", and whatnot, but you'll also find more experienced people who ignore everyone else, go in, get work done, and leave. They're not just there to socialize, and flaunt their muscles. 

Plus, it's only $10 . Even I can afford that.

Goal setting for 2017

In 30 minutes it will be 2017. A new start to a new year. 

Now, I am not a resolution-making person, (if you are, great, but it's just not me), because I see and know how easy it it to give up on something that you decide you "should" be better at.

Me? I'm setting goals. 

to me the difference is that a goal is something that lights a fire in you that you have to work towards. It's easier to achieve because you want it so badly, that you're willing to work for it. That doesn't mean it will be easy, but it keeps you going even when you don't feel like it.

this year I did some pretty cool and hard things (like the Beast), and have several small and BIG goals I'm going for this coming year.

So, because supposedly if you tell someone what you're goals are you're more likely to achieve them, here are some of mine:

• Spartan Race Trifecta (all three races in a calendar year = another cool medal and bragging rights)
• PODIUM FINISH IN AN ELITE HEAT! (This is a big one for me and will take A LOT of work, but if you don't try you'll never achieve....)
• Save for, and start my Personal Trainer Course (I've been applying at some part time jobs and I've been told they'll start hiring in a few weeks. Fingers crossed that sometime around June I can afford to start)
• Go on a short term mission trip to Russia (childhood dream right there, and I've been praying a lot about it. We'll see how God works!)
• Grow my blog and post useful and fun content. I would love to focus on training and nutrition for young, poor people like me, and give them the help I wish I had had when I first started working out 3 years ago.
• Do one OCR a month. I want to branch out too, and get as many different races under my belt as possible
• GO RUCKING!!!!      
• Figure out how to work and grow my Beachbody coaching business  
• Put more emphasis on recovery during hard training phases, and limit injuries
• Remember that God is in control and has a plan for my life far better than anything I could imagine, and trust him completely.

There you have it..... a few of the  things I hope to accomplish in 2017. I hope you have a safe and happy new year!                                                                                                                

Welcome!

The part every blogger, (or is it just me?), dreads....

The first post.

Do you do an intro? Jump right into a race re-cap? Share a favorite recipe? Or just do an awkward random post to get things going? For me, it'll probably end up being the latter. :)

I guess for starters, the reason I started this blog is to share my passion for all things fitness related! Mind you, I didn't always love living the fit life, oh, no........

I remember my sister and I hauling ourselves out of bed early in the cold dark winter mornings to go running. We would don our gloves, jackets, ear warmers, and ipods and go for a 1 mile run. I say run, but really it was mostly walking, with some running sprinkled in there. Haha.

This would last for a day, or three, and then I would lose motivation and decide I'd much rather be in my warm, soft bed.

Running was for runners.......and I wasn't a runner.

We would find workouts on Pinterest and do them together in the shop. Man, I remember them being super tough! Then we would be super hungry afterwards so we would come in and proceed to eat just about everything in site......and they weren't always the wisest choices. 

We talked about doing a Tough Mudder, or a Spartan together, but always ended up saying, "But we're not "fit" enough for that." "There's no way we could finish one."

This hit and miss workout routine lasted for months for me. I just didn't enjoy it.

I don't remember the exact date that it changed, but I remember I had tried and tried to do just one push up. I started with negative push ups, but every time I lowered myself down I would fall on my face trying to get back up. Yeah, it was frustrating.

Then one day, I decided to try again, and guess what? Yes, I got my very first push up. And that was the day that I fell in love with the feeling of being stronger than I was before, and knew that if I put my mind to it, I could do much more than I thought.

Fast forward two years to present day......

I have come a long way in my fitness journey, (I know that sounds so cliche....)

I've lost 30 lbs, gained back almost 20 in mostly muscle mass, Can run a 7-8 minute mile, and can deadlift more than my body weight. My chin ups/ pull ups are getting a tiny bit better, burpees are my best friend (NOT!), and my front squat, and bench press numbers are going up.

I've completed two Battlefrog Obstacle course races, two Spartan Sprints, and I'm training for a Spartan Beast (12-15 miles) in October, and a Super (8-10 miles) in November.

My point in saying all this is not to brag on what all I can do. I'm definitely not the strongest or fastest out there, but with a lot of hard work, early morning and late night training sessions, sore muscles, protein pancakes, more hard work, blood, sweat, and tears, I've come a long, long way from where I was. 

I find ways to squeeze in a workout when I'm short on time, I plan my meals in advance, and try to keep them healthy, because I know that's when I feel my best. I eat a lot. I drink tons of water. I find ways to keep fitness fun. 

My workouts are more than just "workouts" to me. They've taught me diligence, self-control, perseverance, discipline, and that you have to work for what you want in life.

So, with that being said, I look forward to sharing my workouts, good eats, and race experiences with any of you who care to join me here. If you have questions, post ideas, or anything you want to say in general, do not hesitate to leave a comment!