Creating An Active Lifestyle

Let’s face it, we all can’t eat pizza and ice cream everyday and still look good. There was a T-shirt I saw at a running expo a few years back that caught my eye. It said “I run to eat” and, boy, I can’t think of another 4 words that better describes me.

I am NOT a natural athlete and I know you all will look at pictures of me and say what is she talking about? I look the way I am because I work out and I am not going to lie, I WORK OUT A LOT! The cat is out of the bag. But my days only have 24 hours in them, just like yours, and I am a product that if you put a little time, you too can find the time to work out and make it count; I promise. Just set a goal and work to it!

“Winning”: Running my first Marathon

My first fitness goal was to run a marathon and I finally accomplished my goal in February 2012. Running and I, literally (and figuratively), got off on the wrong foot. It was not until I joined Army ROTC where I ran my first mile and I learned quickly I sucked. I had three months to pass my physical fitness test or I would lose my Army scholarship. It was then were the meaning of Jerry Maguire’s “Show me the money” quote really meant something to me. I HAD to run. Fastfoward 12 years later and I ran a marathon and now I LOVE to run! Over the years, I became a psycho runner who thought in order to stay thin I HAD to run! And running is what I did, 24/7. Well after running over 500 miles in 5 months of training I may have been a skinny girl but I was a flabby one too. I was cooking a delicious meal for my family one day when I was stirring a soup over the stove top and I saw I had bingo arms! Aghhhh! “Bingo arms” are the bottom flabby part of your triceps that swings and flaps around when you wave to someone or raise your hand and say “bingo.” Well that night over curry butternut squash soup, “bingo” the light bulb flashed on and I knew I had to do more than running.

Ben and I finishing the Tough Mudder…who needs marital counseling when you can shove your significant others face in the mud?

My 2012 fitness goal was to BE STRONG. I wanted to do one pull up. There was no imaginary number on a weight scale or a specific time or Personal Record (PR), like they say in the running community, that I wanted to achieve. I just wanted to be fit. I wanted to do more than 5 consecutive pull ups. I wanted to be toned. I wanted to “Be CrossFit” (Yes, I drank the CrossFit koolaid and you can too. It is not that cultish, I swear). Well in 2012, I became a CrossFit level 1 Trainer and I can now do 10+ pull ups consecutively. I am a product of “If you set your mind to something, YOU CAN DO IT!”

My 2013 fitness goal is to do a Muscle Up and run a sub 2 hour Half Marathon. The running goal is self explanatory. A muscle up is when you start to do a pull up but instead of just putting you chin above the bar you need to pull your body up to chest level. Google it if you are interested in keeping me accountable because I need all the help I can get. But I say, “bring it.” I am ready for 2013. I am ready to be fitter than ever.

So I got pregnant at the latter half of 2013 and clearly didn’t get my muscle up. I spent the majority of 2014, getting back to my normal buff self. My 2014 fitness goal was to keep working out and finding the time to stay active daily. I ran another half marathon and did CrossFit regularly all while trying to balance a hectic career and taking care of a family of 5. That in itself made me feel like I won a Gold Olympic medal. I will take that and call it success.

I am back at it and my 2015 fitness goal I WILL GET THAT DARN MUSCLE UP. Wish me luck!

So my Exercise tab is where I will share my tips on how to squeeze a workout in the busiest of days, share my accomplishments and frustrations, and above all getting my kids involved and showing them from an early age that fitness and an active lifestyle is essential.