It's all about BALANCE

I often tease everyone I know about this fact...And anyone who has met met for even a few minutes is WELL aware that I am a libra..And in true libra form I preach balance,balance, BALANCE. But it wasn't until recently that I really began to understand what that meant, and even less time that I started incorporating it into all areas of my life....or at least attempting..When it comes to fitness balance is key...Maybe that is why I was drawn to it??When I say balance is key I mean you must find a balance between physical activity and your diet....You must find a balance between your physical activity...All components are necessary for living a healthy life and being your best YOU...That means incorporating cardio, resistance training, and some sort of stretching/flexibility routine into your regimen.I wasn't always aware of this nor did I practice it...I hate stretching..I used to think it "took too much time." And even more than hating stretching I HATED cardio..It was boring and redundant..I will admit it..I could lift weights allllllll day..I love it..I don't know if it is because for a long time I felt I could only see benefits from this activity??Whatever it was I always gravitated more towards it and would only participate in the other activities every now and then.But these days I attempt to do all three...Resistance can be broken down into the balance of training your muscles even further...To avoid muscle imbalances it is important to train opposing muscles EQUALLY..Meaning if you train your chest you must balance it out with back exercises...If you train your biceps you must balance it out with your triceps...And so on...Finally all of the pieces are coming together and things are making sense...It is an amazing feeling.............

Extreme dieting...living to eat versus eating to live..

This has been a journey and a struggle for me since the end of my teens and most of my twenties...The struggle came from a combination of high school cheer leading and the pressures that come with that, the media which is typical, which spiraled into college cheer leading, my job which is very appearance oriented,,It was an internal battle that I fought for years..I tried everything..Starving, extreme dieting, purging, fad diets, therapy....This search for an image I created in my head that I thought I wanted to obtain, but didn't know how to get there..I went from wanting to be 100 pounds (a number I came up with) to wanting to be ripped/buff and packing on pounds..All of which I learned essentially came down to me wanting to be in control of something in my life..Now at 32, I am off that roller coaster and have a better understanding of balance.The balance that is necessary in all areas of my life. But when it comes to food, eating, nutrition, balance is key...It truly is everything in moderation, no deprivation, making healthy choices most of the time and not feeling guilty..I have learned the more I relax and try not to feel pressured to eat certain ways the better results I see and the happier I am..And it is from this lesson that I know I need to be a teacher and a source of inspiration particularly to women who may have this same struggle....

Not just going through the motions....

The more I know the better I am....More specifically every day, be it from my certification readings, things I read in articles online,or just looking around the gym and something finally "clicking", I seem to gain a greater understanding for what I am working out when I workout. And I LOVE those moments..I will be the first to admit that the common theme in my life is that I seem to take the long way around with things..I may not be the quickest,but I always get there.Such is true with finding my career, my purpose...I am almost 32 and I just figured out "what I wanted to be." Some people knew their whole lives, or going into college..Not me...everything sounded great, or I wanted to be what everyone else wanted to be, not really knowing what I liked, what I should be...Until I found the gym...And even then, it started more as a way for me to talk to a boy, that eventually became my boyfriend..I was the girl that did more socializing in the gym than working out...But it eventually snowballed into a true passion one small step at a time...And here I am, educated, almost certified, full fledged gym rat that is learning and growing and loving fitness more and more every day...It feels great..

Sharing the knowledge

Today I had such an "ah ha" moment at the gym...While I was finishing up my treadmill time one of my longtime friends approached me and noticed a book on the ledge of the treadmill and inquired what was I reading to which I responded, "my training material".That's when she began to tell me about some symptoms she has been having recently during certain activities and wanted to know if i knew what it was...It was in that moment when I began giving possible options and then asked her about whether she had tried myofascial release to which she told me no but had seen people doing it but wasn't sure what it was, that I realized "wow people trust me,value my opinion,look to me for guidance and I know what I'm talking about!!!" Yes!!!!This finally feels right!!!

This was my first official day of studying and I am still overwhelmed and uncertain if I will ever grasp it all or most but I must keep going..."Eyes on the Prize"

Learning something new every day............

This is how I describe my certification process thus far...I am about 600 flashcards in,two notebooks filled with notes,4 instructional DVD's, several textbooks, and one chapter remains to have flashcards made for it.Needless to say I feel overwhelmed at this point...Sometimes to the point where I am filled with anxiety..I second and third guess myself...I wonder if I should give up and worry if I will find a job...in this economy and countless other thoughts but the fact is that I am passionate about it, I love it,I enjoy it,and I know it...So I try to silence those voices of doubt and frustration as much as possible and keep going...And when I feel like it is never-ending and I will never finish this and see the light at the end of the tunnel and learn allllllllllllll there is to know I remind myself that as long as I continue to learn new information every day then I am on the right track.