#stay on top of school work + consistently cook at least two well rounded meals for myself every day again and GUESS WHAT

[rivkahstudies]

do you have any advice for a high school senior who wants to make the most of their last year of high school? asking for a friend :)

hi darling! I think the things I remember most from my senior year (though it was only two years ago that it started) can be summarized in, “crazy busy, crazy stressful, but at times, crazy fun.” Here’s to making the most of it, and maintaining health while you do so!

This is going to be combination masterpost and advice post, because I’ve accumulated a lot on this subject and I have a loooot to say. 

Also this is heavily based off of the assumption you’re pursuing higher education, but some of these things still apply/can be tweaked.

table of contents:

i. academics

ii. social life

iii. personal health

i. 𝓪𝓬𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓬𝓼

a. grades

They’re important for your future if your plan is to go to college or academy, but they’re not the whole world. (see social life and personal health)

I’m not a big fan of the “3-to-1 rule” or other such things that tell you “study for this amount of time no matter what” because it’s important for you to understand what comes naturally to you and what you need further clarification on. Some classes are going to take up less of your time than others.

The best you can do on a given day isn’t necessarily 100%. Sometimes your best that day is 90%, 80%, 60%. “try your best” isn’t “your best ever” so don’t push yourself for 100s every time for the expense of categories ii and iii.

A lot of people (at least in places like where I went to high school) who are hung up on the stress of competition and the need to be The Best™ are going to ask you for grades. It’s going to be everywhere. Assignment grades, test grades, SATs, ACTs, (if you’re not in the US, the equivalents of your state, regional, or national standardized tests), entrance exams, et cetera, et cetera. I know it’s tempting to fall into the anxiety of whether you measure up, but here’s a quick tip: even if you think you did well/above average, you can keep it private. It infuriated my classmates when I wouldn’t share, because I was comfortable with how I competed with myself and didn’t care what my peers thought of my scores. 

When you’re someone as dedicated to studying as I am, you might get a lot of “oh, you got that grade because you’re you” (the underlying implication being that it’s natural or the work is easy for you, which was not the case for me) or “ha! I got higher than (name)! I measure up!” This is a lot of their own biases and insecurity talking and the best way not to be affected is not to buy into it. Again, this is based on my own experience.

 I really cannot emphasize extra credit enough because some of my teachers threw it around like candy and some of them barely drizzled a little in at intervals, but either way it really saved me when it came to rounding my grades up.

It never hurts to have a grade tracker if you’re concerned, you don’t get graded by total points accumulation/have a weighted system, and/or don’t have an easy way to access your grades online throughout the year.

find your study strategy/ies for each class and stick to it/them. It won’t necessarily be the same. I’m a primarily visual learner, and it really, really helps for most things, but I still need rote memorization for subjects with a lot of vocabulary, like medicine or languages.

further resources

studying without notes by @fuckstudy . 

prioritizing that crazy to do list (the abcde method) by @eintsein

a comphrensive guide to anki (flashcards online) by @studyingstudent

a stash of tiny study tips by @acalmstudiousfirecracker

and much much more on my #studyref tag.

b. extracurriculars

These I think matter (though I’m biased) more than grades, because they’re what shape you and your experience. Most of the students at my university had grades like mine, but it’s the places I frequented and the people to whom I devoted my time that formed my sense of self. I have so many skills, anecdotes, and ideas that I’ve gained from my extracurricular work.

If you have any you’ve stuck with since early in high school and you still like, keep ‘em. Quality over quantity. Show jobs or universities you can be dedicated and disciplined, and have stamina to see projects to the end. (I was in 7 and held leadership positions in 4 and it was probably part of the reason why I spent all of senior year on three hours sleep… besides my IB classes of course.)

If you’re not pursuing college immediately or at all (or even if you are), participate in ones that pull you out of your comfort zone and teach you something new.

ii. 𝓼𝓸𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮

Treat this category as you would anything else in your schedule–requiring time and being a significant priority. Not always at the very top, but still demanding its own attention.

See friends outside of school, for however long or short a period, at least once every week to two weeks. This can include extracurricular time if you’re pressed.

Schedule time with your family (especially if their lives are also cluttered and hectic) do something dynamic, and also something separate that’s relaxing. One week your family time might be reading in the same room and having gentle conversation or a family dinner; the next might be going out to the movies or taking a hike together. It can be easy to feel taken for granted or to take family for granted.

By the way, this includes “chosen” family if you’re not on great terms with some/all of them. I have experience with this too.

Get. Out. Of. The. House. This plays into “personal health” too! You need a change in rhythm/routine and exposure to the outside. Especially in your winter season. 

I’m one of those people who has to have things scheduled way in advance, so family/curfew/etc permitting, do something a little bit spontaneous, say with only a few hours or a couple days notice. It will make you feel more alive if you’re in a stressful slump.

Communication is really important, especially if you’re stressed. Don’t be afraid to tell people “I am sensitive/hyperreactive to X because Y is putting me on edge right now” or “this triggers X insecurity because I’m anxious about Y.” This goes doubly if you’re struggling with mental illness. Talk to someone you trust. (See “personal health.”)

Don’t give in to peer pressure if you’re spent the time you need with friends and have to excuse yourself for other responsibilities. Balance!

No is equally as important to respected as Yes, no matter what the case.

Respect boundaries but invite people to challenge their comfort zone at their space.

Don’t be broken up if a romantic relationship doesn’t last. It’s senior year. Everything’s changing. Let it.

Also, please don’t be like me and let your summer/your school year be eaten up with relationship drama. I thankfully ended a difficult relationship early (late September) so it wasn’t a huge issue, but I watched people close to me struggle with while also battling the stress of the year.

iii. 𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓵𝓽𝓱

mentally

If you’re struggling with mental illness, be aware of your own limits and pace yourself.

Sometimes we feel dull because we need to break routine/stimulate ourselves in a new way. You should have a structure/routine, but it should be flexible enough for you to adapt to changes and listen to what your mind and body are telling you.

The path to self-love must first begin with self-acceptance. If you struggle with self-image or self-esteem issues, you can’t build positivity off a foundation of negativity. You must first level it to neutrality.

Perform check-ups with yourself. This may be in the form of meditation, a diary, therapy, etc. None of these things are a “last resort” but rather a healthy part of building good mental habits.

physically

Exercise! You don’t have to be a star athlete to bring about the benefits. Even a 15 minute jog, 30 minute walk/hike, or 10 minutes of stretching can give you benefits.

On that note! Take! Frequent! Breaks! And please, please google stretches for certain body parts like hands if you do repetitive motion like drawing or writing for a long period of time! You don’t want to push yourself!

Listen to your body and don’t ignore pain, hunger, nausea, fatigue, etc. Respond patiently and with what’s appropriate.

Don’t forget about diet. It’s easy when you’re busy to reach for the quick and nutritionally poor snacks/meals, but it’s really important to set aside time to cook/meal plan or even just throw together a quick snack tray of fruits/crackers/cheeses/etc. It doesn’t have to be instragrammable but you should have a balanced diet that factors in your specific needs, if you have any restrictions, etc.

Change yo pillow case frequently kids, it does wonders for acne.

I cannot stress enough! To! Stay! Hydrated! My goal is eventually eight glasses a day but my minimum is 4-5. I try to have one every meal, especially in college.

Bedtime is important! But more than that, wake up time is important. If you’re trying to adjust your schedule and can only keep one consistent, choose the time you wake up. Eventually your body will naturally become fatigued for the bedtime to match it. It’s how I turned my sleep schedule from 12:00 AM to 8:00 into 9:30 PM to 5:30 AM over the course of one winter break! 

If you’re a morning person, you’re a morning person. If you’re a night owl, you’re a night owl. There’s research now to prove that forcing yourself into a rhythm too extreme for your tendencies can make you feel awful either way.

At the end of the day, you’ve got one goal and one goal only: to look back on this year and be proud of what you’ve achieved and how you’ve grown. You shape your future and choose what matters most in your life!

If there’s anything else you think I’ve missed or you’d like me to cover more in depth/link more posts to, please ask me! I’d be happy to clarify/continue this series! I want to make sure you’re completely satisfied.

#sleepover #annabethofcolor #rivkah answers #my advice #masterpost #high school #high school seniors #studyref

[pixelsandpins]

I just spent this afternoon and early morning writing the most self-indulgent 2495 words I’ve ever written because I was stressed as hell. 

It’s also on Ao3, but heck to tumblr and their links not showing in tags apparently. Here it is, under the cut. 

A Year Later: Hugo

(A @dreamdaddygame ficlet)

Dadsona/Hugo (Obvs)

Teen, Fluff (mild cursing and slight innuendo)"And this one's called a camel clutch."

The entirety of Hugo's weight is on my lumbar, and his hands are threaded under my chin, pulling my head back.

It's awful.

When we were still on leg locks, it was sexy. Now it's just a literal pain in my ass...and neck...and back. But it makes him happy, and I'm only a little sorer than usual the next day.

"How's that feel? Do you like that stretch, honey?"

Oh my god, he's getting a sick kick out of this, isn't he?

"Ew. Really?"

When I look up, Ernest is standing in the doorway of the office looking down at us with a very particular shade of contempt. Hugo drops my chin and immediately moves off of me.

"It's not what it looks like. We were just wrest-"

"Wrestling. I know. Gross."

Ernest starts walking off.

"Wait!" Hugo calls out, and Ernest leans back lazily to appear in the doorframe again. "How was your weekend with Mike?"

"Fine. We went to the water park, and he bought me some games."

"That's great. So you had fun?"

"Yeah sure." Ernest shrugs and stomps off down the hall. We can hear the door to his room slam.

Hugo hops onto his feet, then pulls me up, being sure to give me a quick peck on the lips along the way. I could definitely stand for something a little heavier, but we both know we need to get dinner started.

The thing I had underestimated most when Amanda left for college was my willingness to actually cook a meal for one. I had been living on nachos and salami sandwiches for a solid six weeks until Hugo had soundly chastised me into eating dinner with him and Ernest as much as I wanted. This certainly made it easier when Amanda told me she'd gotten an internship that would be keeping her there for the summer.

I like to think that in the year Hugo and I've been together, Ernest has come to at least tolerate my presence, but it's so hard to tell with that kid.

When I help with dinner, my duties generally consist of leaning back against the sink and looking pretty. Maybe occasionally passing Hugo a spice or two. This time's no different, but there seems to be an extra bit of tension in Hugo's shoulders as he lifts a pot out of the cabinet and fills it with water.

"Something's bugging you. What is it?"

"Just...the usual," Hugo sighs. "I get...frustrated. I don't mind Mike taking him out to do fun things, but I just wish he'd leave something for me. It undermines my authority when he can just go to his other dad's and get the things that he has to earn from me." Hugo places the pot down hard on the stove and sets it to boiling. "And you know I've talked to him about it."

I did know this. Intimately. I had heard half of multiple heated conversations about it.

"I wish there was something I could do to help."

Hugo moves away from the stove and comes to stand in front of me at the sink. His fingertips find the counter top on either side of my hips, his chest pressing against mine. He leans in and gives me a quick peck that turns into the something more that I was pretty keen on before. He pulls away and rests his forehead on my shoulder.

"It's enough that I have someone to bitch about it to." He kisses me under the bottom edge of my jaw. Then my neck. Then the edge my collarbone under my shirt.

"EWWWWWW. IN THE KITCHEN? REALLY? I'd rather you go back to wrestling." Ernest is standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Hugo makes a clear point of not backing away from me this time.

"Spaghetti will be ready in about twenty minutes, so don't get too into one of your games or anything."

Ernest rolls his eyes and goes back to his room, again.

 When I get out of the shower later, Hugo is sitting in the middle of the bed staring down in irritation at his phone. He's only put his boxers back on which is just excellent, really, but anger doesn't look good on him.

"Boop." I press a finger to the space between his crinkled brows. "What's goin' on, teach? Someone about to get detention?" Hugo tosses the phone onto the bed and rubs his eyes under his glasses.

"One of the games that Ernest brought home. It was one I specifically told Mike not to get him, so I texted him, and he says 'oh, I'm sorry, it was a gift that my boyfriend got him.' And I just….we had an agreement. We had an agreement that if either of us brought new people around, we'd get to meet them first before Ernest. And he's been good about it before, you know? I know he's dated people. But it's like...as Ernest gets older, Mike thinks he can just let up on the rules, and now is the WORST time for that. We need to be able to show solidarity if Ernest is going to get his act together."

"Well, I mean….to be fair, I've never met Mike after all this time." I sit down on the bed next to him, careful to arrange my towel to not get the sheets wet. Hugo leans on my shoulder.

"That's different. You already knew Ernest because we were friends and neighbors. And I told Mike when we started dating for real. I even invited him to come meet you, and he could never find the time. Because he's a dick." Hugo lets out a huge exhale that rattles his whole body.

"From what I've heard, Mike's always been kind of a dick, right? Is this some advanced tier dickage we're dealing with?"

Hugo chuckles a little.

"No. I think...I think this time, it's possible, that I might be the dick."

"Whatchu mean?"

He sighs one of those impossible sighs again.

"Nothing. You staying over?"

"Why do you always ask that? Because you know I am."

"I know. I just like hearing you say it."

He bites my ear a little then runs his tongue along the inside of the outer ridge.

"Hugo. I don't have another round in me, and if you keep doing that…"

And he keeps doing that. And I'm already apologizing to my future self for how sore I'm going to be in the morning.

 I'm waist deep in a marathon of Doomsday Wedding Planner when there's a knock on the door. Hugo's got meetings after school, so I know it's not him. It's rare he comes here, anyway; I'm the one who goes to his place. When I go to answer, then, I'm not sure who to expect. And yet, still, I didn't expect Ernest to be standing there, bored looking with his school bag hanging off his elbows.

"Uh...hey," he drawls. Then he just stands there. Waiting for…something...I guess.

"Did you want to come in?"

Ernest shrugs and pushes past me into the living room, flopping down into the recliner. He still doesn't say anything until I sit down on the couch catty corner to him.

"I heard you and Hugo talking last night," he says with pretty much no pre-anticipation.

Oh, he heard us talking. Oh god, then he probably heard everything. OH GOD, THEN HE'S PROBABLY HEARD EVERYTHING THIS WHOLE TIME.

A year's worth of mortification sets in as one lump sum.

"Is he mad at Mike about his new boyfriend?" Ernest asks, staring at the now muted TV as it flashes through a montage of the chicest wedding chapels/bomb shelters on the east coast.

"No, kid. It's just...grown up stuff. Why are you asking me, though? Should really be talking to your dad about it."

"Because he'll say what you just did. That it's grown up stuff. Does he think I can't handle it? It's really fucking annoying, honestly." He rests his head on his hand.

Well, shit. I have to do some unexpected dadding, and I'm not even wearing my dad pants. Frankly, Ernest should be glad I'm wearing pants at all considering my usual lounge attire. Amanda was usually pretty easy with this sort of thing. I almost shared too much with her, though, I guess.

"Okay. Well, I'm not one of your dads, so will a man to man talk work?"

He looks as me for the first time, dropping his arm onto the armrest and raising his eyebrows. I guess that means I should keep going.

"Being a parent is...hard…"

Wow. Elegant.

"Luckily, you've got a partner. You're a team. You can work together. You argue, yeah, and disagree on how things should be done, but, generally, you've got each other's backs. When you're a single parent, though, it's even harder. You're doing a job meant to be a team as one person. It's...well...it's fuckin' rough, dude. Seriously."

I can't believe I'm swearing in front of my boyfriend's son. Whatever. It's not the worst he's ever heard from me, apparently. OH GOD I'M REMEMBERING, AGAIN.

"And the trick is that we're not supposed to let you guys know any of this is happening. We're supposed to sort of just keep everything under control without you ever knowing that we're all really just playing it by ear. Anyway, your dads pretty much have the worst of both worlds in a lot of ways. They've got all the bickering over how to raise you, but they're both trying to do it alone." When I started I had no idea where this was going, but hell if this isn't some damn fine fathering I'm doing. "So, I guess what I'm trying to get at is that there's some stuff that parents and grown ups have to deal with, but we don't want to worry our kids with it. And we don't tell you not because we don't think you can't handle it. We just don'twant you to have to handle it. It's not your job. It's ours. Am I-uh-making sense?" He's in his default bored face, so I can't tell if he's actually listening.

"So Hugo's not mad at Mike?" Earnest says flatly. I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Hugo's got some…concerns related to Mike, but no, he's not, necessarily, mad. And he's certainly not mad about Mike's new boyfriend. So just...let dad take care of this one, okay? You don't need to worry about it. That's what we're here for."

Ernest stares off and away, thinking…maybe? It seems like a slightly different shade of apathetic, at least.

"But, you know, you can always talk to Hugo. He'll listen. Or...me...you know...maybe...if it's weird talking to him…" I add hastily, just a little worried about the door I'm leaving open.

"Okay." He's says it short and sweet, gets up out of the chair, and robots his way to the door, avoiding eye contact the entire time. "See you later tonight, I guess." The door half-slams behind him when he leaves.

 It's a week later when, instead of retreating to his room with his plate, Ernest sits with us at dinner. Hugo and I stop playing footsie under the table immediately to look at him.

"I haven't actually met Mike's boyfriend, yet. I know you were mad about that, but you shouldn't be. But Mike's got a bunch of pictures of him, though, and he told me about him and stuff. And he said that if it was okay with you, he wants me to, like, meet him." Ernest goes silent after having his say.

"Well, okay. I'm fine with that. I'll e-mail him later." Hugo darts a few quick glances at me, unsure. Ernest pushes his food around his plate a bit.

"I think we should all, like, get together. You guys and Mike. Just...together. Everyone." He pushes his outstretched fingers together to make them interlock a few times. "Because...I don't like it when you and Mike fight. You guys get pissy with each other and you think I don't know, but I do. Like, I'm not stupid. So I just thought...Well, I mean, we're supposed to all be a team right? We're supposed to work together...and stuff...or...something."

It's apparent Ernest is struggling to properly convey big thoughts with small words and growing a little frustrated with himself that he can't properly.

"Ernest," Hugo says softly. He reaches out across the table and places his hand in top of his son's. He looks like he wants to pull away but doesn't. "If that's what you want I'm more than happy to oblige. I'll talk to him tonight."

"Cool," Ernest replies. He pulls his hand away, picks up his plate, then vanishes like a ghost into the back of the house. The door closes quietly.

"You did something," Hugo accuses.

"Why the very idea. I'm offended you would even suggest such a thing." I flick my fork at him in defiance.

Hugo smiles at me.

"Did you father my son in my absence?"

"Again, I'm utterly shocked you would think so little of me."

He puts his hand on my thigh.

"Whatever it was, thank you. Really." He leans in and kisses me on the cheek.

"I didn't really do anything," I admit. "He just asked some questions and we just sort of...talked."

"And he listened, so you must be some kind of teenage boy whisperer."

"I'm just not his dad, is all. You remember what it was like to be that age. There are just some things you feel weird talking to your parents about, and I'm not his parent. I'm just some guy."

"Hm. Well, you're a little closer than you realize, I think." He waggles his eyebrows at me a bit.

"I don't-uh-what do you mean?"

"He included you in that 'us' earlier. And he came to you, didn't he? And he certainly sees you more than his other dad, nowadays." Hugo flashes half a grin at me.

"You know I was just getting used to not having to parent, anymore. No one told me I was going to have to put in a few extra years. And with a boy, of all things."

"If he starts calling you 'dad' before me, I'm going to lose it."

"Hey, if you need someone to call you 'daddy,' I can help you out."

Hugo stares me down over the top of his glasses.

"Oh? Really?" His lips meet mine then pull away slightly. "We can always give it a test run." When he kisses me again, the tip of his tongue touches my teeth. Then I remember and push him away just a little.

"I think you might need to consider some possible sound proofing options."

#dream daddy #ddadds #hugo vega #fanfiction #ficlet #flash fiction #writing #ernest vega #dadsona/hugo #dadsonaxhugo #ch: hugo vega #lord help me #yeah I'm gonna do the others #this was actually a really great style exercise #ashe writes #ashe writes fanfiction APPARENTLY #fluff

[drowsy-dreemur]

1. What’s their full name? Cobalt Madeline Silver

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them? N/A (aside from Fae joking around with “Cobalt the Sassy”

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory? They know little to nothing of their childhood due to their age, but from what their mother had told them, it was quite good and they were a very obedient and loving child. No bad memories they are comfortable speaking of.

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents? No relationship with their father, but that’s typical for her species. Her mother was very good to her, so their relationship is quite strong and, like most children, she has both good and bad memories with her mother.

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults? No siblings.

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate? Top of the class in combatant school (as that was she was required to take after typical classes, and she excelled at those as well). They only enjoyed school as much as the next person, but they did enjoy the company they kept while there.

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood? A select few were their friends during school, but then they left their planet for a mission. After that they would go on to meet Fae.

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals? No.

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals? Animals like them, but unfortunately they do not like animals all that much.

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect? They are okay with children, and technically they are a carer for Kit. They are just as their mother was, and was very kind and understanding, but only ever strict when required.

11. Do they have any special diet requirements? Are they a vegetarian? Vegan? Have any allergies? Just as the rest of her species, they are vegan and only requires food once every three or four days.

12. What is their favourite food? None, they eat for energy. Not enjoyment.

13. What is their least favourite food? None, see above.

14. Do they have any specific memories of food/a restaurant/meal? They were taught from an early age that they will not attach emotions/memories with food because it is a waste of time.

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking? They don’t mind cooking for the others, but they especially don’t mind cooking for Kit. They do enjoy cooking from time to time, but it can be a little odd for them to have to explain to Kit every time that they won’t eat that day.

16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it? They collect feathers, and keep them in one of Fae’s shoeboxes under their bed (no one knows about that, though)

17. Do they like to take photos? What do they like to take photos of? Selfies? What do they do with their photos? They don’t particularly like cameras.

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else. Fantasy for all!

19. What’s their least favourite genres? Sci-fi isn’t a genre they like because it’s so inaccurate

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes? They don’t personally enjoy musicals, but they do like classical music. When they do turn on their music, they typically will just sit and read.

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper? Yes, they can be, and they can be downright evil if they lose their temper very badly.

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back? They have no certain insults, but they typically do go straight for something they know the person is self conscious about already, and no they don’t.  

23. Do they have a good memory? Short term or long term? Are they good with names? Or faces? They have a very good memory, and the only reason why they don’t remember most of their childhood is due to the fact that it was several hundred years ago.

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress? They sleep from 11pm to 6 am, they do no, they sleep on a bed just like everyone else, and they prefer a comfy middle.

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves? They enjoy darker senses of humor, but can have trouble recognizing when a person is telling jokes. They aren’t much of a joking kind of person, so no, they aren’t funny themself.

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions? A smile will typically indicate their happiness for the others, but they do hide their emotions a lot due to the unfamiliarity they have with having to present them so much.

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad? Not a whole lot makes them sad, but when they are sad they do hide it and they can get “crabby”/irritable when sad.

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared? Loss of power/control scares Cobalt the most, and they don’t have any general fears that they experience. When scared, they tend to “shut down”, or go unresponsive to those around them.

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective? They do tend to get overprotective, but it depends on the severity of how the fear is for the other person.

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-workout and post-work out? Yes, at least two hours a day to maintain their training. They don’t act any differently pre/post workout.

31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing? They don’t personally drink, but they do get motherly when Fae is drunk/hungover, but doesn’t reprimand or tease him for it.

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like? They prefer tighter fitting clothing, so most of their wardrobe consists of tank tops and leggings for their comfort. They tend to just sleep in shorts.

33. What underwear do they wear? Boxers or briefs? Lacey? Comfy granny panties? They aren’t comfortable answering invasive questions like this.

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body? They are quite tall (6’1), and a little leaner than they would like but overall they do like their body.

35. What’s their guilty pleasure? What is their totally unguilty pleasure? They quite enjoy watching human television, but she would never let any of the others know they were delving into that sort of thing. They quite enjoy collecting eyeliners and everyone knows about it.

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing? They are quite good at logic puzzles, and they really love to read and solve things for the others. They can’t actually sing! Out of everyone, they are the most tone deaf!

37. Do they like to read? Are they a fast or slow reader? Do they like poetry? Fictional or non fiction? Yes, very fast reader, they personally believe that poetry is a waste of time, and they enjoy both fiction and nonfiction.

38. What do they admire in others? What talents do they wish they had? They quite admire Fae and how he can just go out there and be honest about emotions and how incredibly brave he is. They really wish they could sew.

39. Do they like letters? Or prefer emails/messaging? They prefer letters over everything! Not sure why, but they think it’s a nice gesture to have someone actually write them something.

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert? None of the above, and they do naturally stay awake.

41. What’s their sexuality? What do they find attractive? Physically and mentally? What do they like/need in a relationship? They are demisexual, so they are attracted to non physical aspects of a person. They enjoy intelligent, cunning, and well rounded people. They enjoy having a person that can depend on them (and of course a person they can also depend on), and someone who can handle them not being completely aware of human culture.

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition? N/A

43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What

do they think of non religious people? They arent, they think it’s a waste of time, they don’t mind the people who are, but they prefer being around likeminded people.

44. What is their favourite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most? They most enjoy mid/late spring, and enjoy slightly breezy weather. They are okay with the cold, but they overheat easily so they need to avoid heat (so that’s why they complain the most about the summer/heat)

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves? Kit of course admires them, but Fae sees them fairly similarly to how they see themself, but Fae does see them as more caring/kind than they do.

46. Do they make a good first impression? Does their first impression reflect them accurately? How do they introduce themselves? No, they totally dont. When they first meet a person, they are focused on seeing who they are and how they can work with the other person. They tend to observe more than talk when first meeting a person.

47. How do they act in a formal occasion? What do they think of black tie wear? Do they enjoy fancy parties and love to chit chat or loathe the whole event? They don’t completely understand it, but they don’t mind the “black tie” wear. They think it’s quite funny to see how the humans interact with each other, but again. They observe, but don’t loathe the event.

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organise the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend? They enjoy the small parties with less than 20 people, and they organise and turn up! They are quite calm, and stay close to Fae the whole time.

49. What is their most valued object? Are they sentimental? Is there something they have to take everywhere with them? They most value the first drawing that Fae gave them, but they normally don’t attach emotions with physical objects. And they don’t ever leave without some eyeliner

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials? They consider clothing, a week worth of food, and a couple knives as essentials, but if they had to pack something else they would include some things that helps maintain their appearance.

#long post// #max speaks #cobalt #ref

[thebookofdave]

Speed Dating MK II: The Coq Au Vin Incident

I recently found myself ‘persuaded’ by a friend of mine to accompany her to a different kind of speed dating.  The event in question pretends to be an elegant sophisticated evening of drinking wine, chatting and flirting amongst singletons and following up with eating your hard earned efforts whilst perhaps with a knowing wink indicating that you found it all a little too easy.

My evening didn’t really develop like that.

I should have been more suspicious from the start because I know Sarah* can cook and does it well.  I on the other hand, whilst certainly graduating from ready meals and the Cous Cous Special (trademark outstanding) remain strictly in the amateur category.  It was also extremely expensive, retail price of £60 although it did include your ingredients and tuition.  Fortunately Sarah had somehow managed to get them half price and thanks to a combination of guilt tripping and my inability to claim it was a school night I came along.  

So it was that we rocked up to a French Café/ Bar in central London as part of L’atelier des Chefs (I should have clocked the name) to begin our cooking initiation post a dutch courage glass of wine in a nearby pub.  Essentially at the start you’re given a glass of vino, a briefing and reasonably detailed instructions from the chef (French of course), then unleashed to try it yourself under supervision.  It’s a full kitchen but even so it’s a little crowded for cooking space with 20 people all trying to prepare the recipe.  You’re meant to work in pairs dividing up the tasks as appropriate whilst presumably chatting and flirting at the same time.  Sarah and I went with the safe option and joined up on the basis that if we cocked it up at least we could just blame each other. 

The ingredients are all laid out for you and just require trimming for the chicken and chopping for the veg.  Sarah looked slightly alarmed at me being handed the knife by the Chef, doubtless remembering some of the accidents involving me in the past.  The Frenchman’s eyebrows certainly raised several notches when he saw my cutting method but presumably he thought an Englishman missing a few fingers was no bad thing. Sarah was put in charge of making the red wine sauce which I felt was rather unfair particularly as she sampled it regularly. 

Coq Au Vin is in theory relatively easy to cook which is why I suspect they chose it for the evening.   I’m extrapolating here but really it’s chicken pieces and veg, then the sauce and then a bit of garnish when you serve it.  Since I was still chopping veg and chicken Sarah declared that the sauce prep was done which at that stage appeared to just be pouring into a saucepan to boil so she wandered off to socialise with a suspiciously large glass of red.  

I took a somewhat irrational dislike at this point to the couple on our right, a hipster with a topknot and French girl who breezed through the prep and appeared to have earned the chef’s undying admiration whilst, when he wandered over to check on me, he appeared less than enamoured with my slightly more ‘rustic’ look.  

I finished the chicken and veg and put them in a casserole dish to brown as per instructions and also felt some socialising was in order.  At this point quite a few people were wandering around and all seemed well, I should have known better.  Returning for stage 2 I discovered Sarah had boiled the red as per instructions but there was considerably less of it in the pan than there ought to be.  My suggestion that we top it up from her wine glass wasn’t met with much enthusiasm so we made do with what we had. 

  We added the veg and some of the casserole to the red wine marinade which was to be put onto (I think) medium heat.  It was at this point I blame Sarah as she wandered off again.  I still maintain she was in charge of the sauce and that it was all her fault but unfortunately I also became distracted whilst she was gone, exchanging pleasantries an American girl on my left who was rather talkative. 

I was alerted sometime later to the danger by a French accent declaring ‘somefing is burning… I suggest you find out what’.

Strolling over he looked deep into the now extremely thick and somewhat blackened sauce and gave a sigh that suggested that it was now only fit for animal consumption.  Sarah kindly immediately fostered the blame upon me whilst I attempted to indicated visually where all our missing wine had gone.   Clearly however something needed to be done and fortunately being French he simply returned with more vino, I suspect much to the jealously of the rest of the group who having seen the bar prices, were sensibly sticking to the free glass.  We were quite behind time by now so we voted for the executive decision of sticking everything in the casserole including the additional wine, whacking up the heat and hoping for the best.

Plating was done by waiter service so you were required to label your work so they knew whose was whose.  I managed to restrain Sarah from swapping our labels with some poor unfortunates and we sat down with some trepidation.  I have no idea why they have the ‘speed dating’ label for the event as there’s no speed dating involved really unless you count wandering around the kitchen to nosey at people’s cooking.  You’re sitting down to eat so really you’re limited to the people directly in front and to the sides of you and since Sarah was to my right that only left a couple of people to chat to so there’s very little socialising involved.  There certainly wasn’t any flirting unless you count a fair amount of post analysis cooking chat and I was pleasantly gratified that we weren’t the only pair to struggle.

Strangely once we’d had the breads and were all ready for our main course I started to feel a tinge of fear, what if they served up a horrible burned slop, maybe they had an emergency Coq au Vin out the back for people who’d completely messed it up.  I wasn’t sure we could cope with the shame,    the tension rose, the waiters came round and then…

It actually looked ok, the sauce came out more of the consistency of gravy rather than smoother sauce of others and I’m pretty sure I caught a slight smile on the waiters face but it made it onto our plates without visibly looking like a complete disaster.  I tasted it and… it was actually edible, not amazing, the chicken did taste a little like it had been boiled to an inch of its life and back again but thanks to the sauce it was consumable.  Sarah clearly struggled a little, having a rather more refined palate but we both manfully ate it without issue.  

Even better, one pair couldn’t even finish theirs thanks to being rather too generous with the salt during preparations so we at least didn’t finish last in the unspoken competition.  Following the Coq au Vin the Chef had prepared pudding for us, a cream Chantilly with some sort of strawberry biscuit cake thing.  I’m the wrong person to ask, it was definitely a tougher task to eat than the Coq au Vin but he did at least talk us through how to make it which was quite interesting.

We were welcome to stay at the bar afterwards but after 3.5 hours of cooking and chatting, not to mention Sarah being surprisingly merry for a girl who’d only supposedly drunk two free glasses of wine we made our excuses and fled into the night.

I don’t plan to make Coq au Vin again for a while.

*Sarah isn’t her real name but she does occasionally read this and violent threats were made to my life unless I changed it

[corneliussteinbeck]

GGS Spotlight: Kourtney Thomas

Name:   Kourtney Thomas Age: 32 Location: St. Louis, MO

What does being a Girl Gone Strong mean to you? It means embracing strength in all aspects of life — even when that’s not the path of least resistance, which honestly, it rarely is.

To me, being a Girl Gone Strong is about finding who you are and then fully staying true to that, even through the tough times.Through physical strength, I’ve learned more about myself than I ever thought possible, and that has allowed me to find and stand in my power while creating a big, beautiful life for myself.

Being a Girl Gone Strong means I can be unafraid to be fully myself in this world.

How long have you been strength training, and how did you get started? I’ve been strength training about seven or so years now. I spent much of my life avoiding activity of any kind, to the point of skipping gym class in school. But shortly after moving in with my now-husband, he inspired me on my movement journey. I, believe it or not, got started with P90X! That was my first real taste of strength training beyond cardio dance DVDs or aerobics with three-pound weights. Completing that three-month program sparked my interest in other activities, and that’s how I got started running.

I was a dedicated endurance runner for about four or five years, with minimal strength training. I kept my strength basis with some yoga and weight circuits, but nothing heavy, and usually not more than 1 or two days per week. After four marathons in two years, I burned out and turned to heavier strength training.

I had found GGS and Jen Sinkler, so I started with Lift Weights Faster. I also dabbled in Get Stronger Faster, the accompanying strength program. That proved to be a bit serious for my tastes and abilities at the time, so I picked up Modern Woman’s Guide to Strength Training and completed the Level 4 program. It was perfect for me, and that sparked my interest.

I then completed the Advanced program of Strong Curves and started seeing huge results, both in my strength, and in my physique. I was totally hooked! After those 16 weeks, I hired a personal coach.

With a goal of packing on more muscle, I started down the path of specific hypertrophy training and bodybuilding style splits. I was so apprehensive at first, but quickly fell in love.

I saw more change in my physique than anything I had ever done, my strength was still coming up, and I was absolutely more physically well-rounded than ever before. To this day, that’s what I’m still doing, and that’s what I’m still loving.

What does your typical workout look like? Right now, I work out in bodybuilding style split workouts. Typically, two upper body and two lower body days per week, with push/pull emphases. I’ll go through phases though where I split further and add focus days like glutes, delts, or arms. (Arm day will always be my favorite!) I always get in a main lift – a version of squats, benches, and deadlifts – and follow it up with plenty of fun accessory work.

I also love to run, and cardiovascular health is really important to me, so I run one or two days per week, or do some kind of interval workout on the step mill, bike, or rower another couple of days.

Favorite Lift: Does “any kind of biceps curl” count as a lift?! Past that, I’d go with RDLs. I love a good hip hinge and some killer posterior chain work.

Most memorable PR: It happened just recently. I had taken about a six-month break from a program, and longer than that from any kind of low-rep strength training or testing. I was kind of flowing and experimenting with my training, working on the Bigness Project, and definitely sticking to hypertrophy and higher rep stuff. I decided I wanted a bit more direction again, and hired a new coach. She added a lower body strength day to my program, and the very first day I hit triples of my highest one-rep max squat weight ever! I hadn’t done that in over a year, and this felt easy. Like, astonishingly easy. I was just so pumped that, even though I wasn’t working specifically on strength, it clearly continued to build throughout the year with consistency in training and progressive overload.

Top 5 songs on your training playlist:

Cake by the Ocean – DNCE (I’m obsessed with cake, and I love the ocean, so yeah.)

Life Itself – Glass Animals

Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked – Cage the Elephant

Light It Up – Major Lazer

Say You’ll Be There – Spice Girls

Next 5:

Good Vibrations – Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch

My Trigger – Miike Snow

California Love – 2Pac

Dreams – Beck

Silvertongue – Young the Giant

I love music.

Three things you must have with you at the gym or in your gym bag:

Resistance bands – mini-band for glute work and full band for dislocates and pull-aparts

Training journal – pen and paper for me!

Ipod & headphones – I know it’s going to be a rough day of training if I have to listen to the gym music!

Do you prefer to train alone or with others? Why? I actually prefer to train alone. My gym time is time where I just get in the zone. I put on my headphones, tune everything out, and focus on my muscles. I’m big on the mind-muscle connection, honing in on effort and exertion, and being really connected to my workout. If I’m training with someone else, it’s fun, of course! But I find that it distracts me a little bit from the focus I like to have.

That said, I’m more open to running or cardio with others. I do like to run alone to connect with nature and let my mind wander a little, but there are also times when I like to have company for distraction.

Most embarrassing gym moment: Constantly fiddling around with bumper plates! I find them so cumbersome, even with the little bar jack thing! But really, I honestly don’t get embarrassed in the gym. Most people are just minding their own business, so I don’t even worry about it.

Best compliment you’ve received lately: I recently had to collect a series of testimonials from clients and peers. The responses that I received blew me away and brought tears to my eyes for two days straight. Without any prompting, it became apparent to me that I am affecting people’s lives in exactly the way I am intending to, and that was the absolute best compliment I could ever receive. My favorite example:

Kourtney is the type of woman that makes you feel stronger, more grounded and more capable simply by being in her presence. The strength I get from my workout plan has seeped into every single part of my life and a lot of that is due to the support, guidance and inspiration I’ve gotten from Kourtney.  She’s showed me how to consistently show up at the gym… and, more importantly, in my day-to-day life, in a BIG, bold way.

Most recent compliment you gave someone else: “You are a (expletive) ferocious spirit!”  I have cool friends, and sometimes we potty mouth together with complete mutual understanding.

Favorite meal: I joke that I love to live the #turkeysandwich life, but really, I do love sandwiches! My favorite fancy meal is a really high-quality, well-cooked pork chop with a perfect sear and delicious sides. Followed up with some kind of dark chocolate goodness for dessert!

Favorite way to treat yourself: Indulging in trash TV. I love TV. Like, way too much! Every time I travel, I stay up way too late watching stupid stuff on cable (we don’t have cable at our house anymore) and loving it – think Naked and Afraid, Duck Dynasty, My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding…

Favorite quote: “And though she be but little, she is fierce.” William Shakespeare (So much a favorite, it’s tattooed on my foot.)

Favorite book: I’m far more into fiction than nonfiction, so my top three right now are:

Lamb by Christopher Moore

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett

I also love anything political satire (think: Christopher Buckley) or science fiction/fantasy (The Martian, the Red Rising Trilogy, Divergent Trilogy, The Rook, Harry Potter, etc.).

And fitness specific, I love The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding by Arnold, Strong by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove, Daniels’ Running Formula by Jack Daniels, and Superflex by Cory Everson.

What inspires and motivates you? Cliché, maybe, but my tribe. I never really had one until about the last year or so, and opening up and connecting with so many amazing women inspires and motivates me daily. I spent a lot of time in my life competing with the women I now stand side by side with and encourage. It’s crazy how different it can be to admire them and see them as inspiration instead of competition, or as someone or something else I’m not stacking up to.

My friends, my husband, my clients, and all the women I don’t even know inspire and motivate me daily to continue doing what I’m doing and using my voice to create a bigger, better space for all of us.

What do you do? I’m a personal trainer and coach. I do most of my work online through virtual coaching, and focus on training for bigness – physically, emotionally, and mentally. My tagline is Become the Boss of Your Body™: Watch Your Life Take Shape™ for a reason. When you determine what you want for yourself physically and find comfort and confidence in your own skin, it changes far more than the shape of your body. It changes your life.

What else do you do? I love to ride my motorcycle when the weather is good! I ride a Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe, and her name is Alexandra. Nothing makes me feel more powerful and free than riding.

My husband and I also like to go camping and hiking. We enjoy traveling to both new and familiar places, and always keep New Orleans on our list each year.

I love to read, hence the long answer for favorite books above.

I honestly really do love movement, so I love going to the gym and bro-ing out. It’s like my second home because I find it so fun.

Describe a typical day in your life, from waking up to bedtime: I get up at 6am. I head into the dining room where I keep my phone, clear off all my notifications, and take my resting heart rate. Then I head into my office to start working for the day. That usually starts with coaching in my Facebook coaching group and returning client emails.

Most mornings I then go to a client session or two. Then I come back home and work on client programming or write for several hours, with a lunch break mixed in somewhere. Sometimes, I have to attend to the business stuff like catching up on Quickbooks, or I’ll have a new client meeting.

Late afternoon, I close up shop and head to the gym for an hour or two. When I get home from the gym, my husband and I cook and eat dinner, watch an hour or two of TV, then shower and head to bed. Usually TV off by 9pm and lights out by 10pm.

Your next training goal: Uh, bigger arms. Always bigger arms.

What are you most grateful for? This life! I am grateful for everything, big and small, every single day.

But I’m the most grateful for my husband, my best friend and partner in this crazy life who supports me in everything I want to do. And also puts up with all of my weirdness!

What life accomplishment are you most proud of? I’m pretty proud I started my own business and it’s actually become successful.

I was always someone who was perfectly happy working for someone else, not wanting to shoulder the responsibility of making big-time decisions for my livelihood – or so I thought.

Turns out, the opposite is true, and I am much happier and more successful working for myself.

Being an entrepreneur is not without daily struggles, but every one of them is worth it. I own the decisions and the struggles, I own the triumphs.

I’m also incredibly proud of riding my motorcycle to Sturgis and back. It was a crazy ride, several thousand miles, and it was a huge accomplishment, mentally and physically.

Which three words best describe you? Thoughtful, Forthright (this is a much better word than “doesn’t-put-up-with-bullshit!”), Supportive

What’s a risk you’ve taken recently, and how did it turn out? Going to the Radiance Retreat this year was a big risk for me. It was a big investment, it was totally intimidating, and it was very much outside my comfort zone. My entire life, I’ve struggled with female relationships, and this was basically jumping into one huge female relationship! But it changed my life. Taking that risk of attending an event that was really scary for me turned out better than I could have ever imagined. Not only did I get a return on my investment picking up business knowledge, I forged friendships – like, actual, true, deep friendships, and quickly! – and that was well worth the anxiety leading up to the trip and the price of admission.

Beyond that, it opened doors for me because it pushed me over the hump with similar things. Since the Retreat in May, I’ve done more things that brought up old fears or self-doubt with much more ease, and that has enhanced my life exponentially. It’s been a big year for growth, and it started with taking that risk.

What’s the coolest “side effect” you’ve noticed from strength training? Finding more and different common ground with new people. I get a lot of questions that often start with, “Wow, I love your arms!” and often they’re with genuine interest. Then, it’s fun to have a little chat about the gym and give people a quick little motivational boost for whatever they’re trying to accomplish. It’s been fun to connect with other lifters and fitness professionals to nerd out about lifting too.

How has lifting weights changed your life? Do you have like five minutes for me to talk your ear off? How has it not changed my life? Lifting weights, in all its different varieties, has opened up my life beyond what I ever thought possible.

Not only has lifting weights made me physically stronger, but it has made me so much stronger mentally and emotionally. Learning how to work through physical stress only increases your tools for being able to deal with other stress in life.

Taking control of my choices in the weight room and for my body allows me to take control of choices in the rest of my life.

Lifting has changed my physique beyond what I ever thought possible – especially when I started training specifically for hypertrophy. I’ve packed on muscle, completely changed my shape, and embraced my body fully from head to toe, which I wasn’t sure was possible. Some days are better than others, because hello, I’m human, but more than ever, I am truly happy with how I look – because I’m happy with how I feel. I’m bigger and heavier than I’ve ever been before, but lifting weights has completely changed my relationship with what that means. I want to be bigger. Because I want to be more.

And because of lifting, my confidence has shot to the moon, and that has spilled into every aspect of my life. If it weren’t for my journey in lifting, I never would have met some of the best friends I have now. I never would have connected with the GGS family. I never would have bonded with Jen over a fire one night to talk about how we could bring this feeling to as many women as possible.

I’m so fortunate that lifting weights has literally become my business. Before I started lifting seriously, lifting heavy, I didn’t have a lot of direction. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do or could do, and for whom. But when I found my place in strength and size, I found my conviction, my voice, and exactly how I wanted to show up in this world personally and professionally.

Lifting weights has forever changed my body, my mind, and my spirit, more than anything I’ve ever done. There is a reason why my favorite hashtag is #bigarmsbiglife:

Tapping into your strength and size under the iron translates to the freedom to create much bigger world for yourself.

Speaking of confidence boosts… I stink at clothes. Clothes are so hard! I don’t think I’m alone there either – it’s not an inherent ability to look like a Pinterest pin every day. It was always something very frustrating for me. So, last year I worked with a wardrobe stylist to completely revamp my wardrobe. We cleaned my closet of everything that either didn’t fit me or wasn’t a good style fit for me. Then, we discussed what made me feel good, shopped for it, and styled it. Besides lifting weights, this has been one of the best things I’ve ever done! It takes such a weight off every day to know what to wear and how to wear it. I have always felt pretty good about my body, but now I feel 100 percent confident walking out the door because I feel good about my clothes, too. I think people underestimate the importance of feeling good about your clothes, and I can’t suggest working with a stylist enough—it’s just like hiring a personal trainer!

I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which helped me to get rid of a lot of stuff I didn’t need, and also helped me not to just replace it with other new stuff. I pretty much use a loose capsule wardrobe at this point, which now includes a lot of accessories, including scarves. I always wanted to wear scarves, so it was one of the first things I told her I wanted to work on. I also used to stink at scarves, so this is a video we took to help me figure it out, haha! I love it because you can see my face, like, “WTF, stupid scarf!” And then I’m like, “Whew, OK! Finally! I can do this!”

What do you want to say to other women who might be nervous or hesitant about strength training? Please, give it a try. It doesn’t have to look like what it looks like on someone else. Social media is great, but it’s also really tough these days. You can sign onto Instagram and see super-jacked women crushing a barbell, or super-strong women talking about how they only squatted 275 – among about a million other comparisons – and it becomes completely overwhelming. There are days that even other Girls Gone Strong make me feel down on myself!

But it’s not about that. It’s not about competition or trying to beat anyone or anything, including yourself or “who you were yesterday.” Strength training is named aptly – it will help you find the strength you didn’t even know you needed or wanted, if you’ll open yourself up to it. And there are so many different ways to train! From conditioning circuits to powerlifting and everything in between, there are a million things to try until you find your match.

And I know the actual gym can be scary, especially if you were never an athlete. And I get that, because I wasn’t one. I remember having butterflies in my stomach the entire first week I started going. But you have options – start with a basic program (GGS has great resources!), hire a coach, even if it’s for only a few sessions to get some confidence with basic movements, or start at home! Be patient – stick to your program for the full, prescribed amount of time! – and just watch. Be open to the possibilities.

Discern the BS. The weight loss industry is still feeding us lies. The science and evidence tell us that strength training is actually the best way to reach many of our common goals – not to mention it provides us with a cornucopia of physical and mental health benefits.

One step at a time. One workout at a time. One day at a time. Try it. Experiment. Stick with it. Find out what Girls Gone Strong means to you!

Connect with Kourtney on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on Snapchat: kthomasfitness.

Feeling inspired?

If you’re inspired by Kourtney, read on to learn more about—and join!—our community of strong, supportive women…

The post GGS Spotlight: Kourtney Thomas appeared first on Girls Gone Strong.

from Blogger http://corneliussteinbeck.blogspot.com/2017/02/ggs-spotlight-kourtney-thomas.html