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fat-acceptance-dropout · 4 years

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I'm sorry to bother you but do you have any scientific studies showing that it's possible to lose weight and keep it off? I'm morbidly obese and I want to lose weight but I constantly see people talking about how there's so much science showing that fat isn't actually bad and it's impossible to lose weight and if you do it'll just come back, and it's just making me extremely upset and I'm terrified I've ruined my body by letting myself get so fat and there's no way to fix it

Hi there!

I actually get this question often, and Iet me tell you, that fear is very prevalent.

It’s exactly what made me leave the Fat Acceptance community and their belief that weight loss is completely out of control.

First things first, you haven’t ruined your body. It’s not broken, there’s no need to “fix it”, but you can lose weight if that's what you want.

Here are a few links I’ve found, they only mention studies, but if you want, I can always dig around for the studies proper; I just need to finish with some work stuff:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/its-not-just-baby-fat/201708/yes-it-is-possible-lose-weight

https://www.vox.com/2016/5/10/11649210/biggest-loser-weight-loss

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4777230/

https://www.pharmacytimes.com/contributor/adam-martin-pharmd-acsm-cpt/2018/04/study-of-10000-patients-shows-how-to-maintain-weight-loss

Here’s the thing, though, and this is what I want you to take away from all of this.

Losing weight, and keeping it off, is hard.

It’s not impossible, but it’s hard.

It’s not complicated, but it’s hard.

It’s not that you’ll magically regain the lost weight.

It’s not that your body fights you.

It’s not that being fat, or failing to lose weight or failing to keep weight off is a proof of lack of willpower or such nonsense.

It’s that your weight, as it stands today, is the result of years, decades even, of habits.

Eating habits, sleeping habits, exercise habits, coping mechanisms, relationship with food, etc, etc, etc.

Your weight, as it stands today, is the result of how you were raised, is the result of the environment you live in, and yes, it’s the result of your life choices.

You can always change the way you eat long enough to lose weight, but once you reach your goal weight, it’s so easy, so so easy, to fall back into your old habits.

Why?

Because habits, quite literally, are deeply ingrained in us.

Take me, for example; I’ve been exercising for six years now, as well as making an effort to eat better. I lost weight, I’ve kept most of it off and, generally, I’ve changed my life for the better.

I still can’t order a pizza and not eat the whole thing in one sitting.

I’ll still find myself eating entire ice cream pints if I’m feeling down.

I went from exercising two hours at the gym 5 times a week, to barely pushing myself to exercise a couple of hours a week, with this quarantine business, even though my lifestyle remains almost exactly the same?

Why?

Because those are old habits.

My 5 years of exercise and healthy eating? Those have nothing on the 24 years of not exercising and eating whatever the hell I wanted.

That is what makes weight loss so difficult.

Hell, let me rephrase that.

That is what makes keeping weight off so difficult.

Losing weight? That’s easy. There are millions of absolutely unsustainable and dangerous diets that can help you lose weight fast.

They’re horrible, and unhealthy, but they do make you lose weight.

Weight you will gain back, because again, they’re unsustainable diets.

Not because your body will magically make fat out of nowhere, but because those diets are impossible to keep up for the rest of your life.

And that’s what you need to do to lose weight and keep it off.

Change your lifestyle.

You need to change first.

This is mostly the main reason why I changed my blog approach.

When I first started this blog, I was a very angry woman who had realized that, despite what the FA movement had told me, I could very well lose weight.

I was angry, betrayed and driven. I wanted to push everyone into changing their mind about the goddamned movement.

The more time passed, though? The more I calmed down and realized just how insidious weight gain can be?

The more I realized that, if you want to lose weight and keep it off, you have to be ready to change your lifestyle for good.

That’s why I no longer tell people to lose weight. That’s why I no longer tell people that they’re wrong.

That’s why I simply offer encouragement and tips to people who already started changing.

Because you can’t force people to change, and unless you��change, your weight will remain the same.

Think of weight management the same way you’d think of mental health recovery, or the same way you’d think of fighting alcoholism or a drug addiction.

Some people, magnificent unicorns that they are, can go cold turkey.

The rest of us?

The rest of us will have to do it little by little, day after day, making small changes and small changes, changing yourself little by little.

Let’s use myself as an example again; Though I still have to fight some rather stubborn habits, I have acquired many, many more:

- I walk a lot more now, or at least I used to before the quarantine. But seriously, I went from 2000 steps max to at least 13000 on a regular day.

- I actually exercise and I enjoy it. Like, I willingly pay to go to the gym because I like it.

- I eat my veggies, and have started eating a much more varied diet in general.

- I’m far more conscious about what I eat nowadays.

Those may not sound like much, but it has helped tremendously. I’ve managed to keep most of my weight loss off for 5 years now (so fuck those studies), I’ve increased my muscle mass, I’m in much better shape than I was in my early twenties, I’ve stopped needing my asthma inhalers, etc, etc, etc.

Little changes add to big changes if you just give them time and stick to them.

So, ask yourself, are you ready to change?

Here’s the good news.

If you are, then fantastic. Here’s something that you can do starting right now, that will help you get where you want to be.

Start a food diary.

Starting today, grab a notebook, or a post it, or whatever and write down what you eat.

Don’t measure it, don’t cut out foods, don’t change anything about your eating or exercise habits just yet.

Just start keeping track of your eating habits.

Write down everything you eat, even the little snacks that don't count.

Write down everything you drink.

Don’t judge yourself, don’t try to find excuses, don’t give any value to anything you eat.

Just write it down.

If you feel like it, make it a mood diary too. Write down how you’re feeling for the day. Write down what would improve your mood. Write down a few quotes you like, draw a little.

Make the diary yours so that you’re comfortable using it every day.

Here’s the goal of this exercise:

- Form a new habit.

- Become aware of what you eat.

- Have a food log ready for step 2.

Can you do that?

I promise it’ll help a lot, but you gotta stick to it.

If you do it, come back next week and send me a message.

You can also chat with me here: http://fa-dropout.tumblr.com/ (I don’t check that daily, but I’ll start checking it for you.)

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mikeconphoto · 4 years

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"FIT FEATURE: ALEX PAINE" - BY MIKECON PHOTOGRAPHY

First and foremost, I want to thank you all for reading this blog. I’m writing this one primarily because it’s been a long time coming since this came out. This blog is actually supposed to be in a magazine. I won’t say which one however, the magazine did say years ago that they’d use the images, but then when they had a change of staff, they then changed their tune and stated that they made no written promise that they’d publish the photos of Alex. Thus, was my reason for making my own, “Fit Feature(s)” on my own website for the world to see. I added more images from other shoots inside of the blog just to make up for lost time. Our initial shoot that was on 14 November 2016, so almost 4 years later, I’m going to post this. Alex has since updated the information on all of her accomplishments, so sit back and take a ride with me.

HERE WE GO! …Oh man, there’s a lot to say about this amazing athlete. Alex Paine is something awesome. I literally have met only a handful of people that are energetic and fun to work with in my career. No matter how many times I’ve worked with Alex, she has always brought me her best. On 17 May 2017, I received an email from her Mother Rhonda that read, “Thank you so much for helping my daughter, Alex, with her dream.” To me that was awesome because not a lot of parents take interest, or support their children’s dreams when they’re older. I’m always proud of Alex, and I’ll always support her because she’s just awesome people! Once you get to know her, you will know exactly why she’s awesome!

Describe your life before you started training.

Before I started training, health was never really anything that crossed my mind. I was not active, although a played a few sports in school, and I never cared about diet. I was fortunate enough when I was younger to have parents that understood the importance of diet and nutrition so I never had issues with weight until later in life. When I went to college I ate whatever I wanted and did not participate in any kind of active lifestyle. I quickly began putting on weight and indulging in a very unhealthy lifestyle.

How different do you feel now compared to then?

I feel stronger, more confident, and empowered by my accomplishments. I am a happier and healthier person because of the hard work and dedication that I have put into myself. By pushing the boundaries of my physical limits through training I have not only become a more successful athlete but these traits have crossed over into other aspects of my life and I have found that I work harder on my education and relationships. It is amazing how when one aspect of your life is in order the rest of it seems to fall into place. Be happy, be healthy!

Was there is pivotal moment that motivated you to start training? If so, what was it?

I was a junior in college when I started noticing that my life decisions had led to quite a bit of weight gain and I realized I was no longer happy with how I looked or how I felt. I knew that something needed to change. I was not active, I did not eat well, and I was starting to become very unhappy with my physical appearance. Although all of these were large factors the biggest turning point was when I went on a hiking trip with my friends. I have always loved the outdoors and hiking has always been a passion of mine; however, this time was different. I found myself struggling to keep up with my friends and feeling completely unprepared for the trip. I had stopped taking care of myself and because of this I was no longer able to do the things I loved and I knew then that I needed to make a change.

Do you remember your first training session? How different is your training today?

My first training sessions were all about cardio. I would spend hours everyday on the elliptical doing steady state cardio while I read or studied for exams. I figured as long as I was moving I was burning calories and that was all that mattered for losing the weight. This worked slowly but I realized I was not getting the results I wanted. I changed from cardio to doing some popular workout videos that incorporated lightweight training mixed with HIIT cardio and I started noticing that not only was I losing weight but I was also getting stronger. This is when I got addicted to weight training and strength development. I stopped doing cardio and focused on weight training, on lifting heavy, and just getting stronger. After two years of heavyweight training I decided that I wanted to compete in a bodybuilding show. Today my focus is on competing so I train differently. I still primarily weight train but focus more on certain body parts and concentrate on symmetry when deciding what and how to train.

What has been the most rewarding aspect of training for you? Why?

Seeing results! These may have been slow and gradual at times but when I take the time to look back and see how far I have come, the reward that I feel makes everything I have done to reach my fitness goals worth it. I am always growing, always changing, and always reaching new goals. Fitness is progress and this progress is what makes this lifestyle so rewarding.

What has continued to motivate you throughout your training? Why?

The fitness community associated with Musclemania and Fitness Universe have been a huge part of what has motivated me throughout my training. There are many different organizations out there and every competitor must find the one that fits them best. For me that has been Fitness Universe. The support they give their athletes is completely remarkable. They promote their athletes on social media and on their websites and are always checking in on their athlete’s progress. The production of their shows is also above and beyond that of any organization that I have ever seen. Each athlete gets his or her moment in the spotlight on the stage and each person is made to feel like a star. The community of athletes is like no other, I have made many lifetime friends in this organization – from competitors to promoters – and would not be were I am today in this industry if it was not for their support!

What are your qualifications - why did you set out to achieve these?

I attended Buena Vista University for my undergraduate degree from which I graduated summa cum ladde with a bachelor in biology. Currently, I am a full time graduate student conducting research on science education at the University of Colorado-Boulder. I have already earned her Masters in Molecular, Cellular, ad Developmental biology, studying Fat metabolism and Glucose homeostasis in Type II diabetes. I am currently pursuing my PhD in the same field studying Scientific Teaching.

Teaching is my passion. Whether that is fitness or science, I love it all. In the future I aim to become a teaching professor at a university where I can inspire and prepare young adults for careers in science.

In my free time I work as a personal trainer, posing coach, and I even run my own business - Xela’s Customs, for which I design and competition suits and theme wear. I make my own theme wear, bikinis, and have even been the sponsored suit provider for multiple local Musclemania shows. Recently I have expanded this business to be more encompassing to better serve my clients by adding hair, makeup, and tanning packages for athletes.

What have you had to overcome to get to where you are today? Did that change you in any way? If so, describe how.

One struggle that I have had to overcome is one that is actually quiet common among people in the bodybuilding/fitness industry, which is body dysmorphia. This is a disorder in which people constantly think about and obsess over their real or perceived flaws. The reason this is so common for those who focus a lot of effort into competing is because we are trained to analyse our bodies for symmetry, fat percentage, as well as muscle size and shape. This can be overwhelming and start to consume you. Body dysmorphia is something that consumed me after my first show and is something that I have and continue to struggle with on a daily basis. I work every day to not focus on my flaws and I consistently work towards reflecting on the positive aspects of myself. I push myself to promote my own self-love. It is important for competitors and everyone alike to be realistic and honest with themselves, not to put pressure on being perfect, and to love themselves and be proud of all the hard work they are putting into their health and fitness.

What is the number one lesson you have learned about health and fitness through your training?

Nutritional decisions are the number one component of fitness that will give you results; whether this is weight loss or muscular development, nutrition is key. Finding a nutritional portfolio that fits both your body type and goals is probably one of the hardest parts of fitness but once you have found what works it is easy to live a healthy lifestyle that promotes working towards your fitness goals.

What do you wish you had known when you were 16?

You only have one body so take care of it and don’t be afraid to chase your dreams!

Describe how training makes you feel.

I love training and spending time in the gym; the gym is truly my happy place. I can escape from everything when I train and just focus on the reps. Its freeing and invigorating all at the same time. There is no feeling like training hard in the gym. The release of endorphins I get when I train and escape from the world that I feel really makes training my favorite part of the day.

Do you have a quote that you live by? If so, why this one?

“Everything you ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” Fear of failure is what prevents many of us from chasing our dreams. You may have to face your fears in order to accomplish the things that mean the most to you, but once you have the reward is worth every part of your struggle. So face your fears head on and take control of your future!

What was your reason for taking health and fitness to the level you have? Why is it so important to you?

Competing is fun, but honestly my favorite part of fitness is helping others. I love being a motivator and helping others see their potential when it comes to fitness, I want to motivate and encourage, specifically women, to push the boundaries of what they believe their bodies are capable of. I want to be a role model to women. I want to motivate and encourage girls too see that being strong is amazing, that living a healthy lifestyle is rewarding, and seeing your body change is worth more than anything you can buy.

What advice would you give to women wanting to get into the best shape of their life?

Think about the other 23 hours in your day. Its’ not the 1 hour in the gym that will get you fit, it is the other 23 hours of the day. In other words, going to the gym is great for your health but if you neglect to provide your body with the correct nutrients, neglect to provide your body with the rest it needs, or give your body substances that are harmful in this time, you will not see the progress that you are working for in that hour at the gym.

What is the most important thing women need to remember when training? Why?

Progress is slow; it does not and will not happen overnight. You have to stay persistent and consistent in your training and nutrition if you want to see results.

Fitness is not a crash diet or a few weeks of weight training in the gym; fitness is a lifestyle. Fitness is a journey of self -discovery and change.

We all have days where motivation is low – how do you overcome these? Have you always been able to do this?

When my motivation is low I reflect on my goals. I think about what I want now in comparison to what I want most and then make a decision about what I can do today to get me one step closer to that goal. By having a goal and reflecting on that goal you keep yourself accountable as well as provide yourself with the perspective you need to keep moving toward that goal.

What would you like to see change in the health and fitness industry?

Honesty. This is especially important for women. When women see pictures of competitors, models, and girls on their favorite magazines they think “I want to look like that!” and in many cases what these girls look in these images is neither healthy nor maintainable. As a competitor I play with my foods, water, and even salt intake to look the way I do on show day and by the next day I will look completely different. Unfortunately, this information is not what is shared with these images, instead slogans like “lose 5 pounds in 10 days” or “get abs like these” are featured next to these women giving those reading these messages the hope to someday look like the model on the magazine. By bringing in honesty about what that model had to do to look like that or even just producing images of women who live a healthy and maintainable lifestyle, women will have a better understanding and more realistic goals of the body that fitness can give them.

What would a perfect Sunday involve for you?

Sunday is my rest day. I love spending my Sunday’s with family and of course my two little dogs. Sleeping in is a must, followed by a small brunch and a day at the dog park with my pups.

Contest history - Do you have a highlight? Why?

Musclemania Colorado Natural Tour

Ms. Bikini Mile High 2015

Mile High Model Champion 2015

Top 5 Finalist at Ms. Bikini Colorado 2015

Top 5 Finalist at Ms. Fitness Colorado 2015

Colorado Model Champion 2016

First Runner-up Ms. Bikini Colorado 2016

Colorado Model Champion 2017

Overall Colorado Bikini (Pro Card Earned) 2017

Colorado Model Champion 2019

First Runner-up Rocky Mountain Figure 2019

First Runner-up Rocky Mountain Women’s Physique 2019

Colorado Figure Champion 2019

First Runner-up Colorado Championship Women’s Physique 2019

Fitness America Weekend

Top 25 Finalist at Ms. Bikini America 2015

Top 10 Model America 2016

FirstRunner-up Ms. Bikini America 2016

First-Runner up Commercial Model America 2017

Top 10 Ms. Bikini Professional America 2017

First Runner-up Figure America 2019

Top 5 Women’s Physique America 2019

Top 5 Sports Model America 2019

Top 10 Ms. Bikini Professional America 2019

Diet

I eat 5 to 6 small-portioned meals throughout the day that are high in proteins and healthy fats and lower in carbs. I always stick to clean and whole foods. Some of my favorite clean proteins are chicken and tilapia and my favorite healthy fats come from nuts and avocados. Detailed information about my nutrition is copyrighted by my trainer and coach Allen (Watty) Watkins from Team Tried and True.

I highly recommend spending the time and money to find and hire a coach as they provide a scientific approach to weight loss and muscular development. I know some people do not always want to spend the money on this aspect of fitness but you have to look at it from the point of view of your health. You are spending money on your health, your well being, your confidence. You are only given one body and, in my opinion, there is no amount of money that would prevent me from taking care of my body.

Workout week

Monday – Legs (hamstring focus)

Tuesday - Shoulders and Triceps

Wednesday – Back and Biceps

Thursday – Legs (Quad focus)

Friday – Back and Arms

Saturday – Shoulders and Abs

Sunday - Rest day

QUICK QUESTIONS:

What is your favorite food to indulge on? How often do you treat yourself?

Halo top Ice cream is by far my favorite indulgence. Its low calorie ice cream that is high in protein, low and carbs, and best of all, tastes like real ice cream!

What is your best beauty secret?

As a makeup artist, I can not stress enough the importance of taking a break from makeup – I try to only wear coverage products, like foundations, when I absolutely have to, otherwise I just put on some light moisturizer with SPF and call it a day. This keeps my skin clear and breakouts to the minimum.

Who inspires you? Why?

Without the help of my parents and my boyfriend I do not know if I would be where I am today. Both of my parents were active bodybuilders when I was younger and have maintained a healthy lifestyle to this day. Having them there for me to push me to live a life of fitness and always being there to help me along the way has been truly amazing. My friends have been supportive as well. They are always there for me when I need help with my diet, workouts, cardio routine, or when I just need someone to listen. My coach, Allen Watkins of Team Tried and True has also been a huge inspiration for me. He has pushed me to be the best athlete I can be through intense training regiments and science based nutrition. Without him I would not be the accomplished athlete that I am today. My friends, family, and supporters have all inspired me every day to get up, to push myself to the limit, and to become the best me I can be.

Who is your fitness and body role model? Why?

Jen Heward - Youtube Personality

This woman is inspirational! She is open and honest about the fitness lifestyle, loves herself and encourages all women to do the same, and motivates women to simply be the best they can be. Her positive attitude and outlook on life puts a smile on my face and always leaves me feeling like “I can do this.”

Dana Linn Bailey and Dani Scho - IFBB Women’s Physique

These ladies are the original women of what is now known as women’s physique. Their hard work and dedication to the sport is what inspired me to start bodybuilding in the first place and they have been the real driver for my transition into Figure and Women’s Physique.

What do you have in store for the future? What do you want to improve on?

Fitness related: I want to train harder and put on more size and muscle before my next competition. I also want to become more involved in the Musclemania/Fitness Universe organization. I currently help to organize and produce the local shows in the Colorado area and I hope to continue to pursue this passion for both the local shows in the 2020 season. I am also working on growing my bikini/theme wear business to provide competitors with unique customized suits that simply make them feel like stars on stage. Finally, I am working on becoming a certified personal trainer so that I can help other women reach their fitness goals and find the same happiness that I have found through fitness.

I'm currently preparing for:

Currently I am in my off-season training for my next Fitness Universe competition – either at Fitness Universe Weekend in Miami or Fitness America Weekend in Las Vegas. My goal for the 2020 season is to acquire another pro-card in the Fitness Universe organization as a Figure Pro.

Website and/or social media:

Xelas Customs Bikinis Facebook: Paine4Gains Fitness and Xela’s Customs Instagram:@paine4gains and @xelas_customs

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whistlevevo · 5 years

Text

characters — jade kristine qi

GIVE ME THE STRENGTH AND HEIGHT OF GLORY

full name:

— jade kristine qi

nicknames:

— none. jade likes her name and prefers to be called by it.

date of birth:

— july 16, 1998

age:

— as of july 17, 2016, jade is 18

nationality:

— american

ethnicity:

— mexican, cuban, filipino, and chinese

place of residence:

— new smyrna beach, florida

languages spoken:

— english

— spanish

— enough tagalog to get by

— jade also knows how to count to ten in chinese and thinks it counts as knowing chinese even though it really doesn’t

sexuality:

— bisexual

GIVE ME GLORIOUS LIFE, THE STRAINING AND THE STRIFE

general:

— jade is honestly, pretty hot. she’s got that trendy instagram look that makes even the straightest of girls question. she has an oval-shaped face with a sharp jawline and defined cheekbones. her nose is thin, but rounded and points up into a button nose. her eyes are light and almond-shaped, with thick eyelashes and eyebrows to frame them. her lips are thick and surly, and her skin is dark and clear, only peppered with freckles.

hair color:

— naturally, brown, but jade likes to dye it all sorts of colors. she did most of her experimenting as a pre-teen and for now, is sticking with a bubblegum pink hair color, but she’s been known to dye her hair green, silver, blue, purple...the list goes on.

hairstyle:

— jade’s hairstyle varies from day to day. jade’s hair is naturally slightly wavy, so she normally either leaves it like that or puts it back in a messy low ponytail. jade’s not the one for extravagant hairstyles.

eye color:

— jade’s eyes were bright green when she was born, but as she’s gotten older, they darkened down to green and eventually, to her current hazel.

body:

— i hate to be crude, but jade has a rockin’ bod. she’s one of those people that works out for fun. like, she’ll go to the gym and have fun. wild, i know. not only that, but she excelled at sports. i’m talking field hockey, cross country, track, basketball, soccer—jade did all of it, and it gave her a pretty high metabolism, hence her smokin’ hot body. she has a pretty small waist with toned abs, muscular arms, and thick legs.

height:

— jade stands at 5′6″ or 168 centimeters

weight:

— jade weighs 130 pounds or 59 kilograms.

LOVE, PASSION, HOPE IN THEIR DIVINEST SCOPE

casual style:

— jade’s everyday wear is simple. she dresses like your typical “instagram baddie,” just with more comfort. i’m talking sweatpants, crop tops, and sneakers. most of her clothes aren’t that expensive, mainly because jade is super broke, all the time, but it looks fine on jade. it’s nothing special, really.

formal:

— jade rarely goes anywhere where she needs to dress up, but when the occasion arises, she also usually goes for a simple look. jade would normally dress in an unadorned, long dress, maybe with spaghetti straps or a leg slit, but jade prefers to keep the attention on her face and not on her clothes. she’d probably wear some nice heels, too, or at least ones that look nice, and some jewelry from claire’s, probably.

sleepwear:

— jade’s sleepwear isn’t anything fancy. she usually just wears a big sweatshirt, even if she has people sleeping over. no one important’s really gonna see her anyway, so...

swimwear:

— jade’s swimwear is pretty much just the basic bathing suits you’d find at target, your simple bikinis with a few fun patterns or interesting cutouts. living in florida, she goes to the beach often, so she’ll pretty much wear any bathing suit that’s cheap, functional, and looks somewhat decent. she’s not really too picky.

athletic wear:

— jade’s workout clothes are pretty much based on comfort and they don’t really deviate from the usual “leggings-and-sports-bra” thing that most people have going on. no one’s going to see her, so what does it even matter?

dreamworld style:

— jade’s subconscious favors clothes that are a little more rugged than your typical dream keeper. she can be seen in short, dark green skirts and capes. they’re not exactly armor, but they’re easy to move around in, and they allow her to blend in with the other dream keepers. they’re adorned with gold pins.

— however, when the time comes, jade wears as much protective gear as she can. that is, while looking cute. her armor covers her up much more than her casual clothes. there are few rules of physics and science in the dreamworld, so often, armored clothes look exactly the same as normal clothes, similar to the uses of vibranium in black panther. normally, one would wear whatever armor is available, as there aren’t very many battles in the dreamworld and therefore, not a lot of armor, but jade likes earth-toned ( usually green ) armor that hugs her body and doesn’t weigh her down too much. she will often wear a cloak, a cape, or a poncho, just because most of the battles take place near the nightmare realm, where it’s much colder. she also wears a black gas mask, to try to protect her from hallucinations and any attacks that may affect her face.

HIGH WINDS ON MIGHTY SEAS, NOT SHELTERED BAY

personality overview:

— jade is kind of a confusing person. on the outside, she seems extroverted and crazy. she’s reckless, insane, and honestly, kind of mean. she’s egotistical and refuses to think about anyone but herself. anything she does is for her immediate comfort and benefit, even if it hurts someone else. she seems stupid on the outside too, and she kind of is. she focuses on the present, which makes her terrible at making plans and getting out of situations, but either way, jade picks up on social cues very well. she just doesn’t care. jade doesn’t look for anyone else’s opinion on her, which is both a blessing and a curse. she’s rough around the edges, and seems like an open book, when really, it’s just the tip of the iceberg.

— once more, jade isn’t stupid. she knows that people wouldn’t fear her, listen to her, or really even like her if they knew who she was at her core. so, she bottles everything up. she doesn’t disclose her past, her emotions, or her pain to anyone. she’ll whine about papercuts like nobody’s business so people think she’s open, but she’ll suffer in silence if she suffers from anything bad. at her core, jade is a cunning girl that prefers being alone, but she turns on her facade of a happy, extroverted, life of the party when she has to. maybe she feels like she has something to prove. maybe she doesn’t want people to see her weak. who knows?

personality type:

— istp-a

strengths:

— energetic // jade is a seemingly, endless ball of energy that doesn’t seem to get stressed out over much, only if she believes that something will seriously have consequences.

— creative and practical // jade isn’t super smart, but what she does know with a combination of her anxiety, makes her combine creative solutions with practical information to figure things out.

— spontaneous and rational // jade doesn’t think much before making decisions. she doesn’t overthink things and sees a crossroads sort of like a multiple choice answer. she thinks through all the scenarios and chooses the most logical one.

— knows how to prioritize // jade tries to focus on the task at hand and moves everything else to the back of her mind until she can come back to it later, which usually works pretty well.

— tough // jade’s really good at repressing all her emotions and only complaining about stupid, petty things. she can remain pretty relaxed during a crisis, giving her the impression of toughness.

weaknesses:

— stubborn // jade does this fun thing where she disagrees with anything you say, even if she doesn’t really believe it. that’s how stubborn she is.

— insensitive // jade cares little for the feelings of others and uses logic and her own personal agenda to get what she wants, even if it hurts others.

— private // as i said before, jade seems like an open book, but most people who think they know her really don’t know anything important about her.

— dislike commitment // jade has a really hard time forming meaningful relationships with the people around her, especially romantic ones, because in jade’s mind, a relationship would only weigh her down, so she just....doesn’t commit.

— reckless // jade is bored easily, which leads to terrible decisions and unnecessary trials that could’ve been avoided had she just sat still for a few minutes. with jade, situations often escalate quickly and she can quickly lose control of a situation.

STILL LET ME SNATCH THE CROWN

stats:

— strength : 10 // jade was a boxer for a few years. not only that, but the endless sports she did as a child and many, many fights she got into left her with a lot of brute strength.

— agility : 3 // while jade did many sports, gymnastics and/or dance was not one of them. she’s not very graceful and the little agility she has came from jumping hurdles.

— stealth : 2 // jade is a classically loud person, and very clumsy. stealth is definitely not her forte.

— intellect : 5 // jade is also fantastically bad at thinking ahead. she’s not good at planning ahead. she is good at deducing things, though.

— hand to hand combat : 7 // while jade is strong physically and her boxing and karate skills do come in handy, jade isn’t particularly good with weapons, so her hand to hand combat skills are merely average.

— weaponry : 0 // jade doesn’t even know how to shoot a gun, and jade’s far too clumsy to be good with swords and knives.

physical disabilities:

— a bad punch in her left ear left jade slightly hard of hearing. she should probably use a hearing aid, but didn’t really ever have the money to fix it.

mental disorders:

— jade has severe anxiety. it can always be seen in one way or another, usually by bouncing her leg and going through every worst possible scenario in her head.

— jade also has adhd, hence her not-so-great report cards. jade initially wanted to learn in school, but her adhd made it so difficult and she got so little help that she simply lost her motivation.

OF ALL LIFE HAS TO GIVE

friends:

— jade doesn’t need friends. they disappoint her. also, her commitment thing...

family:

— ana paulina rosales : mother // jade’s mother was always busy, which wasn’t her fault, but they never formed a meaningful relationship. jade learned from a young age to stay away from her mother, as to not bother or inconvenience her, so while jade would certainly like to protect her mom, she rarely talks to her about anything important.

— christopher andrew qi : father // jade never met her father. she detests him for leaving her and her mom. plain and simple.

past relationships:

— god, where do i start? jade’s had countless relationships, but none that really lasted more than a week. again, fear of commitment, so...

pets:

— jade’s family never had the time or money for any pets, so none.

AND TO CRY BUT ONCE

pre-conception:

— jade’s mother, ana paulina rosales was the daughter of a filipino immigrant and a poor mexican farmer. neither of them had anything, which meant that neither did jade’s mother. determined to break the cycle of poverty, jade’s mother tried her hardest to finish high school and actually did. like many immigrants, jade’s mother knew that she had to the united states if she wanted to do anything more than be a beggar on the street. so, she hitchhiked and walked all the way to monterrey, saving as much money as she could to finally get a visa and buy a plane ticket to dallas, texas, where she met christopher andrew qi, a cuban-chinese lawyer who promised ana paulina the world. she got pregnant, and when he found out, he bailed, leaving her broke, homeless, and pregnant.

— jade was born nine months later, and lived in dallas for the first few years of her life, until her mom managed to get back on her feet and save enough money to move to new smyrna beach, florida, a quiet and quaint town filled with retired white people, so if you’re a maid, basically prime real estate. jade used to help out, too, until she had to go to school. she was diagnosed with adhd at around seven years old, but no one really did anything to help jade learn, even though she really did want to. eventually, she simply lost interest which just led to jade listening to hours worth of green day during school, which didn’t help anyone at all.

— jade realized she was bisexual when she was in seventh grade and kissed a girl in her class, which was a lot less fun than it sounded. jade spent the next few years denying her sexuality, and her town wasn’t the most accepting of gay people, especially not lgbt+ women of color, which is when jade started to get into her first few scrapes, which began escalating. jade was keeping to herself, frying ants with a magnifying glass in eighth grade-ish, and before she knew it, people were punching her. she punched them back, but she didn’t have enough time to react, and the kid hit her left ear, hard. it sent her to the emergency room, and to this day, jade’s still hard of hearing. but life went on nonetheless.

— that fight was the first time jade went to juvie. she was accused of assault and battery, and come on, this is florida. who are they gonna believe, a straight white male kid or a bisexual woman of color? yeah, jade went to juvie. after that, it mostly went downhill. no one trusted her, so she was convicted of various things that never happened, for example, drug possession and distribution, resisting arrest, trespassing, and burglary. jade pretty much stopped caring at that point, and was arrested a total of 27 times, mostly for things she hadn’t done. after that, she figured that if people thought she was guilty, then she might as well live up to their standards and started regularly breaking the law. she only got caught sometimes.

— jade had originally made her instagram account in 2013, when she was 14 years old. obviously, most 14-year-olds are ugly and disgusting, so jade didn’t have a lot of followers from the start, but as she got older and prettier, her pictures started gaining recognition. she even did a few modeling gigs, which is where she found her passion. sadly, she had to drop out of high school her senior year to work and help her mom. she did help a lot by getting sponsorships on instagram, though, which brings us to present day. i can’t say much more because it’d give away the plot, so i’ll just leave it at that.

BUT ONCE I LIVE

likes:

— shopping // jade doesn’t go shopping often because she’s super broke, but when she does, she enjoys it.

— modeling // jade finds it relaxing and it helps her focus. plus, she’s good at it.

— boxing // out of all the sports jade has done, boxing is her favorite. it lets her harness her anger and frustration into something productive.

— the beach // who doesn’t like swimming, getting tan, and getting sand up your buttcrack for weeks?

— meat // jade tried going vegetarian, but she lost so much muscle mass that she had to keep eating meat. she got a taste for it eventually.

dislikes:

— creative writing // jade is only good at things that make sense, things that have a formula to them. creative writing does not.

— insects // they’re weird and disgusting and jade does not enjoy them.

— children // jade has a little bit of a potty mouth, so kids around jade is a sure recipe for disaster.

— fish // jade eats meat, yes, but she can’t stand the smell of fish, so even cooked fish is something that jade definitely stays away from.

— police officers // they’re annoying and kind of a nuisance and definitely a wrench in jade’s illegal shenanigans.

extra:

— jade can play the drums. not well, but she can carry a beat.

— jade auditioned for america’s next top model, but didn’t make it.

— jade met chris hemsworth once. or, rather, she broke into chris hemsworth’s house and tried to get an autograph. he kicked her out and she did not get her autograph and is now not allowed within 100 feet of chris hemsworth.

#characters #jade kristine qi #demons #picture cred : writtenicons #also pasabist on insta

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escapedreplicant · 6 years

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Taming the Monster

On Anxiety and the management of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

One of the most common methods of managing OCD, as well as depression and anxiety, is via Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). On each of the occasions I have been referred to a psychologist for treatment the therapy has had some basis in CBT. The therapy is a talking-based initiative which focuses on the thoughts, feelings, actions and physical sensations and how those items are connected and how negative thoughts attached to those items result in an individual becoming trapped.

The CBT looks at the problems an individual experiences and breaks those down into, what should be, more manageable sizes which are not as overwhelming or terrifying. It is about changing the nature of the patterns of your behaviour to improve your mood. The aim is to tackle those negative patterns and move to a more positive frame of mind. Now, although CBT is a talking therapy you must immediately dismiss from your mind the image of lying on a long couch and recanting tales from your childhood and from where and when you suspect your issues originate. The focus of CBT is on your current problems and how to manage those issues in a practical manner to ensure you can make it through the day; not hammering away at your past.

The first time I was referred for such therapy was in 2008 and when the process was explained to me I will not lie; I was taken aback. My initial thoughts on therapy was that there would be discussion about my childhood, adolescence and the ascent into adulthood and that, via this dialogue, I would reach some form of enlightenment and my issues would be addressed and I would move beyond them and their impact on my life. Wrong. This was when I first encountered the realisation that a mental health issue is a chronic issue and there is no cure, magic elixir or otherwise.

Now, there are some people who may visit a psychiatrist and undertake discussion of their past as part of their therapy for some mental health issues, but CBT generally does not form part of this type of therapy. Some people who undertake a course of CBT may also improve so dramatically as to minimise the effects a toxic state of mind can have on their person. This may, in effect, feel like a 'cure' of some type but given the nature of mental health issues, in my own experience and what I have been advised by professionals, they are chronic problems and as such can reoccur at any point. Also; if you are employing coping strategies from CBT every day then could it really be considered a 'cure' if the process is still being used? If we liken the use of something such as CBT to taking medication then I would say, no.

When I first described the nature of my OCD to the therapist I saw they suggested breaking down the thoughts I experienced and the emotions which were generated. For me, this was not particularly easy. My mind hammers along at, what feels like, an unrelenting pace, and I have often moved into corresponding ritualistic physical acts; turning lights on and off, opening and closing doors, checking taps are off by turning them so tightly they could snap off and so on, before I am able to apply any sort of process to review the initial thought. Whatever I was doing at the time an unwanted thought entered my mind (such as a family member being hurt or a fear of losing my job or developing a serious illness) whether I was dressing, shaving, putting on a DVD I would end up repeating the act multiple times in order to alleviate the feeling of dread and anxiety which accompanied the image.

Forcing myself to stop when I experienced that twinge of anxiety at the back of my neck and the dread filled the pit of my stomach and my adrenaline spiked and I could taste the bittersweet sensation in my throat was incredibly difficult. It was the ultimate exercise in restraint as my attempts to stop only heightened the sense of dread as I was trying to break the ritual acts down, which felt like a betrayal, as I have mentioned in a previous post. Much like any skill which is learned it requires persistence by an individual in order to sharpen the skill. This was another somber realisation as patience has never been one of my virtues. There are also occasions I have not given my all to a course of action believing I could coast through with minimal effort.

I could not allow, nor could I afford, this to become one of those occasions as the process was a course of action which could possibly improve the quality of my life. This is a fact. Living with such extreme dread and anxiety and being unable to pick up and read a book, watch a film, go out and interact with people left me sitting in a chair staring into space for prolonged periods when at my very lowest. Such was the fear of making contact with a surface should a negative or unwanted thought arise. This is to say nothing of the rituals which had been built over years of repetition in regards to how I ate some food items or consumed beverages or washed my hands when in a public place, which had raised more than a few eyebrows. I had to embed this process within my mind to allow me to go on living.

The reason I placed so much emphasis on the CBT to manage my condition was because the medication I had been prescribed in 2008 left me numb and unable to concentrate. At that time I did not think medication was going to be of any assistance as it left me foggy and lethargic. After several sessions I was able to embed some form of process to my thinking when I reached periods of heightened anxiety to the point where I was able to function more effectively, though I was far from what could be considered improved and a lot of my actions still raised eyebrows as they appeared odd and illogical. I was made redundant in 2009 and the CBT proved to be useful in helping me deal with the resulting anxiety and stress of looking for a new job and, luckily, I was not out of work for any prolonged period. Even though I changed jobs a couple of times over the next couple of years I felt more capable in dealing with the situation. I also lost the two people I was probably closest to in my grandmother and grandfather over the same period.

Whilst I was managing the dread and concern which I experienced I always felt the bite at the back of the neck as though the monster was just looking for a way to resurface and in 2015 I was stricken with another period of severe anxiety. There had been a continued increase on the strain I was experiencing from the middle of 2014 onward and it felt as though the coping mechanisms in place were not as secure as they had been previously. I could feel myself slipping back into previous ritualistic obsessive acts such was my determination to repeat such ritual behaviours which made me feel comfortable. After struggling through Christmas and new year and even applying for a new job and successfully navigating the process I was hit like a freight train in the April and had difficulty completing even the most basic of actions. Getting showered and dressed became time-consuming exercises, shaving was out of the question given my efforts to repeat the same motion and always having an obsession with numbers it made even getting out of bed difficult as I would only get out of bed at times I believed felt 'correct' to me.

Following the collapse I experienced in 2008 I did not expect to be hit even harder after therapy and employing coping mechanisms. On this occasion I thought it would be prudent to try medication again as well as using the CBT to combat the anxiety. In addition to using meditation and CBT I started a course of a drug called Sertraline. This seemed to make a difference and I felt as though it had curbed my anxiety and I did not feel as frantic as I had on occasion. Combined with the CBT I felt as though I was more capable of dealing with situations which caused a spike in any anxiety I experienced. I muddled through if I'm honest though. I felt less creative and as though I had been subdued in some manner. I was still able to think clearly and felt as though I was contributing but I was at a remove from the world or at least it felt like that.

This malaise, if I can call it that, lasted until the end of 2016 when I noted that I had become quite badly out of shape and far larger than I remembered being at any point in my life. It is strange what events provide clarity. I developed a bad flu and having Asthma the responsible thing to do is to visit the doctor and I was prescribed antibiotics. While I was there I mentioned about trying something else for my anxiety and I was prescribed Fluoxetine. I was in a sort of feverish state during my GP visit and I can't remember whether I had thought specifically about asking for another medication for the anxiety or if it just occurred. When the flu had passed in addition to taking the new medication I started exercising at the start of 2017 as I thought I had to do something about how terribly unfit I felt and big and heavy I had become.

Most people who suffer from a mental health issue will have been advised to take more exercise, in whatever form, as it can help with your frame of mind. It is true. Last year was the first year I truly committed to taking regular exercise for the first time since my twenties. I would go an sporadic runs now and again over the years but last year I started running regularly as well as going swimming and to the gym to use the spin bike and the rowing machine. It's true; regular exercise can truly improve your frame of mind. I lost in the region of four and a half to five stone in weight and noticed an extreme change in the size of clothes I was able to wear. I also felt far healthier by maintaining a proper balanced diet and eating varied cuisine and more vegetables. I also stopped drinking carbonated soft drinks and the change in how I felt physically was incredible.

This really does have an impact on your mental health and as a result I felt far more capable in dealing, not just with spiking anxiety, but with any problems I encountered in general. It is something I would recommend to any person who experiences anxiety or depression or any other form of mental health issue. If it is possible for a person to eat a balanced and varied diet as well as take regular exercise then I would recommend they implement this as soon as possible as the benefit can be extraordinary. Since January 2017 I have continued to run regularly and eat a balanced diet in order to maintain the weight and size I had reached.

Despite taking such positive actions and feeling the physical and psychological benefits of such dramatic changes I am still unable to outrun the anxiety which has plagued me. January and February tend to be difficult months for me as they can be for a lot of people. As I move towards the end of March and my birthday I tend to be in a better frame of mind although I remain a little agitated around my birthday. This year, however, I have been unable to locate an even keel and have felt off-balance for a majority of the time. Still running, eating better and taking the medication and implementing the CBT where possible but seeing little benefit. My Fluoxetine dosage has been increased on two occasions; first to 40mg and then to 60mg. It was reduced back to 40mg but after feeling a spike in the anxiety coupled with a depression I have not experienced before I have now changed medication again.

I have only been taking the new medication for a short period of time and I was advised by my GP, and know from experience, these medications can take anywhere from four to six weeks to have any real impact. The anxiety had been bad enough but coupled with a depression, lows the likes of which I have never experienced before, each day has been more challenging. This depression which I am experiencing at the moment is incredibly dark and feels as though I have become locked within a void of some nature. I have struggled to rise in the morning, I am eating less as I quite simply can't bring myself to prepare food and have spent longer periods sitting staring into space without even the mildest urge to move. At points the OCD and anxiety made it difficult to get out of the chair but at least there were things I wanted to do, now I appear to have lost any will to interact with the world. Although I have a tendency to isolate myself (primarily having solitary pursuits such as running, reading and writing do not really allow for company) this feels more as though I have nothing of any value to add to any social interaction. I am also aware of an urge to ignore the phone when it rings such is my determination to avoid conversation.

I do not consider myself to be a negative person, though there are those who would say that I am, but I do admit to being macabre. I do not believe that a person who is macabre or morbid can easily be categorised as a negative person. When presented with a problem my initial reaction is to solve it; this is a positive action rather than a passive or negative one and there are those who may try to avoid the problem or circumvent it rather than search for a solution. Although I can be sullen I do not believe this makes me negative and I would classify such comments as an unfair criticism of my character. During this depression, however, I feel as though the only way to describe my behaviour has been negative. Perhaps because when faced with this problem I feel unable to create a solution. The techniques I have used previously to manage the anxiety and the OCD feel futile against the shadow of depression in which I now reside. In trying to make light of the situation I have come to term this my 'Blackest Night' such is my love of Green Lantern lore. Some may find this mawkish or cheesy but each of us derive strength from different places and perhaps embracing that which gives us strength is as important as any strategy for management of such issues.

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allenmendezsr · 4 years

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Superhero Homeworkout

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/superhero-homeworkout/

Superhero Homeworkout

Buy Now

FROM ZERO TO HERO IN 4 MONTHS

GET THE COMPLETE GUIDE NOW!

ARE YOU SELF SABOTAGING YOUR HERO’S JOURNEY?

“Like lions living in a zoo, we are well-fed and cozy. We have forgotten our true nature… Our roar of strength and freedom.”

TRAIN AT HOME, LOOK LIKE A SUPERHERO

Start sculpting a superhero physique right NOW from the comfort of your own home!

Discover the hidden Muscle-Building SUPER-POWERS your mind and body already possess.

ENOUGH!!

Wasting your precious time in line to do your set, and after that laying on the previous guy’s sweat.

Going back and forth to the Gym, wasting an hour per day, by waiting for public transportation or looking for a parking spot.

Getting hassled into paying 12-month gym-memberships, and in the end having nothing to show for it!

NO MORE EXCUSES!

PAIN

FEAR

BAD LUCK

THEY DIDN’T HOLD YOUR HEROES BACK! THEY DIDN’T HOLD ME BACK! WHY SHOULD THEY HOLD YOU?

AWAKEN YOUR INNER SUPERHERO

I know for a fact that we all hide a personal Superhero within. But, this Superhero is constantly sabotaged by a ruthless villain – Comfort.

Comfort is the Kryptonite to your Superman. It brainwashes us to conform to a limited reality and yet… we live in a society where it has become the ultimate goal.

Look, we all have our own struggles to deal with.

And no, it’s not going to be easy to overcome these… But if you’re already wondering “where does one start”. You’re already on the right path.

The first thing you need is a challenge to shake you up. Next, you need someone to guide you through this challenge. Not just anyone of course… but someone who has actually gone through it all, and then some.

“If your daily routine feels unnatural and plastic, and if you’ve been living in limbo for too long – it’s time to BREAK THROUGH IT!”

WHO AM I AND WHY CARE?

My name is Anthony Arvanitakis and I’m a 3-TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR on Amazon.com. I’ve been also featured on websites such as:

The Art of Manliness | One of the largest independent men’s lifestyle websites in the world askMen.com | No. 1 ranked website in categories such as “men’s Lifestyle – Men’s Sites” T-nation | One of the top 5 Strength training websites in the world

Why am I telling you all this? I want to show you that I don’t just talk (or write) the walk… I also walk it! And as a matter of fact, I walk it on one leg. That’s me in the picture on the right, at age 27. Not the fittest person in the world, right?

After a disastrous accident at age 22, I spent the following years mostly in bed. Having surgery after surgery, feeling depressed and eating unhealthy, while the doctors tried to reconstruct my severely fractured leg…

After 5 dark years I (finally) realized one thing…

Feeling sorry about yourself doesn’t ever get you anywhere. When life is hard, remaining motionless is easy. It does not require any effort. And the more we stand still, the more paralyzed we become. So, instead of letting ourselves sink in the quicksand of our despair, there is only one more choice left. We have to pull ourselves up from your own bootstraps!

Not only did I get up again – but I decided to become the strongest version of myself. First stop – getting back in shape. During that time, I didn’t even have access to a gym. But it didn’t matter… Why?!

And that is what I did. One day I simply said “Enough”!

Because, I already had my mind set to my goal and I told myself that I would achieve it no matter what. With just one pull-up bar and four walls (my tiny apartment) at my disposal, I started working out using mainly bodyweight exercises.

Results? Within 6 months I was strong and lean, without going to the Gym! As a matter of fact, I even turn all this into a bestselling book.

After my first transformation, I noticed that I looked great when I stood topless in front of the mirror. But, the moment I wore a shirt, I looked like another ordinary thin guy. And that’s when I discovered my new challenge. I decided that :

“I WANTED TO LOOK JACKED, WHETHER I WAS WEARING A SHIRT OR NOT. I WANTED TO LOOK LIKE A FREAKING SUPERHERO”

So I made my goal public. I would create a new training program to build a Superhero Physique from the comfort of my own home. People around me (other than those who thought I was joking) said I was over my head. They said I couldn’t do that without steroids and going to the gym.

People like to stand in your way when you’re going against the grain. But, a Superhero’s journey starts when he stops craving others’ acceptance and begins carving his own path.

My new challenge wouldn’t be easy to pull-off, I was fully aware of that. If I was to become a superhero– I would need my own super-power…

After a couple of months of training with the superhero homeworkout plan, some people who saw my progress on Youtube, implied that I might be using illegal substances. Little did they know that the means I used to transform myself is completely free and available for anyone. It doesn’t come in a pill nor a bottle. As a matter of fact, it comes from within (more about this in a moment). Just like Superhero-powers.

Gaining muscle and losing fat is considered the holy grail of bodybuilding. Well, within a few months, not only did I gain 15 pounds of Muscle, I even got more shredded!

WHAT IF I TOLD YOU THAT YOUR MIND HAS SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN SUPER- POWERS

THAT CAN HELP YOU LIFT 30% MORE WEIGHT WITH EVERY REP YOU DO

Without actually loading your body with any extra dangerous weight!

New scientific study from Copenhagen (Denmark), published in March 2016, in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, validates the Mind-Muscle connection!

“The mind has a bigger influence on the body than we think.”

Says one of the researchers.

“Although freely available to everyone and scientifically proven – the Mind-to- Muscle-Connection still remains the most neglected training technique. It’s actually the biggest reason why people fail at transforming their body.”

MIND OVER MUSCLE (FREE BONUS EBOOK)

The Mind-to-Muscle Connection (MMC) might have been just a theory a while ago, but studies done these last years have begun showing that MMC is not just a theory – it’s a fact! Of course, this is something that experienced people with amazing physiques already knew for decades now (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Lee, Eugene Sandow, Max Sick and the list goes on…)

WHAT IS THIS MMC (MIND-TO-MUSCLE- CONNECTION) YOU SPEAK OF?

I don’t just talk about Mind-to-Muscle connection in abstract terms (as most people out there do). I’ve created a whole supplementary bonus guide(!), in which I’ll be giving you clear guidelines (instructions, videos, mental cues) on how each exercise can be performed, in order to induce superior muscle activation.

In simple words

Instead of adding extra weight in an exercise, you can learn to focus on specific inner cues/sensations that cause your muscles to contract harder. Why care? Well, this increased muscle contraction and it’s effects (greater muscle-fiber recruitment, increased neural activity and increased local fatigue (aka “the burn”) lead to greater strength and MUSCLE GROWTH!

The Superhero Homeworkout will teach you that the strongest muscle of your body isn’t your back, chest nor your legs… It’s your mind!

WHY BODYWEIGHT?

We’ve been misled into believing that to get in shape we need all those shiny complicated machines we see in big corporate gyms.

From working or studying for hours in a sited position – we go to a gym where most exercises are done in a seated position again. This is not the best thing for your posture neither body. Most machines focus too much on isolation movements, and neglect stabilizing muscles and connective tissues. As a result, people develop dysfunctional strength and are more prone to injury.

I can guarantee you that no gym pressing exercise can beat handstand push-ups. No gym pulling machine can beat pull-ups. No gym crunching machine can beat the total core activation of a compound bodyweight workout. And no gym bench-pressing related exercise can beat one-arm push-ups.

SLIDESHOW: 8 BODYWEIGHT EXERCISE BENEFITS

Slide to discover them all

Greater and broader recruitment of muscle groups

Proportional development of muscles with their connective tissues

Superior core activation in comparison with gym type machines

Coordination improvement

Practicality (Bodyweight exercises can be done almost anywhere with minimum equipment.)

Self-mastery (gaining greater control over your own body provides you a feeling of self-mastery and self-empowerment.)

Greater visual appeal. What is more awesome… Talking about how much weight you can bench press at the gym or performing a one-arm push-up at the beach?

WHY TRAIN AT HOME?

Having a gym as the only place where you can train doesn’t serve a long-term fitness lifestyle. Why? First of all, a proper workout plan should be practical. It should allow you to train no matter the time, weather and mood. The only place that applies to these circumstances is one’s own home.

To be honest, switching to this mentality (if you’ve trained in a gym for years) might take a few weeks of getting used to. But once you do, you’ll realize that there’s nothing more convenient.

CAN I ONLY USE THIS PLAN AT HOME?

Homemade Muscle workouts are not just limited to being performed at home. Because they are based on bodyweight and minimalistic equipment (bands, sandbags etc), they can be performed pretty much anywhere.

Let’s say the weather is great and you’re in the mood to train outdoors?

No problem! All you need is a place with a pull-up bar (or anything you can hang on – such as a tree branch, sturdy pipe, etc).

Or let’s say you have busy work days so that the only time to workout is during your lunch-break and the only place available is the gym.

No problem… Homemade Muscle programs are all about flexibility!

SO, WHY DO MOST PEOPLE FAIL TO TRANSFORM THEIR BODY?

Is it because they don’t have access to a fancy gym? Is it because they don’t lift heavy enough weights? OR Is it because they aren’t using steroids?

HELL NO! Not only have I proved this isn’t the case, but I even did it on ONE LEG!

SO WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL THEN?

I’m pretty sure a lot of you are wondering right now “what about genetics”? Good question… People very often limit them selves in life by blaming their own biology.

“YOU NEED GOOD GENES TO BUILD A GREAT BODY” ��ITS PROBABLY NOT ON THE CARDS FOR ME…” “IF THAT WAS THE CASE, EVERYONE WOULD DO IT”

Admit it, you’ve used these excuses at some point in life…

Have a look at my before picture above… Do you see a person predestined to be a Superhero? Either Physically or Mentally? Nope! And now guess what was the biggest reason for me being in that state for years? It was the fact that I kept on telling myself the same excuses…

Look, I won’t lie to you – genetics do influence our results. But… if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can overcome almost anything if you have the right tools and mindset.

Is it because they don’t have access to a fancy gym? Is it because they don’t lift heavy enough weights? OR Is it because they aren’t using steroids?

HELL NO! Not only have I proved this isn’t the case, but I even did it on ONE LEG!

SO WHY DO PEOPLE FAIL THEN?

I’m pretty sure a lot of you are wondering right now “what about genetics”? Good question… People very often limit them selves in life by blaming their own biology.

“YOU NEED GOOD GENES TO BUILD A GREAT BODY” “ITS PROBABLY NOT ON THE CARDS FOR ME…” “IF THAT WAS THE CASE, EVERYONE WOULD DO IT”

Admit it, you’ve used these excuses at some point in life…

Have a look at my before picture above (albino picture)… Do you see a person predestined to be a Superhero? Either Physically or Mentally? Nope! And now guess what was the biggest reason for me being in that state for years? It was the fact that I kept on telling myself the same excuses…

Look, I won’t lie to you – Genetics do influence our results. But… if there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can overcome almost anything if you have the right tools and mindset.

So, even if your genes suck, don’t worry! I have a few more secret cards up my sleeve to help you out with this!

IN WHAT OTHER WAYS DOES THE SUPERHERO HOME WORKOUT DIFFER FROM OTHER PLANS?

Most typical programs on the market have one or more common flaws. They’re way too hard, they’re too short-term, they’re too generic and they lack in programming. I know, there are programs out there promising such amazing results within 3 weeks and even less (?!). But trust me… I’ve tried a lot of these and just like a lot of you, I’ve been misguided, lied to and manipulated. Yes, it would be great if we could transform into our dream bodies within days. But wanting to believe in something doesn’t make it true. So here’s the truth:

Building your superhero-body won’t happen over-night but this book will teach you how to do it within 4 months – through proper and science-based programming.

There is no one-size-fits-all Superhero physique for everyone. The Superhero Home-Workout will help you find YOUR custom superhero physique based on your body-type.

It’s not going to be easy but I’ll have your back. This book gives you access to my personal secret Superhero Facebook group where I’ll personally answer your questions and offer you support on a daily basis.

Building your superhero-body won’t happen over-night but this book will teach you how to do it within 4 months – through proper and science-based programming

There is no one-size-fits-all Superhero physique for everyone. The Superhero Home-Workout will help you find YOUR custom superhero physique based on your body-type.

The body is just 50% of the results

Through this book I don’t just want to help you build a Superhero physique. That’s just half of the reward. The other half is building the Superhero mindset that can go with the body. Studies have shown that exercise is one of those habits that trigger widespread positive changes in one’s life. I can vouch for this since it’s what helped me restart my life after spending 5 years in bed!

And that is why I also always focus on the mindset when I create workout plans. People who have completed the Superhero Homeworkout told me personally, and even posted in our secret Superhero League Facebook group, about all the other positive changes that were triggered from this book.

Some improved in their business goals, others got the girl they always wanted, some improved at school/university… Depending on what you’re focusing on most right now in life, this plan will help you get there faster and certainly with great possibilities of success.

To complete a challenging fitness goal such as the Superhero Homeworkout, you’ll need to develop both physical and mental toughness. Qualities such as patience, work-ethic, determination, and tenacity slowly arise – and if you’re mindful enough – you can learn to apply these in the rest of your life’s fields.

It’s not just about how you’ll look – it’s who you’ll become.

I’m so confident about this program, that I’ve backed it up with Clickbank’s standard 60-day guarantee. If you see no results, after practicing this workout plan for 60 days, you can ask for your money back!

ClickBank is the retailer of products on this site. CLICKBANK® is a registered trademark of Click Sales, Inc., a Delaware corporation located at 917 S. Lusk Street, Suite 200, Boise Idaho, 83706, USA and used by permission. ClickBank’s role as retailer does not constitute an endorsement, approval or review of these products or any claim, statement or opinion used in promotion of these products.

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itsleslieblairreames-blog · 5 years

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How Strength Training Can Help Improve Your Mind As Well As Your Body

Strength-focused training is on the rise as women reclaim the traditionally male space. Ahead of the launch of Stylist Strong next month, Alix Walker discovers it doesn’t just have an impact on her quads, but on her mind too.

Until last November I had only ever entered a gym to lose weight. Body Pump classes and their familiar smell of trainer sweat and resentment were only suffered if I had an impending beach holiday.

But walking home one night last autumn, I passed a group of men and felt the familiar pang of vulnerability. I wouldn’t fancy my chances fighting off a chihuahua, never mind a real threat. And whether it’s personal growth or an ever-so-slowly shifting mindset around female body shapes, I started thinking it would be nice to actually feel strong; to give myself a fighting chance. At the very least it might make carrying home my Zara haul easier. So, I decided once again to change my body – only this time, I didn’t want to make it smaller, I wanted to make it stronger.

Stylist Strong is London’s most exciting new fitness studio for women

Today #girlsthatlift has 4.3 million posts on Instagram; #strongnotskinny has 7.7 million; and strength training (the use of resistance – usually heavy weights – to build muscle strength and size) was declared 2018’s top fitness trend by ClassPass in the US. Yet just a few years ago strength and resistance training was, for the most part, a man’s world (in 2011 just 0.9% of women lifted heavy weights). Women were directed to the other side of the gym where we sweated through aerobics.

But – thank god – this has been shifting rapidly over the past few years. Most gyms now offer some form of strength-focused class – and I know three women who compete in weight-lifting competitions at the weekend. But no doubt the biggest catalyst for the huge uptake is the fact that strength training works.

This month, Stylist is also heading into the weights area. We are launching Stylist Strong, a female-focused fitness space with workouts designed to help you increase your strength – whether that’s beating a personal best or getting stronger for everyday challenges. The more I listened to the plans we were making, the more I knew this was what I’d been looking for.

And so I began my strong mission. Given Stylist Strong was still in the works, I asked Virgin Active to set me up with one of their personal trainers, Raphael Vittori Cray, who would coach me three times a week concentrating on legs, back and biceps, chest, shoulders and triceps. Personal trainer Raph coaches Alix in the correct techniques

Raph began by assessing the upper limit of how much I could lift, which we would re-test every month to see how my strength was improving. The first session proved I was far from strong as my legs wobbled manically on my second set of walking lunges, but I could already do more than I had anticipated (a particular high point was asking for the next weights up on the leg press machine) and although I’d used a lot of physical effort, I never felt exhausted (like I do if I’m running), or mind-numbingly bored (like I do if I’m running). In fact, I finished the session feeling pretty triumphant because I genuinely didn’t hate it – a first! – and I hadn’t given up on a lift, regardless of the burn.

After the pre-requisite high five (high –fiveing is huge in gyms, it seems), I turned to Raph and half-whispered: “Just one thing I should have mentioned, I don’t really want to get bulky…”

“Unless you’re going to live at the gym and eat nothing but steak, you won’t get bulky.”

The bulk myth

Ah, yes. Bulk. The well-toned elephant in the room. The powerful association of heavy weights with thick necks and He-Man shoulders. Every expert I spoke to for this feature said this was both the primary concern and biggest misconception about strength training, but, as Raph reassured me, “Unless you’re going to live at the gym and eat nothing but steak, you won’t get bulky.”

Of course, our notion of what constitutes ‘bulky’ in a woman is changing as the ridiculously narrow standard of what a female body shape should look like – long, lean and toned but never muscly – gets a long overdue overhaul. The bottom line is: gaining a significant amount of muscle mass is extremely difficult for the vast majority of women (experts estimate a maximum of 1lb of muscle per month which will reduce the longer you train). Men also produce 20 times more testosterone – the primary hormone needed for muscle growth – than women.

So why are women reclaiming this previously male territory? “I started strength training about three years ago,” says journalist Poorna Bell, who has just deadlifted 125kg at a powerlifting competition. “My husband passed away and I needed a goal to work towards. I had relied on him to do certain things because, as a man, he was stronger – moving furniture, flipping the mattress – and I didn’t want to feel reliant on anyone. I instantly loved it because you can quantifiably say you’re stronger when you see the numbers on the weights going up. Suddenly, your newfound ability replaces the previous motivation to look lean or lose weight.” Alix hones her invisible horseriding skills while building muscle strength

There’s no doubt it’s become a much more visible activity since female weightlifters like Zoe Smith won her first Commonwealth medal in 2010 and the all-female British weightlifting squad was formed in June 2014. But it’s also due to changing attitudes as exercise becomes more about empowerment, health and wellness rather than simply the size of our body.

The health benefits are pretty appealing too. Last year, a study by the University of Michigan found a link between stronger muscles and increased life expectancy. And it’s particularly important for women as it protects us against osteoporosis, a condition which sees bones weaken and disproportionately affects women (80% of sufferers are female). Numerous studies have shown that strength training can play a role in slowing bone loss, and several show it can even build bone.

The other clear benefit of strength training is that muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest, meaning, in simple terms, that it’s potentially far more effective than cardio for weight loss, if that’s your motivation. And if you need more convincing, a 2016 study suggested that strength training may lower a woman’s risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

No pain, no gain

By the end of week two my body already felt tighter – the fastest results I’ve ever seen in my admittedly exercise-lite life. One thing I was struggling with, however, was DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) as I learnt after googling why my legs were permanent balls of fire at 3am. “The soreness you’re experiencing shows your fitness is progressing,” says creator of the Stylist Strong programme, Nike’s Global Master Trainer Joslyn Thompson Rule, who is passionate about seeing more women strength training after seeing the huge benefits it’s given her. “If it continues to be a problem, you need to look at your sleep, food intake and whether you’re staying hydrated.” One. More. Set. Alix powers through a tough workout.

I also spoke to registered sports nutritionist (and former British bodybuilding champion) Anita Bean, who explained how vital it is that you make minor dietary changes too. “You need to ensure you get enough fuel and nutrients to facilitate muscle adaptation,” she explains. Did that mean carrying three roast chickens around with me? Not quite. “If you’re strength training, you’ll need around 1.2 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. That’s basically double the amount of a sedentary person.The other thing to consider is timing. Eat around 25g of protein before you train for maximum muscle gains, then 25g after training, along with carbohydrates, to fuel recovery. I’d suggest fuelling for a workout with 250g of Greek yoghurt, a small chicken breast, 100g of fish or half a tin of beans plus cooked quinoa.”

So I began eating protein with every meal – nothing over-the-top: Bircher muesli for breakfast, chicken wrap at lunch and fish for dinner. It didn’t eradicate the pain completely – leg days are always killer – but it definitely helped.

Two months into my training I went away on holiday and my youngest daughter – a two-stone lump – decided the only way she would travel was scooped up in my left arm. I carried her for miles with relative ease. It was then I clocked the impact my training was having on everyday activities. I had way more energy too, most likely because I was sleeping like a dream (a proven side effect of strength training). Raph confirmed it wasn’t just my imagination the day after I got home. “You’ve just done walking lunges with twice what you were lifting a month ago.”

“After decades of finding gyms dominated by masculine energy, I’ve found my space alongside women who are motivated by strength, health and camaraderie”

Strength of mind

I felt bloody elated. With what felt like fairly minimal effort on my part, I was categorically stronger. And while I loved the newfound definition in my arms, it was my mind where I felt the most progress.

My husband brought it up first, saying, “Don’t give this up. You seem happier.” And it was true. I felt calmer, more positive but also more disciplined – I was far more productive at work and I actually called our broadband supplier to change plans, which had been on my to-do list for approximately five years.

The mental health benefits of strength training are still being investigated but there have been some fascinating studies so far. The University of South Carolina found that women who did twice-weekly resistance training had a 60% decrease in anxiety levels and lowered levels of irritability in six weeks. And a review of 25 randomized controlled trials looking at exercise and depression found that strength training had twice the mood-boosting benefits of aerobic exercise alone (though the best result was when patients did both).

“There are a number of mechanisms we think are at work here,” says Dr Claire-Marie Roberts, a sports psychology lecturer at the University of the West of England. “The first one at play is the neural system adaptation to strength training. Your muscles adapt to being placed under physical stress, which extends to your brain, meaning we’re not just training our biceps, but our brains too.

“It also aids activity-induced neurotransmitters like serotonin, which make us feel good. Finally, there’s the more psychological side where you set yourself a goal – to lift a certain weight, for example – and the instantaneous feedback of reaching it increases your level of self-esteem.”

One thing I had no idea about before I started training was that after every set you rest for 90 seconds. It’s an enforced yet productive breather that completely contradicted my ‘never stop’ approach. I felt like a fraud at first but as my kettlebell weight kept increasing – 5kg, 10kg, 15kg, 20kg – I realised there really is something to be said for slowing down. Over time those tiny breathers became almost meditative, pockets of time to focus on nothing but my breathing and psyching myself up for the next set. It had a real impact on how I work and I now give myself little concentration breaks rather than plough on.

“While I loved the newfound definition in my arms, it was my mind where I felt the most progress.”

Alix’s Stats

NOVEMBER 2018:

Deadlift: 30kg

Chest press: 5kg each side

Bench press: 25kg

Overhead lunge: 15kg

Walking lunge: 6kg

MAY 2019:

Deadlift: 40kg

Chest press: 10kg

Bench press: 30kg

Overhead lunge: 20kg

Walking lunge: 12kg From weightlifting novice to deadlift demon

Six months later, strength training has become as important to me as my Netflix subscription. After decades of finding gyms dominated by masculine energy, I’ve found my space alongside women who are motivated by strength, health and camaraderie (when I did a 40kg deadlift for the first time four months after I started I was surrounded by women shouting “You can do it!”).

I don’t look that different – I think people are disappointed I’m not a modern-day She-Ra – but do not underestimate anyone who strength trains, because the size of your body has very little to do with your ability to lift heavy, and isn’t that exactly how it should be? “The best thing for me is when I’m training a group of women and they realise that they can lift that weight, that their body can do this,” says Thompson Rule. “They think, ‘This is me, this is what I can do and no one can stop me’.”

Leslie Blair Reames

https://twitter.com/BlairReames

https://www.instagram.com/lbreames83

https://www.facebook.com/blair.reames.7

#strength training health mind body

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similartoasunflower · 7 years

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My Eating Disorder Explained

This is probably the hardest thing that I've ever had to come to terms with and be open with. I feel as if I have to do this for me. This is not for anything other than the fact that I need to feel free of this constant gnawing of my inner soul. To start off, I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I don't care for anyone's pity. I hope that what I'm about to explain can possible anchor in helping someone else. Feeling vulnerable for me is a foreign mindset. I enjoy certain parts of my life to remain private, but this, I can't bare it any longer. I feel as if I'm living a lie. Therefore, this is where I'm going to explain everything. In December 2016, I was in the best shape I had ever been in. I was working out consistently. I had managed to go from 370 pounds - 185 pounds in the matter of 20 months. I was happy, everything felt as if it was falling into place, or so I thought. As many people know, I was on a restrictive meal plan since August of 2015. I was consuming about 1,000 calories a day give or take. During this time, I had no cheat days. I got addicted to counting calories, stepping on the scale, and getting depressed if I had not seen a smaller number than what I had seen the day before. It felt good to finally get noticed by guys and have people conversing with me that did not the first few years of high school. It felt exceptional to at last be noticed for me. The word "inspiration" had taken a new meaning to me. I had finally saw it when I looked in the mirror. I had gained pure confidence and my self esteem was gleaming noticeably. What I had not realize was that I became a number. Instead of asking how I was feeling, they would ask "How much weight have you lost now?". My life was full of "You look so good now - so healthy". It made me feel as if I was FINALLY doing something right. As if I had finally found myself. I was transparent with my weight loss - an open book, but I had started placing my value on a dumb number. Believing that I would only be capable of being loved if I was a certain size. The smaller, the better, the more approved of version of myself. I restricted myself into an eating disorder that came into play in December 2016. I just wanted to be thin. What came with it was more horrid than I could ever imagine. I started to isolate myself tremendously. Pushing people away is easier when you're depressed and prone to anxiety. I started missing outings with my friends, birthday parties. Food took over my entire mind. I would go to school, act as normal as humanly possible, count the minutes until it was over, and go binge. I came to a cycle. (I would purge 1/5 of my binges.) Binge Guilt/Shame Restrict Binge I was confused. What was wrong with me now? I used to be so good at sticking to a plan. It felt as if that was the only thing I was good at. I played it off as if I had just fallen off track and that I could get back on track at anytime. It was much bigger than that, I came to realize. I started opening up to a couple friends, not too close of friends though. It's easier to be honest with someone who couldn't have an opinion that automatically you fear. Some friends, this will be the first time they hear of it since I've tried contacting them for alone time, but our schedules never met each others. When I did open up to some individuals, some common responses I heard were "Oh, you just need to get back on track, go to the gym" "Just stop" "You just fell off, you'll bounce back" "You can't be mad that you look different if you're the one doing it to yourself" This made the isolation increase. I felt as if I was wasting my breath so I started to hold it in more. No one understood me. If it was that easier, it would already be done. It got so bad that in March, I tried to commit suicide. I felt so lost in my own mind that I would rather feel nothing at all than to have all of my thoughts be consumed with food. I missed a week of school and did not leave my bed for the whole five days. Then again, I missed a lot of school because of my eating disorder. In fear that someone would notice and comment. I got my last report card for the last quarter of high school and I had 30 record absences. I have no idea how I even graduated. My eating disorder made what was supposed to be the best year of high school, the worst year of my entire life. It I could "just stop", don't you think that I would of? My days became filled with feelings of disgust and embarrassment. I know that that isn't a way to live. Physically and emotionally - it drained me. I wanted to have a huge 18th birthday party, but refrained because I felt that I would have looked utterly horrifying in a gown. I started hating myself all over again and how I looked in everything. I became so depressed and didn't know who to taught to so I started putting a lot of my negative thoughts on Twitter. That lead to losing a lot of friends because of my negativity, but how am I supposed to let it out when I feel so alone? I was trying over and over to break the cycle of only wanting to be numb. During that time, I resorted to smoking and hooking up with random guys in order to distract myself. None of which worked, it had only made it worse in the long term. I put my self worth and value aside because I thought that's how I deserved to be treated - as trash because that's what my eating disorder told me that I was. You could say that those guys used me, but in reality, I had used them more than they could ever used me because I has used them to distract me from my own monster. It's not that I wanted to eat to the point of barely being able to breathe, that is not fun. Feeling the emotions afterwards of shame and guilt are horrible. I cannot remember how many times I've had break downs and went to sleep sobbing because of it. It broke my heart that I was like this. Not in control of your mind is one of the worst experiences I have ever encountered. It especially skyrocketed when people started to make negative comments about my weight. My depression, anxiety, self image all went to shit. Which my disorder did not hesitate to take and run with. The feeling of finally feeling on track one moment and then I would have binged 3 days straight in the blink of an eye. Lying to my family, friends, and myself. Nothing that my eating disorder ever wanted was worth it, no food ever made the cut. My disorder would force me to believe wholeheartedly that I needed to consume anything and everything. At times, I had thought I was "fixed" which is where my two tattoos came from. Sadly, there's no quick fix for losing yourself to an eating disorder. A constant battle within my mind. Waking up the next morning barely being able to move because of all of the food I had eaten the night before. I have never felt more alone and misunderstood than when I'm in a binge mindset. Some individuals act as if I'm just out of control and need to get a grip. The gym started to become a trigger for me. I would work out for 3 hours, then immediately binge right after. So, I stopped going to the gym and just went straight to the binge. I tried listening to podcasts, audiobooks, and buying books about eating disorders. Nothing worked. I stayed up researching everything from mindful eating to how to resist urges. I did not even admit that I had an eating disorder until 3 weeks ago. I had tried to get back on track and it made the binging out of control. I had a breakdown at my therapists office where she referred me to a 10 week intensive outpatient program. 4 days/week. 4 hours/day. Since then, I have learned so much and I'm so thankful. Which is why I'm choosing to be transparent with my struggles in life. No one should ever feel alone. One of the hardest aspects I've had to deal with is all of the time I wasted and lying to / hiding it from my loved ones. I'm not looking for you to understand completely. I just want you to consider the fact that I'm trying to recover from uncontrollable pain. I'm still broken, but an effort is an effort. I want my life back and sometimes you have to fight a battle more than once to win.

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projectshania · 7 years

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Sha-Why-a

Hey everyone!

Welcome to Project Shania, a blog about a big guy trying to loose weight in order to wear this sweet Shania Twain shirt to Bonnaroo.

Now, I know what you might be thinking after that first sentence; “This is fucking stupid. Why make a blog about this? Who cares?”

How do I know you’re thinking that? Well, I probably would have said the exact same thing to myself if I were to come upon this thing.

(Full disclosure, I said that to myself when I first came up with this idea.)

So with that in mind, I figured this first post will be about what this is and what this isn’t, what I will write about and what I won’t write about. That sort of thing.

Actually, why don’t I come up with a mock interview with myself to hopefully clear up any questions.

(OR FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO “CUT TO THE CHASE” SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM)

Let’s say the interviewer is named Glen Edwards from Health Dudes Magazine. (No, I’m not referencing the 1970s Steelers player. It just sounds like the name of a health magazine writer.)

Here we go...

Glen: So you’re really doing this?

Jake: Yep it’s on the internet and public so I guess I have to.

G: Is that why you’re doing this blog? Public accountability?

J: I think all of us have those friends who all of a sudden get this health kick and post on their social media accounts their desire to get in shape and then post every week (or for some, every other day) about their progress, diet changes, gym photos, etc.

I have to be 100% honest, at first when I saw people doing that I found it pretty weird and self-centered BUT it suddenly clicked in my mind why some people do that and how helpful public accountability and encouragement can be and that it’s not self centered but actually okay to be proud of your progress and body.

G: So why do a blog? Why not post on your socials about your diet, progress, and gym photos?

J: Believe it or not I’m actually an extremely private and shy person when it comes to personal things so I know for a fact that I could not do that without feeling incredibly awkward. Therefore I came up with this idea for a blog to hopefully side step doing those things while also holding myself accountable.

G: So wait, you came up with a fake interview and are posting it to your new blog about losing weight to wear a Shania Twain shirt and you DONT want to come off as awkward?

J: I don’t know man. I’m a publicist. My mind works in interview format.

G: Fair enough. So...if this isn’t a blog about your weight loss and health what is this even about?

J: No it is! But I want to bring something a little different to the table to help me be open about all of this. In addition to writing about my progress, I also want to be very open about what is going on in my mind as I go on this journey in a hopefully honest but humorous way.

G: With fake interviews and such?

J: No this will probably be the last time this will happen.

G: Why? Am I a bad interview?

J: No this is just kind of ridiculous to have a fake interview with yourself.

G: Well, you created me so...that’s on you.

J: ...

G: Okay, moving on. So what is this “journey”? What are your goals?

J: My goals are simple. I want to loose enough weight by Bonnaroo 2017 to fit into a medium sized Shania Twain t-shirt.

G: ...

J: Yes I know how that sounds.

G: Again moving on. What’s your current weight and shirt size?

J: I’m 250 lbs, 5″ 9′, and wear an XL shirt.

G: What is your weight goal? J: 150 lbs (the median weight amount of a 27 year old dude with my height.)

G: How do you plan on doing this? Do you wanna get swoll?

J: No swoll for me. Just trying to focus on being healthier. I’m going to work out 5 days a week. 3 days at the gym, 2 days working at home and 2 days of recovery.

In terms of diet, I honestly don’t believe in “diets” like in the Atkins diet sense or paleo diet or stuff like that. I really want to do this realistically for myself and my lifestyle and for me to do that, I want to just really focus on portion control and keeping everything in moderation. I’m already a vegetarian, but my diet heavily consists of pastas and potatoes and stuff like that. Though I won’t cut those things out completely, I do want to be smarter on where they fit into my diet and bring in more substantial and healthy items.

Of course, this is what I’m saying now. My views and diet can change and Im sure those will be reflected on this blog!

G: Okay so why THIS shirt? How did this come about?

J: For my 27th birthday my girlfriend gave me a bag full of gag gifts and this Shania Twain shirt was one of them. I took it out of the bag and was so excited because I’m actually an 80s / 90s country fan. Unironically believe it or not.

*Exhibit #1: A photo of me in a Brooks & Dunn shirt at Bonnaroo 2016.*

Then, my girlfriend breaks the news. “Our office ran out of XLs and Ls. This is a medium sorry.”

I jokingly responded, “OKAY I get the hint!”

We laughed, I put the shirt in the bag and continued to stuff my face with lasagna.

Then, about 3 days later after a very long night at a show, I came home and started packing and cleaning the apartment before I left for Seattle.

In my delirious state at 3am, I glanced at the shirt and thought to myself how much I wanted to lose weight to wear that shirt. And before I knew it, the whole idea grew from there.

G: Can we see the shirt?

J: Well, I was going to share with you a photo I took of the shirt but I found this super stylish, model photo from Urban Outfitters which is too good not to post.

G: Can we see you in the shirt first? Maybe do a before an after?

J: No.

G: Why not? J: I don’t want to ruin the shirt. I want the shirt to be in perfect condition. The first time I put it on will be at Bonnaroo. Regardless of what size I am! G: Why would you ruin the shirt though? J: ... Next question.

G: Why Bonnaroo?

J: Well a few reasons. First, Bonnaroo holds a lot of significance for me. Full disclosure, I am the press coordinator for Bonnaroo. Last year was my first year working the festival and it was truly transformative for me. It was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done professionally and, to a certain degree (pun), physically due to running all over the fest with the heat and humidity. Between the sleepless nights over press issues and running around, I actually lost a significant amount of weight over the course of a week which made me feel great. Of course, within a week after the festival I gained all the weight back, which really upset me and I haven’t been able to quite shake it. So I thought, “Hey, losing that much weight by June is a realistic goal! Why not?”

Also, I wore that Brooks & Dunn shirt to Bonnaroo and it was a hit with the crew on the Farm. Lots of hi-fives which is always a plus.

G: This has been interesting thanks.

J: Good bye, forever.

G: Why’d you have to end it like that? *POOF*

So if you’ve read this far congrats! But, let me be 100% clear on something, no matter WHAT your weight is, if you are happy in life and you love yourself then keep doing what your doing!

For me, I am unhappy with myself and want to make a change.

I’m doing this in hope that maybe others who want to make a change too will read this and maybe find something useful or relatable or even funny and that maybe those things will inspire them to find their own project to focus on.

At the end of the day, a big reason why I never got into fitness or health and wellness is because I never found someone I could relate to. All of the fitness experts and youtube personalities and bloggers all looked like ripped movie stars who’s life is all centered around fitness and that you can only be healthy if you center your whole life and activities around working out.

I realize that if you are an unhealthy person, a life style change needs to happen in order to be successful but, I will never be one of those ripped health personalities with thousands of dollars of gym equipment in my basement and a stock pile of protein powders.

So hear I am. Since I couldn’t find anyone I could relate to, maybe I can do that for someone else while also having a forum to work through this.

I am simply Jake. A 27 year old, over weight music industry professional with a loving girlfriend, a dog, a little apartment, and a Prius (ha. I know)

I have long work hours like anyone else from Monday to Friday (and sometimes weekends,) bills, car payments, rent and no budget for Whole Foods shopping sprees for vitamins, supplements and organic foods.

I’m going to try to make all of this work with my work schedule, lifestyle and budget. You’ll probably see me fail a lot, vent, and even be embarrassed (and to be honest, this whole thing is embarrassing to me already.) I think all of these things are important to see and write though. I’m only human and to feel frustrated and to make mistakes is human.

But HOPEFULLY you will also see me happy, excited, positive and ultimately successful.

Only time will tell though. Thanks for reading!

“LETS GO GIRLS!” - Shania

#projectshania #bonnaroo #health #shania twain

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mikeconphoto · 6 years

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"Fit Features" - By MikeCon Photography

The time has come for me to take it upon myself to feature all of my clients. Most times they've been accepted by magazines for stories and features, however the magazines have put them on the back burner and archived their stories and images. As much as I appreciate the magazines for accepting the images, I still can't sit around waiting for over a year, or longer for them to feature my people. One of them even went into the written clause on the release form of, "We never guaranteed a cover and story.", after being told that it was accepted and to be used that year (2016), frustrated me to see those words come out.

Yes, as much as I preach to my clients and potential clients, "There is no guarantee to be published in ANY magazines, and to those who promise you that either own the magazine, or they are going to get you recognized (not really published) in an online magazine that NOBODY has really heard of, or cares about. To some this may come off as arrogant, or egotistical, however it's not, and it comes from a place of love for my people and for them getting their hopes up and having them shot down with lip service. That's not how I operate, and now....I'm going to give them a spotlight. It's a tough pill to swallow, however there's no difference between here and an online magazine, (seriously)...the biggest difference is that I run this show and can do it my way...so...now I'm going to give my first feature to one of my favorite Fit Mom's... Mandy Stevenson.

Mandy and I did our photo shoot in June of 2017. She's one of the nicest people that I've EVER met and I consider her a very good friend. Here's her story below:

Name: Mandy Stevenson

City: Sedalia

State/province: Colorado

Main occupation (ONE only please): Labor & Delivery Registered Nurse (& Mom)

Height: 5’ 8”

Birthday and sign: May 5, Taurus

Q: Describe your life before you started training.

A: I have always been an athlete. I was a competitive swimmer and dancer growing up, I was a cheerleader in high school, and continued competitively swimming into my adult life until a shoulder injury. Then I took up running, having run 4 marathons, dozens of half marathons and 10K’s. I decided I wanted to be a bikini athlete, found a great coach and changed my routine to lifting weights more than running to be stage ready. Now I have a balance of both weights and cardio in my life.

Q: How different do you feel now compared to then?

A: Now that I have balanced my workout regimen to include weight training, cardio, and a clean diet, I feel like a million bucks. I have a ton of energy to keep up with my kids, and I feel like I can tackle nearly any challenge without having to spend months to prepare.

Q: Was there is pivotal moment that motivated you to start training? If so, what was it?

A: I have a friend who had asked me to train with her for a bikini competition, but I soon found out I was pregnant with my third child, so I had to hold off and cheer for her from the sidelines. After I had my baby, I really wanted to follow her footsteps and train for a competition. The bonus was I had motivation to lose the final baby weight I had gained.

Q: Do you remember your first training session? How different is your training today?

A: My first training session was intimidating. I didn’t want to be “that girl” who was not in prime shape, but I knew I had a ways to go to be stage ready. I pushed myself so hard on my first legs training day, it was hard to walk the rest of the week! I still train by separating my muscle groups into different days, and I tailor my cardio sessions to fit in with my day rather than forming my day around my cardio sessions. I have a lot of flexibility in my workouts now, and I really try to listen to my body. I lost 20 pounds, 23.25 inches all around, and 15% body fat. Those results, and bringing home a trophy, was all it took for me to know that I had changed my life forever.

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of training for you? Why?

A: The most rewarding aspect of training has been seeing how far I can push myself to reach a goal or change my body. I love being strong, and I love a challenge. It’s great to feel good about the skin you’re in.

Q: What has continued to motivate you throughout your training? Why?

A: The energy I have from staying active is a huge motivation to keep going. I have 3 very busy and active kids, so being able to keep up with them is priceless. Feeling good and staying healthy-you just can’t put a price on that. I want this body to keep going for a very long time.

Q: What are your qualifications - why did you set out to achieve these?

A: I am not a fitness pro, motivational speaker, or national qualifier. I am an athlete, a wife, a mom, and a nurse. My fitness journey has helped me be better at all these things by making me both mentally and physically stronger than I was even 5 years ago.

Q: What have you had to overcome to get to where you are today? Did that change you in any way? If so, describe how.

A: I have made a lot of sacrifices, and I have had to learn several lessons more than just once. Eating clean when you are constantly on the go can be a challenge. I learned the value of food prep and planning ahead. I know that if I am going to be eating out, I plan my day around that so I don’t go totally overboard and jeopardize my goals. I have also learned the incredibly valuable lesson of giving yourself grace. You can’t be perfect 100% of the time, and you need to be okay with that. Allowing myself grace has helped me find balance with my training and diet that fits my lifestyle.

Q: What is the number one lesson you have learned about health and fitness through your training?

A: It’s okay to not be perfect in your diet and training all the time, but this is the only body you’re ever going to have and you better take care of it! Going to the gym is not the hard part of training, it’s staying consistent in your diet.

Q: What do you wish you had known when you were 16?

A: I wish I would have learned better eating habits when I was younger. I was certain my metabolism was always going to be amazing. I’d go back to my younger self now force it into her head that balanced, clean eating is a lifelong skill-best learned at a young age.

Q: Describe how training makes you feel.

A: Without question, I am an endorphin junkie. Always have been. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way working out makes me feel. I have never walked away from a workout thinking “that was a waste of my time.”

Q: Do you have a quote that you live by? If so, why this one?

A: There are 3 that I say to myself more than once a day... 1). “Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, I’m Possible.” 2). “Let your smile change the world, but don’t let the world change your smile.” 3). “It’s okay to not be okay...just don’t stay there.” These all have special deep rooted meanings to me...ultimately, they all challenge me to be a better person.

Q: What was your reason for taking health and fitness to the level you have? Why is it so important to you?

A: I have a handsome husband and a beautiful family. I want to be the best version of me that I can be for them. I want to be healthy, live a long and happy life, and I want to feel incredible about the skin I am in. A fit lifestyle does that for me, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Q: What advice would you give to women wanting to get into the best shape of their life?

A: You can do it, and you won’t regret it! It IS possible to have a family, have a career, to be a busy person, and still fit this into your life. Make time for yourself and make yourself a priority...You are worth it!!

Q: What is the most important thing women need to remember when training? Why?

A: It takes time to see change. Stay consistent. It takes 4 weeks for you to see change in yourself, it takes 8 weeks for friends and family to see the change, and it takes 12 weeks for everyone else to see the change.

Q: We all have days where motivation is low – how do you overcome these? Have you always been able to do this?

A: On low motivation days the hardest part is usually getting to the gym. Get dressed, get yourself out the door, and have a plan. Once you’re there, it’s easy to put in your headphones and get to work. Having a preset plan for your workout and diet helps you get through the tough days. Flavored water also helps me get through hard days when drinking enough can be a challenge.

Q: Do you enjoy training alone or with a partner? Why?

A: I much prefer to train by myself. My family teases me that I go to the gym to be social, but the truth is, if I train alone I stay focused and get my workout done better and quicker than when I am with a partner.

Q: What would you like to see change in the health and fitness industry?

A: The ill-perceived notion that it is too hard to get started in your fitness journey, or that it is too late to get started. There is a lot of information out there on how to workout to be healthy, and it doesn’t have to come with the price tag of a trainer. Educate yourself, find an activity you like, drink more water, and eat clean 80% of the time. Your future self will thank you for starting now. It doesn’t have to be hard or scary-one step at a time. Find the resources and use them.

Q: What would a perfect Sunday involve for you?

A: My perfect Sunday would be going to church in the morning with my family, family lunch date after church, then home to meal prep and spend time together before the new week starts. Currently it is close to that, with the exception that I work Sunday nights.

Q: Contest history - do you have a highlight? Why?

A: I have competed in 2 bikini shows. My highlight was the first show, first of all, because it was my first show, and there is something very special about that, and then second, I brought home a trophy for 5th place-a wonderful validation for the hard-work I put in to my prep.

Q: What's your diet?

A: Breakfast-Greek yogurt, raspberries and blueberries, coffee and protein powder. Morning snack-handful of almonds (approx 30 grams). Lunch-baby spinach with 1 hard boiled egg and 2 hard boiled egg whites, cherry tomatoes and 1/3 oz salad dressing, protein shake. Afternoon snack-protein bar. Dinner-chicken breast or white fish, steamed broccoli florets or asparagus, ½ cup brown rice. After dinner snack-a piece of dark chocolate.

: What's your outline for a typical day’s meals?

Workout week

Monday: Legs day, 20 min cardio, abs

Tuesday: HIIT class

Wednesday: Shoulders & biceps, 20 min cardio

Thursday: HIIT class

Friday: Back & triceps, 20-30 min cardio

Saturday: 45 min cardio, abs

Sunday: Rest Day

QUICK QUESTIONS:

Describe yourself in three words. Happy, Simple, Stubborn

What is your favorite food to indulge on? Chocolate and peanut butter! (I LOVE sweets) How often do you treat yourself? At least a couple of times a week I will have a small spoonful of peanut butter with some semi-sweet chocolate chips. That seems to help balance my sweet-tooth without me over-indulging in treats. I stick to the 80/20 clean eating rule pretty consistently.

What is your favorite non-cheat food? Zucchini noodles (Zoodles) and shrimp! I’ll add a touch of cocktail sauce to spice it up. Super easy to prep and tasty.

What is your favorite home-cooked meal? Who cooks it? I adore baking and breakfast foods...I have a recipe for an amazing, fairly healthy low carb German pancake that my family adores. I also make self-proclaimed amazing Swedish pancakes with coconut syrup.

What are the staples in your fridge? Liquid egg whites, fresh berries, broccoli florets, Greek yogurt, snow peas, and baby carrots.

What is your favorite body part to train? Why? I love training my shoulders. I had 2 shoulder surgeries in my early twenties and it took a very long time to rehab them. I am so proud of how I have gotten my strength equal in them and how strong they look. Fun fact-I have an cadaver achilles tendon in my shoulder as well as some pins and screws.

What is your least favorite body part to train? Why? Arms-both biceps and triceps. I am strong in them, but it is so hard for me to develop good definition. It’s frustrating to put in the work and not see the results the way that I do with other body parts. I don’t let it stop me, but it is the hardest body part for me to train.

Do you prefer to train outdoors or indoors? Why? That all depends on what I am doing. Nothing can beat a good trail run or the mini incline in Castle Rock, or the Manitou Springs stairs climb. Weight training for me is best done inside, and I love the gym that I train at.

Describe the atmosphere in your favorite place to train – what can you see/feel/hear etc.? I love my gym-the energy from the people training there, the cool air that is pumped through the vents, the music that they play (even though I always listen to my own playlist). When you get into a routine, you start to see the same people there day to day and so it becomes a social thing as well.

Do you prefer cardio or weights? Why? 5 years ago, my answer would have been running-I was still running races and pushing a baby jogger. I loved that season of my life. I got addicted to the thrill of weight training and being strong. Now I prefer weights to cardio any day.

o you have a favorite book? Why this one? Usually whatever book I am currently reading is my favorite book. If I had to pick an all-time favorite, it would either be Tess of the D’urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, or The Red Tent by Anita Diamant.

What is your favorite feature? Why? My favorite features are my shoulders and back. Having been a swimmer growing up, I developed broad shoulders. And at my height, it is a trait that I can carry well.

Name five (5) things you can't live without. 1). My Bible, 2). My family, 3). My phone, 4). My mascara, 5). My sarcastic sense of humor!! ;)

Name three (3) things most people don’t know about you. 1). I really like old muscle cars (I own a ’66 mustang), 2). I hate scary movies, 3). It’s very hard for me to sit still and do nothing.

What is on your bedside table? A clock, a glass of water, Chapstick, hand cream, my glasses, a book and/or my kindle.

What is your best beauty secret? Wash your face every night, and wear sunscreen.

Who inspires you? Why? My family (husband and kids) inspire me to be a better person every single day-from staying active with them, to be a better cook (not that I am bad), to be a more patient mom, a more loving wife, to fully love harder and deeper every day.

Who is your fitness and body role model? Why? For someone I know, a role model is Jessica Kidd. She is amazing-strong, beautiful, and passionate. It’s a joy to watch her take on challenges and crush them. For someone that I don’t know-I follow Emily Skye on Instagram and Snapchat. She’s a new mom and is crushing life both in the fitness realm as well as motherhood. I love listening to her because she is Australian-the accent is awesome. She is all about living a healthy balance-good whole food choices and being active. Not to mention how gorgeous she is.

What do you have in store for the future? What do you want to improve on? For now I am trying to crush life in motherhood...My kids keep me so busy with their sports and activities-and I love every second of it. I make sure I keep my gym routine because that is important to me. I do have plans to compete again. I am not sure if it will be bikini again or if I would like to compete as a figure athlete. My goal is to hit the stage within the next 36-42 months.

Any final thoughts? I'm currently preparing for: Life. Every day. Seriously...it’s not so much of prepping for something right now, it is maintaining where I am, or even working on some features to tighten up a little. If I maintain now, when I do start prepping for my next show, I won’t feel like I am starting from ground zero. Daily grind. I love my daily grind! These days my focus is for a different reason. I am not currently training for competitions, but instead training to be the best and healthiest version of me. Not just for me, but for my husband and for my kids, to be the best for them, also. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial to me. It helps me feel strong and confident, gives me energy and keeps me focused, and allows me to be the role model that I want to be for my kids. I have never felt better or stronger than I do now, and this is just the beginning

#Fitness Model #fit mom #fitness #fitness model #Fitfam #Fitspo #fitfam #FitPhoto #fit photo feature #bestfitnessphotographer #fitness photographer #fitness photography #Fitness #fitness models #wbff #fitmom

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gabriellakirtonblog · 4 years

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How Five Coaches Grew Their Online Business in Difficult Times

The coronavirus hit the fitness industry especially hard.

Gyms closed with little to no warning, leaving trainers scrambling.

But not every coach was devastated. Some earned more money and expanded their businesses.

The following five case studies show you how they did it.

Read them to learn how you too can build a resilient online fitness business that not only survives tough times, but actually thrives.

How to Make Money as an Online Trainer

Case study #1: How a scientist and single mom escaped a toxic work environment to become a successful hybrid coach

Case study #2: How a part-time nutrition coach went from charging $95 a month to $1,500 for three months, and adds a new client every week

Case study #3: How an engineer found meaning in his work as a part-time coach and trained 300-plus clients in 16 countries

Case study #4: How Nelao helps trauma survivors with their fitness through online coaching

Case study #5: How a gym owner increased his income after the pandemic forced him to close his facility

Case study #1: Leanne Salisbury

How a scientist and single mom escaped a toxic work environment to become a successful hybrid coach

It was a slow day at the lab, and Leanne Salisbury asked her boss if she could use an hour of paid time off to take her teenage son to a meeting to help plan his college education.

She thought it was a reasonable request, and was surprised when he said no.

He told her to use the time to defrost the biomedical lab’s freezer, where they kept the ice used to cut the human tissues they tested for cancer and other diseases.

That afternoon she got a call from her son’s school, demanding that she pick him up because he’d been suspended for acting out.

“I broke,” she recalled in an Instagram post. “I told the boss he could kiss my ass, in front of the entire room. I left and had a complete breakdown in my car.”

Because she worked for the National Health Service in Liverpool, England, she wasn’t immediately fired, as she would have been in just about any private-sector job. (“At the NHS, you have to kill about 10 people to get fired,” she jokes.) They let her transfer to another department.

But she knew her life had to change. As she wrote on Instagram, “This was the moment I knew I had to create my own job, live my own life, and stop being everyone else’s puppet.”

From scientist to personal trainer

Fitness was an unlikely career choice for Salisbury. She didn’t even own a pair of sneakers until she was 27.

But then she got a wake-up call.

“One of my friends in the laboratory died of cervical cancer,” she says. “It really made me assess a lot about my life.”

She started running, figuring that “it shouldn’t be too hard to run for 30 minutes without stopping.”

It was. She nearly threw up at the end of a charity 5k run. But the experience made an impression. “That’s one of the first times I saw you can push through,” she says.

In 2013, the year she told her boss to kiss her ass, she got a personal training certification and began coaching clients part-time—first in their homes, then in a studio where she rented space by the hour, and then in a commercial gym, an environment she says she “absolutely hated.”

She left her day job in 2015 with only three months of severance. It was make it or break it time.

Building her client base was “a huge rollercoaster,” she remembers. She’d spend months growing her clientele, then switch venues and have to build it back up again.

Finally, she hit on a solution. Two of them actually:

She opened a fitness studio about 20 minutes from her home.

She turned her son’s bedroom (he had recently moved out) into a workout space for coaching online clients.

The online coaching breakthrough

Salisbury enrolled in the Online Trainer Academy Level 1 Certification course in 2018. She’d been a member of the Online Trainers Unite Facebook group for a while, but resisted making the leap to OTA.

OTA reminds her not to get distracted by shiny objects, she says. “I go back to it all the time. When I feel myself going off on a tangent, I’ll book a call with the coaches.”

Salisbury’s Instagram feed is a masterful example of connecting with clients and prospects by mixing deeply personal admissions of her past struggles with upbeat stories about her current life and work.

One consistent message: Your life doesn’t have to suck. You can choose to make it better.

“I’m not perfect,” she wrote in one post, “but I’m healthier, happier, have more friends, have more fun. … I get to help people all over the world with their food, training and mindset. And I’m really good at it, because I’m sharing the tools that helped me, not just what I listened to in a podcast. I’ve been in that place where it’s all just far too much, you know?”

Case study #2: Jim Gazzale

How a part-time nutrition coach went from charging $95 a month to $1,500 for three months, and adds a new client every week

From the outside, Jim Gazzale appeared to be a successful online trainer.

His Facebook description of his business—“I help moms over 40 lose up to 20 pounds in 12 weeks by drinking wine and eating whatever they want”—seems irresistible. His website shows a suite of services encompassing strength, endurance, nutrition, and lifestyle coaching.

What you couldn’t see was a struggling part-time nutrition coach who made so little profit from coaching that he wasn’t sure if he could afford to continue.

His day job was safe and steady. But it wasn’t enough to support his young and growing family.

If he couldn’t generate more income from coaching, he’d have to find another part-time job.

But instead of giving up, he doubled down, stretching his finances to the limit to learn a more profitable system to train clients.

The evolution of an unlikely nutrition coach

Gazzale and his wife, Karen, are broadcast journalists.

As an on-air talent, Karen had plenty of incentive to stay in shape. But Jim had never found a fitness or diet regimen he could stick with. “I knew I was overweight,” he says. “I would follow her to a workout here or there. But I hated it.”

He found his motivation in 2015, when they joined a gym with the goal of getting in shape for their wedding. And he stayed with the program after the wedding, even though the results were disappointing.

That all changed in early 2016, when they hired the owner of the gym to be their nutrition coach.

“I followed it to the letter and got absolutely shredded,” he says. “That opened my mind to what’s possible. I was strong, I was confident, I was fearless. It was really a life-changing thing.”

It was so life-changing that he and Karen decided to help other people change their own lives. They get certified through Precision Nutrition, set up a website, and waited for clients to find them.

They quickly realized it takes a lot more than the desire to help people. It only works when you combine your knowledge and good intentions with marketing and business development.

Finding an online training model that works

Thinking “how hard could this online coaching thing be?” (sound familiar?), they spent that year “trying to build the business flying by the seat of our pants,” Gazzale recalls. “We took our lumps early on trying to figure the whole thing out.”

They had what looked like a breakthrough in 2018, when they helped a woman with a big Instagram following lose weight. Her story brought in 30 clients virtually overnight.

“But I didn’t have a way to service them,” Gazzale says. “After a few weeks, they all kind of dropped off.”

That’s when he started looking at the Online Trainer Academy.

“We were living paycheck to paycheck, sometimes even operating in the red,” he says.

“I knew I had to get a part-time job. Why would I want to spend my time doing something I didn’t enjoy? That’s where the impetus to make this a profitable business took shape.”

Gazzale saved his pennies, and enrolled in OTA, and never looked back.

Balancing a family, a full-time job, and part-time nutrition coaching gig required structure that Gazzale couldn’t build on his own. He leaned into OTA for help and hasn’t looked back.

“Having a structure in place was the biggest thing I got from OTA,” he says. “Some months were better than others, but I was confident it could grow over time, rather than fizzling out like that influx we saw in 2018.”

It was working, but not as well as it could have.

The problem, he says, is that the business “was structured to always be a side hustle.” Each of his clients paid about $95 a month for a la carte services, which meant each of them required more or less the same amount of attention.

He needed a way to scale it up so he could coach more clients in the same amount of time. To do that, he decided to once again stretch his finances to the breaking point.

How a high-ticket coaching program pays off

Gazzale was one of the first coaches to be accepted into the Online Trainer Academy Level 2. He had to spread the enrollment fee over three different credit cards and bank accounts.

Level 2 teaches coaches how to create, market, and operate a premium coaching service. It’s for online coaches who already have a strong foundation, either from OTA Level 1 or somewhere else. His clients now pay $1,500 for the 12-week program, and he’s been adding four to five new ones a month.

He’s also learned to follow the same advice he gives his clients. Be patient. Be consistent.

“I have to remind myself to replay the conversations I have with clients and apply them to myself,” he says. “It’s why I’ve had a good run of success lately.”

Case study #3: Gil Mesina

How an engineer found meaning in his work as a part-time coach and trained 340-plus clients in 19 countries

Gil Mesina is an electrical engineer, a job he’s been doing for 20 years and counting.

It’s the kind of steady, high-paying gig a lot of people fantasize about, especially if they happen to be math nerds with boatloads of student debt.

“It’s a great job, with great people,” he says.

But …?

“Fitness is my true passion.”

It just took him a while to figure out how to act on it.

From dancer to online trainer

Mesina met his future wife through bachata, a Dominican dance style, where they competed internationally. His passion for fitness emerged when he got in peak shape for their final contest.

By then he was on the cusp of 40 years old, and the grind of training for competition had taken the fun out of dancing. But he’d found a new calling.

“Dancers started coming up to me and asking me to help them,” he says.

In early 2016, he trained four male friends from the dance world—all online, all for free. (To this day he’s never trained anyone in person.)

“One of the guys said, you should try it with females,” he remembers. The four women he recruited helped him launch a thriving online training business.

Mesina’s first four clients. (His wife is in the middle.) After showcasing their results, Mesina says, “a lot of people started reaching out.”

He began running groups for 10 to 15 clients, and their results led to even more referrals.

Now that it was a business, he looked for ways to run it more efficiently. John Berardi, cofounder of Precision Nutrition, told him about Jonathan Goodman and the Online Trainer Academy.

“What I saw from Jon and his tribe is no-nonsense,” he says. “There’s a trust factor because I never felt Jon was there to sell to me. He never said ‘buy, buy, buy.’”

Mesina launches four 12-week group challenges each year, using the same basic program each time. After averaging 20 clients per group, recent challenges have brought in about 30.

His marketing is mainly word of mouth, much of it generated when he shares his clients’ before-and-after photos and testimonials on Facebook. “Just do a damned good job, and make sure everybody knows about it,” he says, quoting one of Goodman’s favorite exhortations.

Until recently, he’d never considered training clients who want to continue beyond the 12-week challenge, even though the demand was there. “My philosophy was, after 12 weeks, you’re done with me. You’re good to go.”

Soon after COVID-19 hit, the OTA coaches convinced him to add a “legacy” group.

Training those clients along with his challenge groups would seem to be a full-time job, but Mesina still manages to run it in his spare time.

“A lot of it is already automated, so it doesn’t take as much time as people think,” he explains. As for the legacy clients, “They don’t need as much hand-holding because they know how it works in terms of accountability.”

That said, he is considering his exit strategy from his original career. “It’s something I’m working toward,” he says.

“The engineering job is still really good. But fitness is my passion.”

Case study #4: Nelao Nengola

How Nelao helps trauma survivors with their fitness through online coaching

“I didn’t ask to be in this stupid-ass survivors club,” Nelao Nengola once said in a powerful video. “I didn’t sign up for lifelong depression.”

What she survived is a sexual assault when she was a high school student in Namibia.

Until recently, she wasn’t sure how to address the attack that so profoundly changed her life. She first shared her story a few years ago, but stopped when she realized she wasn’t ready.

“I used to think you heal by telling,” she says. “But I realized not everyone deserves to hear your story.”

Nengola decided to start sharing it again when she discovered an audience who deserved to hear it: assault survivors interested in fitness.

It made perfect sense.

Like many survivors, she rapidly gained weight following the assault, part of a downward spiral both caused by and feeding depression.

Running, Pilates, and eventually strength training helped her regain some control over her body and emotions. She got certified as a personal trainer shortly after.

Building a career beyond borders

Namibia is a big country with a small population.

The challenges, though, go far beyond population. Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s most extreme income inequality. That means every fitness pro competes for the small handful of people who can afford to pay for personal training.

Nengola started out in a franchise gym in Windhoek, the capital, but left that job after three months to open her own training studio.

“It was awful,” she says. “I was training from 5 in the morning until almost 10 in the evening sometimes. I loved what I did, but I had no energy for anything else at all.”

By the time she closed the studio, after two and a half years, she was deep in debt and looking for a way to survive as a personal trainer. For a while she ran group fitness classes in a gym owned by a prominent local businessman. But the early morning hours “reminded me of all the things I hated about training.”

Online training was the obvious answer. She signed up for the Online Trainer Academy within a week of finding it. “It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for,” she says.

Nengola in her home, where she now runs her online business—filming workouts, coaching clients, and creating content.

That’s when she realized there was a natural audience for her message, if she was willing to start sharing again.

“When I asked myself who I’m best suited to serve, and what would be in line with my purpose, it was trauma survivors,” she says. “Fitness is what pulled me out of my dark place. Why shouldn’t I teach other women that they can do this as well?”

She currently has online clients on three different continents—North America, Europe, and Africa—and no longer trains anyone in person.

“The way I see trainers here grinding, I could never go back to that,” she says.

Case study #5: Jesus Acuna

How a gym owner increased his income after the pandemic forced him to close his facility

Timing is a mysterious thing.

If you try to do the perfect thing at the perfect time, odds are you’ll fail. The only way to ensure success is to put things in place before cataclysmic events happen so when they do, you’re prepared.

Perhaps this is why Jesus Acuna, owner of Resilient Fitness in Tucson, Arizona, has the most appropriate gym name in history.

On March 13, he got the call to shut down his gym because of the pandemic.

“That was a punch in the gut,” he says. “They gave us maybe eight hours’ notice. I didn’t sleep that night.”

But when he got up the next morning, he realized it might actually be a blessing in disguise.

An injury, weight gain, and busting his butt in the gym

Acuna started lifting as a high school football player in Tucson. “The technique was crap,” he acknowledges. “But the idea was, if you bust your ass in the gym, you’ll beat the other guys.”

A shoulder injury and corresponding recovery caused him to gain 40 pounds. And he continued packing it on after he returned to the weight room.

By his senior year of college, he estimates he weighed 300 pounds—more than 100 pounds above his pre-surgery weight.

That led to his lowest moment. While training a group of young athletes, one of them said, “Hey, I bet your fat ass can’t do this. Why are you making us do it?”

He lost 20 pounds the next month, on his way to losing all the weight he’d gained.

The next 10 years were the typical grind—five years as an independent trainer, followed by five at a powerlifting gym, which he eventually managed.

In July 2019 he opened his own studio gym with two clear goals:

“I had to be able to make the money I wanted to make.”

“I had to do it on my own time.”

And for the first seven months, it worked exactly as he planned. He got to the gym at 9 a.m., went home at 7 p.m., and made $7,500 a month “working as much as I allowed myself to.”

The only problem was, his business was already maxed out, and didn’t know how to ramp up.

When preparation meets opportunity

At a fitness event in 2011, someone recommended Ignite the Fire, Jonathan Goodman’s first book. Acuna read it, started following the PTDC, enrolled in 1K Extra (the precursor to the Online Trainer Academy), and eventually became a Certified Online Trainer.

But online training was still a small part of his business in January 2020. His gym was going well and, like so many of us, he had no idea what was about to happen.

When he got the pandemic shutdown announcement and suffered through that sleepless night, he saw the solution right there on his computer screen. Why couldn’t he offer his group workouts on Zoom?

He contacted his gym members and told them the new plan. “Maybe four or five clients said, ‘Hey, we’re going to stop,’” Acuna says. But the rest of them thanked him for setting up the online system and not leaving them to figure it out for themselves.

In March, 2020, when the first shutdown happened, he made $10,000 online. (The most he had ever made with his studio before the pandemic was $8,000 a month.)

His income rose to $11,000 in April and to $12,000 in August. Through all the twists and turns, with his gym reopening and then closing again, his revenue has remained higher than it was before the pandemic upended his business.

More important, he found a workable model that allowed him to grow his business without canceling his life.

It worked because he was prepared (even if he didn’t quite realize it at the time), and the result is more profit without sacrificing any time with his family.

The Acuna family repping the Resilient Fitness brand.

But there’s one more twist to the story.

On June 27—Father’s Day—Acuna noticed he was struggling to breathe.

He assumed it was because of a wildfire in the local mountains.

When he woke up the next morning, the breathing difficulty was accompanied by a migraine and aching joints. “I felt like I was hit by a truck,” he says. A test confirmed that he had COVID-19.

He was flat on his back for the first three days, and mostly out of commission that first week.

He started taking walks the second week, and thought he was healthy enough to train the third week. The headaches convinced him to wait another week. “I started lifting heavy again, and felt fine,” he says.

His three weeks of illness and recovery are a wakeup call to all the fitness pros who believe young, fit, healthy people are somehow immune.

“People reached out and said, ‘You’re the healthiest guy we know!’” Acuna recalls. If he could get this illness, anyone can.

But he knows it could’ve been worse.

“When I was 300 pounds, I used an inhaler daily,” he says. “I had asthma. Getting COVID in that condition would’ve ruined me. I have no doubt about it.”

Acuna didn’t know that he’d contract a potentially deadly disease when he lost all that weight. But the fact he prepared his body may have saved his life, just as his OTA certification prepared his business for a potentially catastrophic closure.

It’s a double endorsement for the value of preparation meeting opportunity. And it illustrates how smart it was to call his gym Resilient Fitness.

If You’re an Online Trainer, or Want to Be …

You can’t move forward in your career until you learn how to coach fitness and nutrition online responsibly, effectively, efficiently, and confidently.

If you’d like to get ahead, and stay ahead, consider enrolling in the Online Trainer Academy Level 1 Certification.

If you’re already training clients online, making more than $1,000 a month, and looking for a more scalable business model, you may be a better fit for the Online Trainer Academy Level 2.

The post How Five Coaches Grew Their Online Business in Difficult Times appeared first on The PTDC.

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yassinetop · 4 years

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