Julie: "Go Big Or Go Home"

A lot of people know about my previous work with the Special Olympics. I coached bowling for five years, but subbed in for track, soccer, basketball, swim and softball. SO athletes are incredibly inspiring and it's ridiculously humbling when I can't run the sprints they can or hit the home runs they can. They rock and are my fitspiration!

I wanted to share two things I ran across today.

These pictures from SO weight lifting practice (originating from this reddit thread, his stats are posted)

And this video.

No matter how big your obstacle - don't let it get in the way of your goals.

Amanda: Meal Preparation

Preparing meals in advance is by far the hardest yet most rewarding thing that I can do when it comes to my health and fitness goals. Having meals prepared, in the fridge, ready to go when I roll out of bed grumpy as hell can change my whole day.

If I wake up half-dead and grab some egg white muffins with feta, spinach and mushrooms I can inhale those as I stumble into my sneakers and take my vitamins. Then I can throw my lunch & snacks into my lunchbox, feed the dogs and get in the car before I know what the hell I'm doing. Really weird to go to the gym in pajamas though...

However, if I have to cook breakfast that morning that means I have to dirty up some dishes and then throw together lunch and snacks (that means more dirty dishes which I need to wash) and less time to get ready for the day. Inevitably I wind up glancing at the clock with just enough time to skip the gym and get to work bitchy and on time. The amount of bitchy that I am has a direct correlation to whether or not I will be forced into grabbing something crappy and over-priced from the cafeteria at work.

Sometimes I'll try to forego packing a lunch completely, if I don't have food prepared I have been known to run out of the house with a couple of apples, and have attempted to sustain myself on black coffee and fructose alone. Not smart, I know!

So here are the basics of how I prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for myself for an entire week. It might not be the best system but hey, it works for me, and I'd love to hear suggestions on what works for you!