The Empower Fitness Conference

This past weekend was amazing & I'm SO sad it's over!!! It all started last year when I found out about the Empower Conferences that are held around the country. I REALLY wanted to go, but it was expensive & I never ended up signing up for it. As the weekend came & past, I was SO sad that I missed it. Fast forward to the beginning of this year & I started seeing advertisements for the  conference. Then there was a call for volunteers on their FB page & I found out that if you volunteer, you get to attend the conference for FREE!!!

My shift started Thursday night & it was EXHAUSTING!! All of the equipment for the classes had been shipped to the hotel in boxes, so we had to open everything up & get them to the correct room for Friday morning. I had gotten up early to workout as normal that day & this was like a whole other workout on top of that! I was SO tired when I got home from volunteering that night.

Friday is when the conference officially opened & I was hoping to go some time during the day, but I had to continue my job as mom first & drop off and pick up the kids from school, so I wasn't able to attend any classes. I showed up to volunteer again at 5 & we quickly moved a few things around & then we were told we could go attend a class!! I was SO excited since I had missed all of the classes during the day. I chose to go to a Yoga/African Dance class and it was AMAZING!!! I am on a dancer & don't do Zumba or anything that I feel will make me look like a fool. However, the instructor quickly put me at ease and we just had FUN! I really didn't think the two went together, but it was just such a GREAT way to move & I got into it & just let go. I finished up Friday night by deflating a ton of exercise balls, which was fun too LOL We had a bunch of time for girl talk & bonded.

FINALLY Saturday rolled around & I was able to take some classes!! I even got to sleep in & didn't get up until 7!! I went to my first class at 8:45, which was a Vinayasa Yoga class. It was PACKED, but I still really enjoyed the movement & the instructor. After that I went to a Kamagon Ball demo/class. Kamagon balls are kind of like rubber kettlebells, except that they have two handles & are filled with water. The water gives a little extra resistance & it was SUCH a cool class. It was set up like a bootcamp class, & I really enjoyed it & the instructor :) We had a quick break for lunch & then I took a class called Strength & Alignment. We got to work with Leslee Bender, who created Bender Balls as well as PostureFit bars. They are short, weighted bars with a big cushion on them that you can use for many things!! We started off putting them behind our necks, so we could feel proper alignment in our spine. It was amazing to try squats with them & without them, there was a HUGE difference!! I am really fascinated with proper alignment after taking this class b/c I have something weird with my hip that I've always wondered if I could do anything about it. I'm looking into more information on it, as well as any classes in my area.

With each class being over 2 hours long, I was physically tired & just GROSS from working out for 6 hours. I had some time before I had to volunteer again, so I went to a seminar. It was good & interesting, but I felt that I had heard the same things before, but I did leave early & maybe I missed the best part!! Saturday evening was another quick night of moving a few things around & packing them up, but then there was a room we couldn't get into, so we all were able to go home early!! I was SO tired & happy to be able to go home & see my family! I missed them after being gone all day.

All in all, I had a GREAT time at the conference. I wish there had been more/better freebies, but I loved the classes that were offered & I really enjoyed vounteering!! We had an awesome group that was together for 3 nights in a row, so we really got to know one another. I already miss those girls & wish that I had gotten information from them to be able to keep in touch. It was nice to be around people who understand my love & passion for fitness. A lot of times people don't understand it & think it's something negative in my life, but being around fitness professionals showed me that I am not alone. I am definitely motivated to finish my Personal Trainers cert & I am also thinking of getting a Group Fitness cert too. The classes I attended were SO fun, I'd love to be able to go next year as a professional!! :)

The Empower Conference is held around the country, so definitely check out the website & see if/when there's one in your area!! http://empowerfitnessevents.com/events/

Love Your Tummy Project

I am excited to announce that I am starting the Love Your Tummy project on March 1st!!!

I want to make it an inclusive project, which means, you're ALL invited to do it with me!!! :) Actually, I NEED you to do it with me so that it works LOL I want to share pictures & stories of women who have struggled with their tummies, after children or after losing weight. This is for all of us!!!

It starts with me. I have struggled for the past 6 years with the tummy that my twin pregnancy left me with. I never had "stretchy" skin anyway, I got stretch marks from puberty. However, I was HOPING pregnancy would be different. I put olive oil on my belly, shea butter, you name the home remedy & I tried it!!! I always thought I had a cute tummy before pregnancy, it was not necessarily flat or a 6-pack, but I liked it. Well, I gained 50 pounds with my twins & my belly was stretched to it's max!! I swear, I think my girls were born early b/c my body couldn't give them any more room!

This pic is from 3 weeks before the girls were born:

So no one really talks about what happens to your belly after the baby is out of it....it just hangs there. :/ Not for all women, I understand that, but for me & other women, you're left with extra skin & stretch marks. Since having my twins, I've really struggled with my belly. I've hated it. I've tried coconut oil, dry skin brushing, even stretchmark oil & I honestly think that nothing will help my belly, except a tummy tuck. It's been a huge weight to carry around, it's something I think about every day. I used to plan my outfits around my belly, if I bend down or sit down, it is pushed over my pants. Even when I work out, I am terrified of my shirt lifting up & showing my belly.

BUT, I'm DONE with all of that nonsense!!! For the past year I have been working towards loving ALL of myself. That includes my belly. I have been following some pretty awesome, fit ladies who have shared pics of them getting competition ready, or even featured in a magazine, all with tiger stripes & a mummy tummy!!! I have been inspired. My belly DOESN'T have to hold me back in fitness, and it SHOULDN'T hold me back from loving myself.

I am still in process of learning to love my belly, I KNOW that it held my children & housed them until birth. For that I am thankful. I hold onto that when I really think poorly of it, but I have decided that I want to start a movement. I want real women to be proud of their bellies, whether they've have multiples, multiple pregnancies or have lost a lot of weight. Ladies, ALL of those things are things to celebrate & be proud of. It may have left some marks on our bodies, but that is OK.

If you have a picture & a story that you want me to share, please submit it to my fitness FB page: The Sweat Life: Health & Fitness. I will begin posting them on March 1st!! I am excited about this b/c I know how much seeing other women love themselves & their bodies has helped me accept my own body. I am hoping the same goes for all of the people who are touched by the Love Your Tummy Project!!!

Things are Changing

I have Bible study on Friday mornings & I am so thankful for the ladies in my Bible Study group :) Today I was talking to one of the girls in my group about change. Often times I am overwhelmed when I think of all the things I would like to change in my life. I want to be more patient with the kids, clean the house more regularly, continue to eat healthy & exercise, learn more about exercise and nutrition but most of all, I want to be more Christ-like. Overwhelming, huh?! 

I almost feel like I don't even know where to start & some times I just feel stuck, when facing the possibility of change in my life. When I realize that I failed at something on a particular day, I feel down & disappointed in myself. I feel like I will never get past the habits & situations that bring out the worst in me. How thankful I am that those feelings are not true!! We are always able to change. We can always choose to do something or not do something, we can choose to react differently in a situation. It is called self-control and it is a fruit of the Spirit. I am amazed that God would equip us with just what we need to be able to make changes in our lives. He truly doesn't leave us where He found us. We are able to break free from our struggles, especially when we lean on Him for our strength. 

I also feel like it is best to take one thing that you want to change about yourself or about your life & work on it for 30 days. I am loving 30 day challenges this year!! I truly do think that you can really make a difference in your life when you break your goals into smaller more obtainable action plans. I feel like 30 days is a good amount of time, it's enough time to form a habit or break a habit & yet you don't feel like it is an endless task. The days are easily counted down & ticked off on  your calendar & you will feel a sense of accomplishment when it's all said and done.

I don't think all challenges or changes that we attempt to make in life need to be that of deprivation. I think a lot of goals or changes made in our lives, can be things that we add to our lives. Perhaps you can choose to read your Bible every day for 30 days, have quiet time every day, pray every day, or exercise 30 minutes every day for 30 days. These are just some thoughts as I contemplate ways I can become a better wife, mom, daughter, friend, ME. Obviously the best change is the one that God can do in us, but we have to participate. We need to take the first steps to make those changes in our lives. God will give us the strength, but we need to make the moves, take the time & use our God-given self control to make changes in our lives for the better.