The 5 D's of Life

At the end of the week, all I can think about is sleep and well... more sleep. My body hurts from the full week of workouts, am and pm cardios, not to mention I am mentally drained from the food prep, the lack of sleep, the stress from work, and all the bricks life throws at my head. Most of the time I am pretty quick on my feet and can implement the 5 D's... Ya know: Dodge, Dip, Dive, Duck, and Dodge. This week however, the wrench hit me smack upside the head just like in the movie.



 We all have em... Weeks that seem to drag on or in this case fly by but nothing went right. In fact, things seemed to go WAY wrong and all I could do was try to stay afloat. I am always worried about my progress and my success with workouts and eating on a daily basis and in this case, in the middle of a no good awful week, I am stressing.

Dun-da-da-daaaaa..... Batman and Robin to the bat mobile! I trained alongside these gentlemen this week as well as our new found friend, BoneCrusher aka. B.C. for short. B.C. is a power lifter that caught my eye in the gym a while ago when I saw him squatting solo with 6 plates (each side) on his back.. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor and wipe the "deer-in-the-headlights" look off my face. He's pretty rad and has added a lot of character to our daily gym time. Anywhoooo back to training... I will say that I amazed myself this week with the help of the boys. I was able to lift MUCH more than I thought I could in every single lift I executed. One of the things that shocked me the most was the sled...Now mind you, I tell Batman and Robin pretty much everyday that "I don't think I can lift that" as I get the infamous "You are full of crap" look. We loaded the sled up with '3 wheels' on each side and I managed a set of 8 followed by a set of 6. This is 270lbs! Yep basically I pressed a Bears Offensive Lineman! 

What I took away from this week especially when I had a hard time keeping things together is that when the going gets tough, I am tougher and it is ok to ask for help. 

Ciao for now,  J 

Chuck Norris Approved

In the small gym at my apartment complex, round 1 of cardio starts at 3:45am. Since it is early (and most everyone and their mom is snuggled in warm cozy beds) the main office is not open. No big deal except, the remote to the 1980's TV is held hostage and so I get stuck watching whatever channel the last person in the gym watched.. Yesterday was Sports Center, not soo bad but today started out with an infomercial for the NINJA Blender. Now when I think of ninja, I'm thinking like Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris.

Side note- My dad loves to go to Costco before Christmas and do all his shopping in one trip, which basically means you are bound to get some... lets say... Unique gifts. This year I opened my first present and it was a NINJA. I glanced at my dad with a confused look as my mom is saying "open it J and see what it REALLY is." Dad comes back with "No no it is true to the box, it is a NINJA. They had it on demo at Costco and it looked like you J."

Ok so have you ever watched an infomercial for its entirety? Those suckers can actually get ya hooked if your not careful and the next thing I know, I'm dripping sweat on my hands and knees trying to dig the NINJA out from under my bed... Only problem is is how am I going to use it unless I wanna have turkey and broccoli smoothies? Uhh...no thanks.

Ciao for now,  J

Almost 9 weeks...

Met with Pete da Man yesterday and received the new diet plan... Umm salmon and asparagus at 7am!! My stomach is doing more flips than an Olympic gymnast already! Not to mention double cardios which means I am getting up at 3:30am...Wait, is this even considered morning or is it still night time? Yep, its all worth it BECAUSE he still gave me a cheat meal! Woot Woot, Holla at cha girl! (Pretty excited if ya wouldn't tell).



Almost 9 weeks Out

Ciao for now,   J



I now introduce...

Round 3.... This is where it gets interesting!

Now that yall have been introduced to my awe-inspiring sister, Pete da man, Tanji (da bomb diggity), SaveFitness and my amazing team mates, its time to open the up the gym mats and introduce some other key figures that have helped me thus far in my journey.

L.Bug is what I will call her and she is purely fantastic. One of the most caring, trustworthy individuals in my life and I have to say she has seen me through the rough patches and held me together like super glue when I needed it. I also have to name drop two gentlemen from good ol LA Fitness...They will be 'Batman' and 'Robin'. These two guys keep me laughing and smiling even when I want to stomp my feet, throw a fit, and cry because it hurts soo good. They have seen the most ridiculous things with the newest being reverse grip lat pulldowns @ 130lbs (more than I weigh might I add) for a set of 6. Robin had to hand me the bar and Batman contemplated bear hugging my waist to keep me seated for the set. At completion, I unhook my knees and go flying up in the air with the bar as the weight stack settles. Its pretty RAD!



My Heroes from LA Fitness



The many adventures that occur in the gym are all over the board and will be sporadically shared... Most include comments from other gym-goers and half the time induce gut busting laughter amongst my favorite two faces...Batman and Robin! :)

Ciao for now, J

Catch ya up to speed....Lightning fast!

I have been thinking about how to get the last couple months wrapped up into one post to catch you up to speed on all the W's.. Ya know... What I am doing, why I am doing what I am doing, where I am doing it, with who I am doing what I am doing, when I am doing it. Lets call this round 1.

Round 1 in a nutshell is as follows: I decided I was going to compete in my first figure competition in November when a good friend suggested I join her fitness team. She told me that she had tremendous love and support, training partners, diet advice, and had developed amazing friendships by being a member of Tanji Johnson's SaveFitness Team. The next step was to attend a workshop to learn about the team in addition to the nitty gritty of becoming a competitor in Bikini, Figure, and Fitness. I signed up that day! Hands down, this was an opportunity I did not want to miss out on! Ding Ding Ding.... Round 2

Round 2 begins the week of Thanksgiving... Oh yea, I know what you are thinking... Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy oozing down the sides and a big ol' piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream for days. HA fat chance! I met with Pete this week. Pete is da man, he designs my diet to a 'T'... I am accountable to him more than I am my own parents sometimes (sorry ma). Who has two thumbs and starts a diet the week of Thanksgiving? THIS GIRL! Next step...Training. Out with the old (power lifting) and in with the new (isolating muscle groups). 6 days a week in the gym and here I am now... Stronger, healthier, and more determined than ever to get to the stage in April.

Ding ding ding... Round 3 (What? did ya think I would only make it 2 rounds? Guess you don't know who you are messing with) :)

Ciao for now, J

Me and my sis on Thanksgiving... The most random individuals you will meet especially when together.

Hello World!

I can do anything– Starting right now. I have my dream, I have God, and I choose to move in the direction of my goal, even when I am afraid or unsure. Whenever I fall, I stand up, brush myself off, and keep moving towards my goal.

This is my journey, my life, and I am excited to share the many twists and turns that I have and will experience. I am training for my first season as a Figure competitor and I want to share what its like for me as I approach my first show…April 2nd! The road thus far has been fairly smooth with the help of my amazing family, friends, and fitness team. There will be bumps, wrecks, and flat tires along the way that leave me stranded alongside the road waiting for AAA but I will make it to the stage and I WILL make the best of every day! So buckle up and enjoy this crazy, beautiful ride…