Women inspiring women

A huge thanks to Athleta for sponsoring this post!

In a world that is rapidly changing - where we have so much at our fingertips - it’s still incredibly easy to stay in our own lane and never venture beyond what we currently know and do. The world is ours to explore yet sometimes some of us stay in our bubble. I 1000% can be that person, but just because I can be that person doesn’t mean I want to let it define me or become who I am all of the time. The first step is realizing it, right? Look, for whatever reason I can get on a podium in front of 60+ people to teach and motivate a class, but somewhere along the way in the last two years I’ve found hesitation in doing something outside of spin and yoga. I decided it was time to shake things up a bit so I asked my friend Jen for a little help. Look, if I was going to leave my cozy bubble, I needed a little hand holding, OK?

Before I explain what I did, let me paint you a little photo here. Jen is a BADASS. Like, four-stripe blue belt in Brazilian Jujitsu, vegan, incredibleeee cook, super positive, calming energy, shows up when you need her, most organized person I know, and an amazing friend to everyone - like, when I think about the kind of person I want to be I’m just naming qualities of Jen. We have talked about her coming to one of my classes and me coming to a class with her for months, but it just never happened. Finally, I just sent her a text and we set it all up. At this point I know NOTHING about MMA, the gym she goes to, where to start, what to bring, etc. In fact I only know two people who even practice Jujitsu - Jen and my friend Anna. I’ve always thought how cool it was, but from a distance, like a farrrr distance on Instagram, and here I was about to put myself out there and try it.

Thursday rolls around and I’ve now committed to taking an intro Jujitsu class at Creighton MMA & Fitness Academy. Was I excited? Yes. Was I nervous? ABSOLUTELY. I made such a big deal out of it in my head it was all I could think about the entire day. To some people trying a new workout class is totally normal! Why was I so freaked out? I don’t know, maybe because I was about to wrestle on the floor with someone else! Literally, I got so nervous on my way there that I knew if Jen wasn’t waiting on me I would totally bail. Once I got there the guys at the front walked me through everything and were SO nice. The gym is broken up into three sections - the lobby, an area for group fitness classes, and a huge mat area. I put my bag in the girls locker room, took off my shoes and walked out to the mat area where class would be. Although everyone else in class were beginners (except Jen because she asked to stay with me - thank God lol), I believe I was the only brand new person. We started off with a few warm ups going up and down the mat and moved straight into learning three moves. This class was LEGIT you guys. I literally learned how to flip someone off of me and a rear choke hold!!! We did more than that, but those were the two that really BLEW MY MIND. I was so excited and proud of myself after class, plus I learned something completely new to me! A few of us jumped into the Total Body Fitness class afterwards and then I hung out and watched Jen in her advanced class for a little bit. Right as I was about to leave, a girl that was in my intro class came up and introduced herself to me. I asked her how she found out about Creighton (thinking she also came with a friend) and she said, “Google.” Come to find out she comes by herself and has for a few classes now - so brave!

I literally came inspired by someone and I left inspired by someone. Never under estimated the impact you have on people! You never know how much you’re helping them by just being YOU!

Again, a huge thanks to Jen for just being herself! Her badassery on Instagram led me to want to try Jujitsu, her encouragement made me actually pick a time/day, her kindness in taking class with me made me less anxious, and her patience in helping me take all of these photos allowed me to share my story with others!

*Also, thank you for only accidentally hitting me in the face once. 🤣

P.S. here is an outtake when we couldn’t stop laughing (who knows why) when we were trying to re-create our sweet jujitsu moves, hehe.

Shop our Athleta looks here:

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The Power of Limitless Potential

Huge thanks to Athleta for working with me again, sponsoring this post, and empowering me to share my #PowerOfShe story. 

As a child I never considered myself to be much of an athlete. I played organized sports from a young age because my friends did, but it was a social hour more than anything else. I always liked soccer, cheer, and basketball but I didn't really care if I was the best. I thought getting winded meant that it was time to be benched and for someone else to go in. No one ever taught me the concept of pushing through in order to get stronger, or at least it never clicked for me. 

Then came freshman year in high school. We had a week of soccer try-outs to make either the Freshman, JV, or Varsity team. I showed up every day and at least tried my best. At times it sucked, I wanted to skip practice, I hated running for long periods of time, and how I managed multiple "heading drills" still baffles me. My near breaking point was when we had to run with the Varsity girls. The fact that those girls can sprint from the back of the line all the way to the front while singing a song literally almost killed me. But, I stuck it out, and because I showed up and tried, I made the JV team. Man, was I OVER THE MOON that I made JV! That meant I was good enough to skip the Freshman team.. as a Freshman AND I was part of the starting line up! All because I tried rather than shoving myself into the "not good enough" box. I felt SO cool in my warmups on game day and I still have my sweatshirt to this day!

I know that this experience is why I'm so empathetic to new riders at Flywheel and it's why I was all about sharing my journey when I used to race bikes. All I want to do is show people that they CAN. You don't belong in the "not good enough" box. You are capable of the things you want to try, you can achieve more than you give yourself credit for, and you deserve to give yourself the chance. 

If you're interested in any of the incredible soft items that I'm wearing, I have linked them below in order of appearance:
Trophy Seamless Bralette
Stash Pocket Salutation Tight
Exhale Capri
Shala Dress

2017 IN REVIEW

I must admit two things. First, this post is admittedly more for me to have on record, and secondly it's very late seeing how we are already 18 days in to 2018. To be fair, I started off the year with a stomach bug, got better-ish for a few days and then instantly hit with the flu that took me out for almost a week. If you ask me, 2018 doesn't start until February because that was one rough start. However, I did a survey on IG stories and had an overwhelming response that my audience loves athleisure posts so if reading my recap for 2017 doesn't do it for you, just enjoy this outfit that I got online at Largo Drive from the brand Splits 59. 

I'm wearing this top and these bottoms. 

Here is a list I made on the plane one day. In the future I'd like to keep up with what I do as it happens so I don't have to recall it from memory. I also linked a lot, but not everything.

What I’ve accomplished or moments I want to remember:
Flywheel Social Media Award
Signed with Redbull
Specialized Ambassador
My "standing theme" at Flywheel kicked off as one of the top themes in the nation
Became an aunt!!
Epic Dual ride with Carlee

Where I’ve traveled
NYC in January with Exploring Paths
NYC in the Summer with Exploring Paths
NYC with Flywheel
LA with Redbull for the Fitness Summit
Bonnaroo with Redbull to participate in the Big Freedia "Twerk-Out Workout"
Texas with Redbull for Last Stand
San Jose, California for the Specialized Women's Summit
Pensacola, Florida to see family
Sunset, Florida to run Wings for Life
Snowshoe Mountain to learn how to downhill mountain bike
Stay in ATL with Redbull for Culture Clash

Goals I've completed:
- Participated in my first Warrior Dash
- Longest run to date at Wings For Life
- Only traveling with a carry on - yes, I made a goal to only travel with a carry-on and did it! The only time I had to check a bag was when I brought the kids at Exploring Paths goodies!
- Got my very first mountain bike
- First downhill mtb experience
- December ab challenge - not the biggest success of my life, but it was a decent attempt (lolz)
- In 2016 I found a dog and decided to keep in. He ended up having heartworms so he was crated during recovery. In 2017 when he got better I spent 6 months in training with him. Something I highly recommend doing!

Brands I’ve worked with or who have supported me:
I’m very proud and selective of who I collaborate with. I always want my audience to only be exposed to products that I actually use and brands that I love.

Redbull
Specialized
Flywheel
Michelob ultra x Flywheel
Tarte (technically this was the very end of 2016) but how cool?!
Largo drive
Levi’s
Oakley
Freshly
Cryology
Headspace
Exploring Paths
BoltHouse Farms
Terez and Terez x Star Wars
GoldSheep
HaerFest
Playology
Athleta
Road Runner Sports
Chuice
Arctic Zone
Saris

Published work:
Headspace the dot
Active.com
Redbull.com for Last Stand
Star Wars Life account posted my photo
Popsugar Fitness posted my photo
Athleta posted my photo
Experience Avalon

What I would like to do in 2018:
- Take more photos
- Get my personal trainer certification
- Create more video content
- More audio booksI (I've already started this.) Currently I'm listening to Relentless by Tim Grover

3 REASONS WHY I'M NOT YOUR AVERAGE FITNESS FANATIC

“I DON’T USE FITNESS TRACKERS”

Back when I was training to race outside, my Garmin was LIFE and if I didn't cross post my workout to Strava than I felt like it didn't even happen. I was obsessed with how far I had ridden, how many feet of elevation I had climbed and how many hours I had been in the saddle that week. One day I received a pretty nasty message from someone who had gone through and stalked out my race results, my workouts, etc. They used it as a personal attack to make me feel like I was undeserving of any sponsor I had earned and any recognition I had received. Clearly this person didn't follow my blogs on the Specialized website or actually take the time to read my Instagram posts because my entire journey was about starting from nothing, never claiming to be the best, but rather sharing the ups and downs with other people in hopes that they would get out there and try riding, too! Not too far after that incident I pretty much stopped posting my workouts. I went back and forth deciding if I stopped because I wanted to or if I stopped because someone made me feel bad about it. I didn't want to admit that someone actually got to me. Hate happens allllll of the time and most times you can let it go - sometimes you don't. Regardless of whether or not I stopped because of this person, I will say the silver lining is that when I did stop, I finally found balance in my life. The pressure was gone and I was finally working out for myself, not for the likes on Strava or to appease what I thought I "should" be doing. It's now been around a year and a half and I haven't looked back since. 

“I DON’T COUNT CALORIES OR MACROS”

Listen, I am a definite rare bird in this scenario. Most people will not relate to this, but if you do, know that you aren't alone. I fully appreciate that tracking food intake helps A LOT of people and to be totally honest, I WISH it had that effect on me. Unfortunately, every single time I've ever tried using an app to track my food it has the reverse outcome. Instead of eating better I end up only thinking about food, absolutely obsessing over it, and after awhile I lose my mind and binge eat...bad. By the end of it, I will have eaten WAY worse than if I had just went about my day eating what I wanted. After several tries of monitoring my food I had to accept that it just didn't work for me. I would rather be aware of what I'm putting in my body and try and make good choices rather than flipping a switch and completely losing control of myself. Again, most people I tell this to think I'm nuts, but if you're anything like me - I FEEL YOU. I will say, even though I don't use things like MyFitnessPal anymore, I did learn a lot about what I was eating when I was using it. I still think it's a great tool for a lot of people, just not me. 

“I EAT (admittedly) TOO MUCH JUNK FOOD BUT I’M NOT AFRAID TO TALK ABOUT IT”

Look, I grew up eating terribly. The only spinach I ever grew up eating came from a can and was cooked in a pot with loads of butter and salt. It's amazing I don't weigh at least 100 pounds more than I do and even more amazing I was able to get where I am now. However, sugar is still a massive addiction of mine. It's my HUGE personal battle, but rather than cutting it out 100% (probably not possible) or pretending that I eat salads on the daily, I use it as a means of balance. Now, do I eat 3-4 donuts for breakfast anymore? Absolutely not, but if I want one than I will have one. It took a lot of trial and error to find what works for me and a lot of feeling guilty that I wasn't the perfect health specimen. In the end I finally found that balance was king and my balance will not be the same as your balance. If you can cut sugar out than by all means you go Glen Coco, but for me, I'd rather have one donut than lose complete control of myself and end up eating that donut, plus a pie, plus fried food, plus literally whatever else I can find. IF the day comes where I decide I want to be shredded, I am fully aware that I will need to do some major adjustments, but until that day comes, I'll take my small daily food victories and accept that although I'm not perfect, I know that I've come a LONG way in my eating habits. 

I'd love to hear your journey with food. Did you grow up eating healthy? If not, how do you think that's influenced how you eat now?

Outfit by the amazing Largo Drive. Check out their blog post where I did an interview and talk about my journey in becoming a fitness instructor.
Interested in buying something from them? Use code MAE20 from now until November 11th to get 20% off all regularly priced items.

I'm wearing the Lanston Sport Slit Bra and the Lanston Sport Slit Leggings.