Eat. Lift. Play. Repeat.

Eat Clean :: Lift Heavy :: Play Daily :: Repeat

  • Home
  • Meet Melissa
  • Eat
  • Lift
  • Play
  • Meal Prep Tips
  • Ask Me

My Fitness Story

September 6, 2014 by johnson_mel@hotmail.com

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on fitness…..

Fitness Image 3

Strong is the new skinny….to get strong you need to lift weights. Lifting weights will not make you bulk up…it will make you lean and of course, strong! My goal is not to be stick thin. My goal is to be strong and healthy. However, I have not always liked lifting weights. In fact, I only found my love for it in the last few years. Here is a little background about my relationship with exercise over the years….

I have always been active, but the type of exercise being done has changed a lot for me over the years. I grew up being outside and doing physical activity. We rode bikes, went rollerblading, played sports but as a kid it was never “exercise”….. it was fun.

In middle school I played volleyball, basketball, and participated in track. My summers consisted of softball. I was a year-round athlete and high school was no different. I participated in softball, basketball, and golf for four years and, as before, summers consisted of more softball (it was my favorite sport). All this physical activity kept me rather thin.

During my freshman year of college I was a regular at the campus gym. I would consider myself a “cardio-queen”. I used different equipment – treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, stair master – but I rarely left the cardio deck. The summer after my freshman year I began running. I did not have access to the CSU gym and I didn’t want to pay a gym membership at the time, so I ran outside. Those three months were about the extent of my running life….I never did enjoy doing it.

Once school started back up my sophomore year I pretty much stopped exercising regularly. I was working 30 hours a week and I was a full-time student. I chose to use my free time to do other things, instead of exercise. I worked in retail and walked a lot during my shifts, so I still was not overweight.

Then, my senior year I changed jobs. I started working at the CSU bakery making all the baked goods for the dining halls on campus. We made donuts, cookies, cakes, brownies, breads, muffins. Let’s just say I didn’t walk or exercise much and my diet was far from clean. I loved that job and I am so glad that I made that move. However, I gained the senior-15…..I know, I know I missed gaining the Freshman-15 and just put it off a few years! Maybe I should refer to it as the Bakery-15…..

I graduated from college and immediately started working for the family business. I had been getting up early for my job in college (think 4:00 am…yikes) so I continued getting up early and instead went to the gym. I still stuck to cardio, cardio, cardio. Then one day, a friend of my mom’s started talking to me about this boot camp that she was doing. She was going to be gone for a week and wanted me to fill in to see if I liked it. I decided to do it.

The first boot camp I went to was hard. Really hard. I was not used to lifting weights or doing moves even using my body weight. I could run on a treadmill or do the elliptical for an hour, but couldn’t do 15 push-ups in a row. I went back a second time to boot camp and I was officially hooked! I signed up for my first session June 2011 and have been doing them ever since.

I have a fantastic trainer (yay Jodi!) who kicks my butt on a regular basis. We have class twice per week at 5:00 am. My class consists of 7 other women and we do a different type of workout each class. The basis of the class is to lift, and lift heavy. Jodi has made me fall in love with lifting weights. The best part – lifting has transformed my body and also my mind. I have lost weight but more importantly, I have lost several inches off my waist and other areas.

This graphic is 100% true in my book…. even if losing weight is not your goal, lifting will take inches off your middle, thighs, arms, etc….nothing wrong with that.

Fitness Image 1

I am very competitive and I love challenging myself to see if I can lift more or lift heavier. I have realized I can push my body a lot farther than I ever imagined.

Fitness Image 2

If you do not already lift, I encourage you to do so. I lift on my own outside of boot camp, and I use a lot of the same moves that Jodi teaches in class. If you cannot hire a trainer, or don’t want to, there are other resources available. Some fitness magazines and websites that I like to read for tips and moves include Oxygen, FitnessRX for Women, and Muscle & Fitness Hers.

I try to lift 3-4 times per week and do cardio 1-2 days per week. My cardio routine has changed quite a bit in the last few years as well. I prefer high-intensity interval training (HIIT) over steady-state cardio. I will save some of my favorite cardio workouts for a future post.

What is your favorite way to exercise?

 

Take a step to a healthier YOU with tips about healthy foods, meal planning and food prep!
You'll receive healthy tips, recipes and meal prep ideas sent directly to your inbox so you can meal prep like a PRO!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Sign up now for even more information about healthy eating!

Take a step to a healthier YOU with tips about healthy foods, meal planning and food prep!
You'll receive healthy tips, recipes and meal prep ideas sent directly to your inbox so you can meal prep like a PRO!

Follow Eat. Lift. Play. Repeat. on Instagram

  • My meal prep breakfast for the week whole wheat waffleshellip
    7 years ago by eatliftplayrepeat My meal prep breakfast for the week: whole wheat waffles and egg whites! I won’t lie, I love eating waffles for breakfast every morning. Pop the waffles in the toaster until they are to your preferred crispness, top with syrup, honey, PB, whatever you like and enjoy
  • My lunch is the bomb this weekbeef amp bean greenhellip
    7 years ago by eatliftplayrepeat My lunch is the bomb this week...beef & bean green chile burritos. I snuck some shredded zucchini in for some extra veggies and topped it with olives and mozzarella. Yum
  • Sunday meal prep was on point Waffles amp egg whiteshellip
    7 years ago by eatliftplayrepeat Sunday meal prep was on point. Waffles & egg whites for breakfast, beef & Bean burritos for lunch, chicken & potatoes for dinner, plus Greek yogurt & KIND bars for snacks
  • A look at yesterdays meal prep  spinach artichoke Frittatahellip
    7 years ago by eatliftplayrepeat A look at yesterday’s meal prep — spinach artichoke Frittata made for breakfast, chicken marinara with whole wheat pasta and zucchini for lunch, yogurt & granola for a snack and  @fitjoy  bars for an afternoon snack
  • My dinner tonight was so easyIm talking 7minutes and ahellip
    7 years ago by eatliftplayrepeat My dinner tonight was so easy....I’m talking 7-minutes and a microwave easy! I thawed some frozen mixed veggies, heated an Uncle Ben’s Ready Whole Grain Medley package and diced/heated some chicken that I made during meal prep up. Threw all that in a bowl with some Mrs Dash Onion & Herb Salt-Free seasoning and boom, dinner! Plus it has 33g protein and only 350 calories

RSS Eat. Lift. Play. Repeat

Don’t forget to check out other posts from Eat. Lift. Play. Repeat.

  • Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Ideas – Week 80
  • 5 Meal Prep Tips for a Smooth Food Prep Session
  • Day in the Life: Mel’s Clean Eating Meals [#93]
  • Grocery Shopping & Meal Prep Ideas – Week 79
  • 4 Easy Ways to Use Protein Powder (that are NOT protein shakes)
Facebook E-mail
Eat. Lift. Play. Repeat.

Sign Up for Emails!

elpr-header

Copyright © 2025 · Lazy Sunday by SSS on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in