Life, Fitness, and General Sillyness

I’ve been part of the fitness industry since 2008.  I naively wandered into this field and never really planned to be any part of it. Though I’m no Alicia Marie or Mike O’Hearn, I have also built a substantial amount of followers on Facebook and attained some accomplishments  I’m quite proud of over the years, with hopes of continuing to build those accolades. My aim has always been to leave a footprint in this field that is of my own making and voice. And that's why this is being posted on my blog and not on that big website my articles go up on.  That being said, the fitness industry has shifted drastically in the last 3-5 years. There are more and more people getting into competitions and stepping in front of the camera, and everyone has their own purpose. I fell into fitness because it challenged me to my core, physically and emotionally. I’m naturally introverted (a fact that may surprise some people) and generally like to be a wallflower in a room. I don’t speak

Summer is winding to an end; I realized I've not written a blog in an extremely long time. This summer has been one of personal growth, reflection, forgiveness (of myself and others), and connections. I'm going to go ahead at put this out there: it seems 2015 has been a rough year for many, many people I know. I personally have been through some extremely painful experiences, and I see others around me going through crises and unexpected tragedies more now than I ever have. I've never seen more divorces, long-term breakups, broken engagements, deaths, job losses, and general plot twists have a lot of people down and out emotionally. As someone with a big heart, it’s really, really tough to stand by and watch.  We all are aware life has extreme ups and downs at any given point, but the amount of people that I have conversations with is making is extremely apparent that this year has been significantly more down than up. Though I’m a silly goofball at heart, I also t

Summer is here, we're halfway through 2015... and how is your life looking? We start the year with lofty goals and visions of rebirth, and I often find people's ambition fizzles out by March. They usually have a series of reasoning for it, but ultimately these are just excuses. And this is where a very simple (but not always easy to accept) principle comes into play: Own. Your. Sh*t. Sounds simple enough, right? But it's not. Because owning your shit requires actual ownership of your own life, behaviors, decisions, and results. That is not always cozy for people. Ownership sounds so simple and logical, but it's not. We're all about owning the cool parts of ourselves, but nobody likes the icky stuff. Nobody likes to own the part of themselves that they haven't tamed yet. The binge eating. The excuse making. The poor financial decisions. Yeah... that ownership blows. But it doesn't have to be BAD. In fact, owning your sh*t is GOOD! It feels scary

When we were young, we observed relationships on TV and movies and got a picture of how these things were supposed to pan out in our adult lives. Our families and media heavily influenced these expectations, and as we ventured out naively into the world of adulthood, these were the things that carried us through from date to date and moment to moment. At least, that was the case for me. First kisses are put on pedestals and finding love was the end-all-be-all to life. I was in two long term relationships that spanned my 20s. I definitely thought my last long term relationship was my match; after all, the ring had been selected, the venue located, and a rough date had been set. We had our issues, but this was someone I was positive was my "person." Imagine my surprise when I was tossed out of our home and suddenly single in 2012 because he had other plans for his life. I will define the next 6 months of my life as "not a very fun time for Abby". I specificall

I tend to do one of these types of blog posts a year and I just feel moved to do my 2015 edition. I'm completely transparent so I figured I might as well type this bad boy out to help quell some of the repeat questions and curiosity that gets generated in my day to day life. Did you really drop your sponsorships because of Isagenix? -Sure did. Don't get me wrong. The other companies treated me well and were well-meaning. They stood behind their product. The problem was that I hadn't used their stuff at all (due to it upsetting my stomach or in one case, causing massive heart palpitations due to the insane about of stimulants and other crap in it) or they were things I hadn't used in months/nearly a year. All the results I was having was because I was using Isagenix products, and they were night and day to what was regularly in my body before. Consequently, I chose to step down as being a sponsored athlete. I felt like I was lying to people and it was my own terror o

Maybe it's because I was a swimmer for a decade, but I have found that I've always done well in sink-or-swim situations. As intimidating as they can be for people to face, you usually end up surprising yourself with a combination of your determination to thrive and your own fortitude. Think to your own life. For that matter... try to think about all of life in this way. In general, your choices go as follows: Sink Float Swim These are truly the ONLY options you have in water, and certainly this is no different in life (work, dating, friendships, family) if you have the right frame of mind. Sinking Can Suck. No doubt about it, this is what keeps everyone from taking the leap. What if the water is cold? What if you can't touch the bottom? What if there is gross seaweed? OH MY GOSH WHAT IF THERE ARE HUGE, GROSS FISH IN THERE AT BITE YOU?!?! These are all risks. And these are no different than the questions you ask entering ANYT