About Me

I am 30-something Detroit-based gal and a huge proponent of ladies strength training. I started this blog to keep track of my workouts, my diet, and anything else interesting that came around along the way, and it has since molded into a place where I can reflect on the emotional side of working out, plus also try to motivate and encourage others to find the confidence and strength that comes with being empowered by weightlifting.

Up until 2011, I had zero athletic ability other than walking from the couch to the fridge. As a genetically blessed “skinny girl”, I never even considered anything about health and fitness, as I was skinny and ate what I wanted, so what did it matter. My life was Chinese food, pasta, pizza, and wine.

In 2011, I started to follow my boyfriend of the time to the gym as an excuse to spend more time with him. I’d walk on the treadmill and struggle to press 15# on the machines. When we broke up (for the first time), I committed to training for a 5k, as I wanted to prove something. It took me almost six months to be able to train to run three miles. In the end, we rekindled our relationship and he ran the race with me and I was never prouder of myself and that 36:14 finish.

Not much longer after that, my now-ex, had sent me an article on a girl who was “skinny fat.” I had never heard the term and didn’t understand what he was trying to imply, but then I was intrigued by the girl in the article and how by GAINING weight (muscle) she actually looks better. I was intrigued, so started doing some lifting on my own at a globo gym, following New Rules of Lifting for Women, and hiring a personal trainer for a few sessions.

That summer, after becoming addicted to lifting for the prior few months, I saw the Crossfit Games on TV (thinking, there is a sport for fitness?!) and was obsessed with the girls. A Groupon deal opened up for a local box that fall, and full of a million emotions, I signed up. I nearly died every workout during my onramp; I couldn’t row 500m without stopping, I had to do push-ups on a bench, and banded pull-ups. I could hardly overhead squat a barbell and everything I thought I knew from the prior six months of working out, was proven wrong. I was torn on continuing to Crossfit as it was expensive, and would take up a lot of time and money. But I committed to it, and would attend 2-3x a week as my body allowed.

In January, 2013, I became single once again and Crossfit became my new love. I upped my workouts to 5x a week, signed up for Crossfit Endurance classes. I committed to paleo for a while, completely cleaned up my diet. I competed in the Open after only 4 months, I did my first Warrior Dash, trained and finished a half marathon. I discovered Oly lifting and did my first Oly meet, and most recently, stepped on stage in a bodybuilding competition!

I am still far from the athlete that I want to be and my numbers may not be as big as some other girls’, but I give it 100% almost every single day and now cannot imagine a life without lifting.

On the blog, I love to spotlight other lifting ladies, as well as try to encourage other women to put their trust in the barbell. It has done so much for me; there is something so empowering about lifting weights that helps to completely change you as a person inside and out.

Some top posts you may enjoy while you are here are:

• My intro to lifting and tips for new women lifters
• New Rules of Lifting for Women progress
• Crossfit: What is a WOD and more definitions
• Progress is not in the Pooch
• Crossfit > Dating
• Confessions of a Non-Runner: Running a Half-Marathon
• Gaining Weight with Crossfit and Why it Doesn’t Matter
• DEALS and DISCOUNTS!

If you have any questions for me, I am an open book! I will try to respond to emails within 24 hours. Thank you for visiting, and hope you enjoy my journey to being happy, healthy and lifting heavy!

Keep up with me on Facebook and Instagram and be sure to let me know how you found me!