It's been a few days....but don't worry, I have still been hitting the pavement running almost every day, and walking inevitably). I started out wanting to hone in on one thing for this blog only to realize how random I am, and how random life is in general!
I'm training for my first fitness competition this fall, may be October, November, or the spring..I'm in no rush as long as I do it the right way and meet my goals. My training experience thus far has been one big uplifting adrenaline rush, and then there were the costs.... I want to be realistic, I'm not a millionaire and I have financial obligations outside of leisure activities, but I also want to get it done. I have noticed that since my transition to a healthier lifestyle I haven't been sick once, my previous injuries are virtually history, and I feel better in general, so I'm trading the post workout soreness for prescriptions and I like it, my wallet likes it, and my employer likes it :) wins all around!
Enough of the small talk. I'm working on out to train for this competition on an extremely tight budget as well as working on ways to motivate my close friends and family to challenge themselves and get active. It's draining and hard, but I find comfort in knowing that there are tons of other people who empathize and agree that a healthy, clean lifestyle is best for everyone :)
I've recently done a 5k (www.thecolorrun.com), signed up for North America's LARGEST walking race (www.newalbanywalkingclassic.com) I can't afford 3-4 sessions a week of personal training so I have resorted to Pinterest, Instagram, and the Internet to help me out! I will post recipes and workouts from my Twitter and Pinterest pages so do follow!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MinOURityReport
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/minourityreport/
90 Day Challenge: www.ashleylove.bodybyvi.com
Running Group: www.blackgirlsrun.com
You all should already know about my 90 Day Challenge and my weight lost has almost doubled in just three weeks. This is the 21st day of my Body By Vi Challenge and I weighed in this morning 13lbs lighter!!!! I have a long way to go to meet my goal, and I am realistic, I don't want to hurry and lose it all this challenge, I just want to be healthy and lose mos of it, which I have a fair shot at doing. It's a win-win with the shakes, one for breakfast, one for lunch or dinner, and then just protein snacks such as chicken and turkey, then almonds and or fruits and veggies. The 13lbs was practically effortless. I also went to bodybuilding.com and found a 12 week plan, and it's been great so far! I have also hit the ground running, literally, I have laced up my running shoes and jogged up stairs nearby, gone to the track, found any hill to run up, and didn't pay one cent. Cardio is essential when you have 30+ pounds to lose, and you don't need a fancy gym or personal trainer to move your body, that is free! I even invited all of my friends and family over for a swap (which I will blog about tomorrow) and we traded fitness videos! Check out MinOURityreports' post tomorrow for more information. Back the free goodies, I joined a local running group promoting running and activity for black women, www.blackgirlsrun.com AND walking group to get more active, and I found a small local gym willing to trade me great fitness classes for a few hours of work a week. Black Girls Run!, or BGR is great because you have a large group in tons of cities you can link up with and run with. Everyone runs at different paces, so there is always someone with you, and something to work up to. Most of the local races with BGR chapters will have teams, so you can train and run as a group.
Don't say you can't afford to get healthy and in shape, there are ways around spending a fortune, and my ultimate goal of being sponsored isn't far away using ALL of the free methods I have just listed. That being said, I am working toward a fitness competition goal...if you are simply working toward better health and losing a few pounds you have options... walking, jogging outside or at a track, park, driveway hill, trail, the opportunities for free workouts are endless, and the Internet provides great workouts too!! I've mentioned Bodyrock.tv and Exercise TV made the recent switch to HULU (http://www.hulu.com/exercisetv/) check your listings for workouts On Demand. To put it plainly, no one has ANY excuse not to go after the body they want and so many minority women are really capitalizing on opportunities to beat genetics and make a healthier life for themselves. I believe in myself, and I believe in you too.
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