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Strengthening Your Core- The Importance of Ab Workouts
With summer approaching, the question I am most frequently asked is “How do I get my abs back?” Well, I could tell you to do 1,000 crunches and drink a bunch of water and eat healthy but it’s a little more complicated than that! And 1,000 crunches aren’t going to get it done anyway. In order to have “abs” you need to strengthen your core. There’s a difference between core and abs. They work together but in order to have one, you need the other. You need to sweat. And by doing so, engaging more than just your ab muscles. Core strengthening involves tightening up the muscles in your…
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Call Me a Quitter… Why I Quit my Bikini Competition.
Today is one week out. What does that even mean? It was about 3 years ago that I really got into working out, going to the gym, and making a choice to take better care of my body. I wasn’t getting any younger and it was starting to show. I started sharing my journey on Instagram and I was a total newbie to everything. Hashtags… Geesh. What’s up with all these hashtags? I remember following a girl who was a fitness competitor and seeing these #6weeksout #4weeksout hashtags… come to find out it meant weeks away from their show date- the date they’re competing. I was intrigued. Cardio vs.…
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Competition Prep: 15 Weeks Out
I might be crazy. I might be certifiably insane. I’ve decided to tackle another competition. Bikini competition #3. March 26th. St. Louis, MO. I may be in the throes of my last semester of nursing school. That day will be my daughter’s 2nd birthday. I will be prepping for finals. Why not throw a competition in the mix too. Well. Here goes! I’m putting Body Beast up on the shelf. Temporary retirement. I’ve been using the program pretty ferociously for the past year and I’ve absolutely loved what it’s done for my body. It’s been outstanding to see my muscles grow in ways I never could’ve imagined. And if you’ve…
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Hammer and Chisel Official Launch!!!
You know me. Ok, maybe not all that well. Or maybe you’re new to my blog and you don’t know me at all. Welcome! Let me share with you a little something, in case you haven’t gathered it yet. I love to workout but I didn’t always feel this way. It’s been a recent journey- less than 3 years since I really started going to the gym. I had a baby in between, too. Actually I’ve had three but one since I really started working out. I’ve always been skinny. I decided last summer after my 3rd baby that I didn’t want to be skinny anymore. I wanted to be…
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Luke and Ashley’s Body Beast Results
Find someone who shares your passion and do it together. My husband, Luke, really started pushing me to do more heavy lifting about a year ago. I was scared. Like a lot of women, I didn’t want to lift too much and have “dude” muscles! Ok first of all, if you’ve never really lifted before, it’s going to be pretty hard to get “dude” muscles. But it’s entirely possible to build some great definition, strength, and leanness while boosting your metabolism by increasing your muscle mass. This means that the more muscle you have the harder your body works. You burn more calories at rest! We took the plunge…
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The Struggle to Gain: Body Shaming in All Forms
Standing in front of the mirror and being unhappy with the body of the woman staring back at you. At some point, even if it’s only for a brief period of time, we’ve all been there. Who are we kidding. Whether it’s that postpartum saggy skin, stretch marks, that little bit of cellulite that came out of nowhere, those not-so-perky-anymore boobies, or those scrawny stick legs with no muscle tone. We’re shown “perfection” our whole lives in magazines and on TV and live in a competitive society which makes us feel like we have to constantly improve. Plus, as a woman, it’s in our nature to be judgy and…
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Why I Became a Beachbody Coach
I remember that day that I walked into the gym, not really sure of what I was doing but decided to give it a shot. I had worked out before in a gym, granted it was in high school, but I could pull it off, right? Well… I got some weird looks. I was a scrawny, skinny girl, barely 20 years old, and couldn’t lift much to save my life. I looked around at my company and was clearly out of place. I didn’t know what I was doing and no one bothered to help me. Instead, I heard a couple snickers when I tried to use the leg press…
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21 Day Fix Extreme is Under Way!
As of yesterday I officially started 21 Day Fix Extreme! I have made some really crummy decisions with food last week and am paying for it now. I gained 6 lbs in one week. Granted, our competition was the 27th and we were really lean, but the amount of cake, ice cream, BBQ, snacks, cheat meals, and all around junk I ate wasn’t pretty. So I did it, I’m done with it, and I’m starting fresh this week. The last time I did 21 Day Fix extreme was in prep for my first bikini competition and I got some pretty incredible results. (See below) So I’m ready for another 21…
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Competition Prep- 1 day out!
Less than 24 hours until go time! We are pretty excited and definitely ready to take the stage & rock it! It’s been a long journey but worth every step of the way to be feeling this good and having this amazing energy right now! Bring it on, NANBF! We’re ready for ya!
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The Why Behind Everything I Do
As I sit here looking over my planner for the next few weeks, trying to organize my life and create a sense of normalcy among the chaos that is my current life, I have to pause, breathe, and be thankful for what has brought me to the chaos that I have today. When you’re sitting in the delivery room, waiting for them to hand you your very first, teensy weensy, wrinkly, freshly bathed and swaddled little peanut, what they don’t tell you is that not only is this little person now outside your body but now, so is your heart. Here you are, Mrs. Roberts, and you will now be wearing your…
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