The Anatomy of a Champion

I've explained this to people time and time again, but I'm not sure they really "get" it. I am a competitor to my core. It's part of everything I do and how I face every situation. There are times I try and hide it a little bit because I'm not sure everyone understands this approach to life and might think it a bit extreme--unless of course you are exactly like me. But if you aren't like me, you might wonder why anything that could possibly be a competition, is. And if it is in fact a competition, then I want to win. It is this approach to life that helps me do what I do for a living, and also helps me in other situations that arise from time to time…

My brother's wedding was this weekend, and when it came time for the bouquet toss, these nice girls didn't know what they were in for. All I've got to say is that if I jump like this when it comes to the Olympic Final, the gold medal is mine!

Earlier in the day my siblings and I took a picture and it seems as if I was commenting on how I should be the one with a ring on my finger. You know, since my brother who is NINE YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME was getting married and all.

When it came time for the bouquet toss, I purposely positioned myself in front and forewarned my competitors. My sister tries to secretly send Cynthia a message and tell her to throw long, but let's be real...I jump for a living.

The flowers go up, and I go into beast mode.

Victory!! It's a shame I don't have an actual picture of me jumping, because I honestly had some serious air time.

Typical of people who aren't "true" competitors, my sister tries to steal my flowers since she wasn't talented enough to grab them for herself.

I plan on applying the same tactics in Eugene, then London, and after that see how they work on a nice young gentleman who will help that naked finger of mine...

The Art of Being Positive

I was talking with my friend yesterday and she asked how my ankle was doing. Girl, that is so last week, I responded. My bizarrely sprained ankle has healed and is functioning fine, I told her, but I did tweak my hamstring last night in my meet. Honestly, she should know this if she followed me on social media close enough but we will give her a pass for having a life. So she said she would now pray for my hamstring to get it together quickly and asked if there was anything else to pray for.

That I stay positive, I said.

For me, that is a far bigger request than my hamstring, or my ankle, or any other non-cooperative body part that doesn't seem to be playing by the rules these days. It is far easier to come back from a strained hamstring than a negative spirit. And I know I'm not there yet-- that god awful place where you throw a party for pity and only invite yourself-- but I want to make sure I don't even get around to creating the evite.

My road is a bit bumpy right now but I haven't lost sight of my destination. Of course I would have hoped for a smoother ride, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter, does it? The only thing that matters is that I stay the course, and I don't care how many times I fall down and bruise my hamstring or my ego, I intend to do just that.

Staying positive means that my focus will continue to stay on what can happen in the future and not so much what has happened thus far. It means that I continue to believe in my goal because that goal is still ahead of me, and that I choose to focus on the good because that is what's going to help me get there. It is definitely a choice, and I want to continue to make the right one. So, please pray for that.

R.I.C.E.

I am no stranger to sprained ankles. Both my ankles have experienced their fair share of sprains over the course of my life and it's to be expected when you've spent most of your time on earth running, jumping, and doing all sorts of ankle jeopardizing activities. So, the fact that I've been nursing a slightly sprained ankle for the past couple of days is no surprise. What is a surprise though, is I have absolutely no idea how I hurt it. Not only that, I've only ever sprained the outside of my ankle, and this time I managed to do the opposite. The whole thing is quite strange and perplexing and I'm almost certain that one of my competitors has a secret voodoo doll with my face attached and has been poking me with pins in the ankle region. It's either that, or I've been sleep bounding and not knowing it.

Whatever the case, I have been prescribed the most ancient and annoying of all remedies… R.I.C.E. For those of you that spent your childhood playing piano and dissecting frogs, you may not be familiar with this, but it stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. This kind of treatment bothers a person like me tremendously and I end up feeling like a helpless caged animal. Yesterday, I tried to add my own twist to it and include med ball throws, bench press, leg press, core circuit, and bike, but in the end the swelling ended up increasing instead of decreasing, and that's not really what I was after. So, today I will follow it a little closer and hope that this little niggle disappears as quickly and as miraculously as it appeared in the first place.

And if you are reading this and you are the one with the voodoo doll, PLEASE STOP!

Almost Famous...

(screenshot I took after watching a clip of the infomercial on youtube.)

It seems that my physique is extremely recognizable. Well…my abdominal section is at least. For the last couple of weeks I've been getting messages from people who happen to be up at 3 am watching infomercials. And the really cool part is, they spotted me on their television! Over the summer I had filmed a series of workout videos for TapouT, and the infomercial for these new workout DVD's has now hit the airwaves. You don't see many close up shots of me in the infomercial portion, probably due to the fact that I was hired to do these videos, and the majority of the other people were participants in the program that transformed their bodies. So, there is a lot more focus on their success stories and the before/after pictures. I didn't participate in the 90 day program and according to my sister, they'd need a baby picture if they wanted to get my "before" body. The videos also feature professional MMA fighters…and obviously I'm not one of those. So, basically I was the gal with the ripped body that you're supposed to think got that body by doing the 12 DVD's that you can purchase. In all honesty, the workouts really and truly kicked my butt. I filmed more segments than anyone else because of course I could handle it--being the professional athlete and all--but by the end of the week standing was a real chore for me.

Let me know if you happen to catch the infomercial…and better yet, let me know if you happen to purchase the DVD's and tell me what you think of these workouts! They are legit and all you need is your living room and your DVD player. I don't promise an abdominal section like mine, but maybe close. :)

To find out a little bit more about these workouts you can check it out here: TapoutXT