Big fish in a small pond or small fish in a big pond?

The sunshine, palm trees and ocean breeze welcomed me when I landed in Charleston, South Carolina. Mid-70s and the smell of seafood wafted through the air. In just one day, I would indulge in some authentic seafood. Until then, it was time to decide which type of fish to be.

Have you hear the analogy of being "a big fish in a small pond?"

This concept demonstrates that the fish has outgrown its habitat and environment. It could also be related to leadership and experiences. Have you become good enough in an area and are not surrounded with room to grow or develop further? Or is the talent pool around you less than or equal to your capabilities? I was disciplined and focused on this goal for just over a year in bodybuilding and felt confident and comfortable. Was I becoming a big fish in a small pond?

The monotony of monotony

Dang, I'm boring.

Alright, maybe I'm not that boring.

Humans are boring.

Humans are creatures of habit.

And this habit creates monotony.

It has been interesting to relate habits and personal development to eating and bodybuilding. I have had many friends not as knowledgeable about the fitness/health industry ask for dieting advice. I have read nine books to date out of my goal for 30 by December 31. I can safely say that at least 6/8 of them mention habits. This could be anything from the creation of habits, to bad habits to understanding habits and our development. After reading the book "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength", and "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business", I feel more confident in giving advice on how to develop workout, eating and healthy lifestyle habits.

Some might not realize that our brains and thoughts are within our control. As one of my favorite leadership gurus and sales leaders once said:

Photo found on: this website

"You are what you are and you are where you are because of what has gone into your mind. You change what you are and you change where you are by changing what goes into your mind.” - Zig Ziglar



I think this goes along with our bodies. Our mind controls our bodies. If we control what goes into our minds, we control our health.

This is great! Form a habit, stick to that habit and it all becomes easy, right?

Fun back and chest workout

Last week, I created my own workouts to add some "fun" into my prep. I am a little over one month away from the NPC Jr. USA show in Charleston, South Carolina. Guess who is excited?!?!

My favorite body area to train has been back. I think it is one of the most difficult body areas to train. You definitely need to have a focus with your mind and practice the movements so they target your back. Sometimes, our arms get too involved in back exercises.

Continue learning how your body works and what you can do each day and workout to become stronger!

Check out that forearm vein!

I am at a lower body fat percentage right now as I lean down for my show. One thing is for certain: there is a direct correlation with increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat. Exercise alone will not make you reach your aesthetic or health goals. However, I hope workouts like the one below can help.

Rising up with Ryan's Root to Rise Yoga

Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth.

Inhale... exhale...

The loft in Kindred was warmed to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Stationery candles surrounded the small area for yoga mats, blankets and blocks. Nine yogi's joined Friday morning for a session designed to help athletes and their sore or tight muscles.

Laura Ryan, owner and instructor of Ryan's Root to Rise Yoga led the one-hour session focused on hip openers, flexibility and balance. If you were not sweating within the first 15 minutes, you must not have been in the loft with us!

I credit a lot of muscle development to having a "mind-muscle connection". This is no different than in yoga. When I entered the loft, I knew I had to have my mind focused and willing to let go of outside emotions, thoughts and factors to get the most from the session. It worked.

No matter the placing, I finished first at my second show.

The jitters and nerves did not ramp up until 10 minutes before show time.

I competed in my first bodybuilding competition in August 2015 (blog here). Experience increases comfort and confidence. I definitely carried more of both for this second show. The 2016 NPC Central USA Natural Championships was held at the Century Link Center in Omaha, Neb.

This go around, the show seemed to fly by. Saturday morning was prejudging.


I made a few mistakes.


That evening for finals, those errors probably added to my results.


I placed second in my class.

Stage photos courtesy of npcnewsonline.com

Initially, I was bummed.


I had worked my tail off. Yet, again, I got second place.


After some reflection and kind words from my coach and friends, I knew that in reality, I finished first.


There were some tough competitors in the group. I brought a better physique and stronger confidence to this show. I also practiced posing much more and it felt much more natural on stage. For only my second show ever, placing second two times is a big accomplishment! I even made some friends along the way.

It's fun meeting other competitors, especially those who live nearby!

Why I am so critical on myself and don't take time to celebrate the little successes? It was a local show with a comforting environment.

The most comforting part was the group of people there supporting me.

5 tips to avoid "get rich quick" pitfalls in "lose weight quick" programs

"Can I get that to go?" "I needed that done yesterday." "But I want this done now?" "Sorry, I'm busy. I have other important things to do."

Do any of these phrases sound familiar? I know they do for me. I'll be the first one in a room to raise my hand if ever asked, "Who considers himself or herself extremely impatient?" It's hard not to be. There are so many things to do, people to see, errands to run that we as a human culture in America especially want immediate results.

We want things to be simple, easy and fast. "Get rich quick" schemes are found on the Internet, through telemarketing phone calls and face to face meetings with sales people. However, if you are like me and my family, you know these are too good to be true.

I remember sitting at the kitchen table for supper when the land line telephone would ring. Dad would answer, look at me, mom and my sister excitedly saying, "We could win a free trip to Hawaii!" Mom and I would look at one another, shake our heads and tell dad to hang up the phone. Sometimes, he would listen to their chatter for a few minutes to complete their "survey." However, he would then need to provide his credit card information, go on a website and provide bank information or make a purchase.

It was too good to be true.

Unfortunately, there are many people out there falling into traps of these "get rich quick" pitfalls. However, it isn't for a trip or money. It's for your health.

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Social media is plastered with fitness, health and wellness tips, workouts, cleanses and "lose weight quick" programs. First, let me say I am glad people are becoming more interested in their health. I am even more pleased that people are starting to research more about food and agriculture! However, there is a fine line between facts and fiction.

What is good for one body may not be great for another.

One works well for one farmer might not work for another.

We are blessed with so many (sometimes, possibly too many) options! How do we avoid the "get rich quick" pitfalls that we might not know about? How do we make the most of our choices?

Get Strong and Healthy with Simple Spinach Dip

I love cooking. Experimenting with healthier recipes has been my mission the past few months during my off season for my bodybuilding show. Today, I have a Christmas Party with my church young adults group. I know many will bring the sinful sweets... which I may or may not partake in. I want to stay on the healthier side of the spectrum in my contribution as a guest. The holidays are great for enjoying this time with friends and family. It is really easy to indulge in too many good things. I know, how is that possible, right? Very easy to do.

Nonetheless, to help balance myself and others, I am bringing this delicious Simple Spinach Dip!

Human Health and Plant Health Require Multiple MOA

We are constantly scrutinized. What should we wear, what should we eat, what we should do for our careers, how we should act and what we should think. That's a lot of pressure. One area I have seen even more pressure is to eat healthy and be fit or in shape.

Why are we fat

Some statistics and facts about ag.

The continuous impression we received from news anchors, celebrities, athletes, doctors, friends and family is that American's are overweight. As stated in this November article by Business Insider, a study from The Lancet by the Global Burden of Disease found the United States as the fattest country in the world for 2014, with 33 percent of the population being defined as "obese".

This is not a good thing for our country, but it is does demonstrate other positive aspects we have in our country, being modernized, technologically savvy and full of resources. With all of these resources from food to electronics, it has become easy to overeat, spend more time staring at computer, tablet, and phone screens and become less "physical" in our daily routines. More people sit in an office or in a vehicle for their jobs because our society has become smarter and made it "easier" for us to work.

What do you train for? I train for life.

Today, I walked into the YMCA as usual. My Blender Bottle and iPhone in hand, focused and ready to go. Today was an arm and shoulder day, one of my recent favorites. I started with some stretches and warm up movements to get my arms prepped and noticed a young man in his teens and a 20-something, athletic man heading over to do some arms workouts with dumbbells. The 20-something walks over and says "hello", since I had seen him a few days before. I suspected he was one of the personal trainers with the Y, but had no confirmation of that until today.

We all continued with our routines and about a half hour later, the trainer approaches me.

"What are you training for?" I replied, "Nothing really, just life."

He seemed dumbfounded at my response. I have considered training for a body building competition as a bikini or figure competitor, but have not made the plunge yet. Nonetheless, the fact that I was doing supersets of heavier weights and circuit training for "life" seemed odd to him.

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you know I enjoy weight lifting much more than cardio. It's more challenging and I feel more active and accomplished when I finish a good session. The important thing to note about fitness though is I have not always been good at it. It has taken time, practice and training.

Let's compare fitness to work.

It's easy to get stuck in a rut. You may go to work every day, have the same tasks and problems to solve, work with the same associates over and over, and maybe feel like no progress is being made. For me, this past week was extremely trying and tiring. I am still new to the territory and my customers and there is a lot to learn. What happens when I give up? Do I move forward? Doubt it. The training I had this summer helped prepare me for where I am now, but I am still training. Everyone could classify himself or herself as in training because it does not stop once you get a job, get married, have a child, move across the country, etc. It is a continuous process.

Not every day or week is going to be a good training session. You might sweat or cry. However, if you remember you are training for YOUR LIFE and what you want it to be, don't you think it's worth it?

What are you training for right now that you can make a small change to make it easier for you, simpler in nature or more fun? Try something new and see what you can do.

Here is a video of something new I tried today. I could not do it for very long though after an already intense shoulder session! The trainer said I was in beast mode when he saw me doing them. :) I only did it for about 5 minutes in all honesty. But, you have to start somewhere!

Workout Wednesday - Take it to the Bench

Life is busy. For some, you may barely have time to eat lunch or make a quick call to an old friend. As we age, it can be even more difficult to balance our time to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This past summer, I found that out when working 40-hour work weeks at my internship. Not only are you tired after a long day at work, but the motivation to do anything but sit on the couch and either read a book or watch TV is daunting. But, as you activity level declines, so does your physical health.

This school year, I have made it a goal to become more active in the gym and make my physical health a priority. I have always had a high metabolism -- I took it for granted. Now, it has become clear to me that eating healthy and being physically fit is a necessary balance to stay successful in the working world.

I'm No Runner

From doing track in middle school and the beginning of high school, I knew running wasn't my thing. I was never the fastest nor did it ever "click" with something I truly enjoyed. However, I knew it was good for me. To this day, I still hate cardio. I get bored, and it does not excite me. Lucky for me, I found something better.

Yoga session in action.

Ohio State Rec Sports offers many facilities and free workout classes for its students. I have taken advantage of some of these to add diversity to my exercise schedule and push me harder. Yoga is one of my favorite exercises to enhance flexibility, toning and relaxation. There are others like suspension training and strength building classes I have attended that are really fun, yet challenging as well! If you are ever unmotivated to workout, going to a class with a group is definitely a momentum boost in my experience. Even if you are struggling, odds are, you aren't the only one pushed to your limits!

But, just attending these classes can be tedious. I recently found a new workout method that I am running with to build my physical health.

Why I Powerlift

At the start of the semester, I signed up for a free workout group called Barbelles. Unknowably, I fell in love with powerlifting for women. We have weekly "lectures" to discuss techniques and powerlifting for women and what are some of the differences between cardio and strength training. Then, we practice them at a weekly training. I had been doing some weightlifting on the side since the start of college. This course has re-inspired me to try something new and take one hour of my day to become strong(her). 

Practice technique first.

Then, add more weight to be stronger.

On Tuesday, I discovered I had been bench pressing with incorrect, possibly danger technique for YEARS. Now, I need to retrain my body to adjust and this will not only help me become stronger, but open possibilities for a new hobby: powerlifting. This is my new choice for health and fitness. Even though my schedule can be hectic, I make sure to schedule a workout in as a priority, because my life is worth it. 

Fitness For You

One hour day of exercise is all you need. Powerlifting is that one hour for me. What is best for you? Swimming? Running? Cycling? A combination of them all? Either way, being busy isn't a good excuse in my book. Plan it into your schedule and make it happen. 

I am attending the Arnold Sports Festival for the first time this weekend. I hope to learn something new and continue to add balance to my life. How do you balance a healthy lifestyle? Do you like to lift as well? Let me know and I'd love to share more thoughts. Hope to see you at the gym!

I'm a baker not a ballerina

Outside of my 40 hour work week, I wanted to find some other ways to stay active and healthy! Two of these hobbies that go hand-in-hand are cooking and exercising. On Friday night, I took my Betty Crocker skills to the kitchen by baking some blueberry banana muffins! You may think that is an odd combination, but after 20 minutes in the oven, they proved heavenly to the taste buds.

I discovered this Pinterest recipe (of course) from In Vogue at Home and will definitely be using it in the future! ***FYI, images above were taken by me. This was the first morsel of Milwaukee apartment cooking, and now I need to find some new recipes to test out as well.