Welcome to my Kitchen!

Welcome to my Kitchen!

I started my road to fitness in 2006 when I met my husband, Jesse. When we met, I was an out-of-shape smoker, who cringed at the thought of taking the stairs for one floor.  I hated working out and the gym gave me anxiety. I could not do one proper push-up, and if there was a zombie apocalypse I would have been one of the first people to get eaten.

To say that I am a healthier person now is an understatement.  It has not been an easy road, there was no shortcut. There were lots of tears shed, heartaches, and even moments where I gave up on myself.  Jesse – who is also now my coach – never gave up on me, he inspired me, and cheered me on every step of the way. He is always there to pump me through my workouts, to celebrate my accomplishments, and to give me a hug when I fail.

In 2010, I decided to train for my first 10k.  Jesse trained me for it, drove me to the race, waited at the finish line with a big proud smile on his face, and then celebrated with me after.  The euphoria that I felt crossing the finish line was indescribable. I set my mind to something, and I accomplished it! As cliché as it was, I fell in love.  I fell in love with fitness, and the life style. I signed up for more races, from night runs to obstacle races, and even a half-marathon.

I started weight lifting in between races, and I liked it.  At first, the feeling of ‘I look stupid,’ and ‘I’m not doing this right,’ took over and I started looking at other programs and classes at the YMCA to keep active.  I got involved with Zumba, and even became an instructor. It was fun, but after a while I got bored with it. I began lifting weights again and I started getting stronger.  I became addicted to the results!

That lead me to where I am now.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve stumbled throughout, and I’ve wanted to quit, but I just can’t stay away from the weights.  I can’t seem to walk away from the bench press, or the squat rack for too long but I found myself plateauing and getting frustrated all the time.

Olympic Lifting has gotten me out of the power lifting plateauing funk.  It has challenged and continues to challenge my body in ways that I never thought possible.  I have been sore in muscles I have never felt before. I am excited to be training for these Olympic Lifts, and to have embraced the Oly Life.

In April of 2016, I set my lifters on the platform of my very first meet. It was a local meet in a high school weight room.  I made weight (goal number one) and lifted my lifts (goal number two). I was hooked! Since then, I have competed in American Open Series 1 in Reno (2016), American Open Series 3 in Vegas (2018), multiple local meets in Arizona and California, as well as the Gemalyn Crobsy Fitness Expo where I took home silver (2017) in the Philippines. I have been fortunate enough to have had the chance to work with national and international level coaches both in the US and in the Philippines.

The Olympic Lifting community is like no other.  I have met some amazing people who have become family through lifting.  They have not only cheered me on during meets, but they have also uplifted my life! 

Olympic lifting has not only challenged me physically, but mentally as well.  Since this sport has weight classes, I have had to examine my relationship with food. I had to take an in depth look at what I eat, how I eat, and when I eat.  I have had to learn how to eat the foods that will fuel my body, while not depriving my soul of what makes it happy. I enjoy cooking and adore eating even more!  Apart from my training with the barbell, I am also training in the kitchen, creating recipes for macro-friendly foods. I thoroughly enjoy trying out recipes and cooking for our friends! If there is a macro-hack, I will try it and share the outcomes.  Strength in numbers, and we will grow stronger together. 

Sanctuary Barbell – lifting on and off the platform. Helping you find your strength with the barbell and in life. 

In my blogs, I will be sharing what I make for Jesse and myself, during comp prep and in off-comp season. I believe that along with the proper programming and recovery, food for fuel is incredibly important. As athletes, we need to eat foods that will nourish our bodies, sustain our workouts, and make our soul happy. Welcome to my kitchen, where food is your friend, and cooking can be another stress-reliever.