I's Married Now

My Own Zumba Studio!

I have falled in love with teaching Zumba classes and making a difference in people's lives.  I also love my job as the Fitness Director at St. Stephen Church!

About a month ago, I opened up my own fitness studio called charizYa Fitness.  It's in St. Matthew's and we've created a great Zumba family.  Right now it's 4:40am and I am up because in 20 minutes LivingSocial will feature my Zumba classes at an amazing price.  It will be an awesome way to introduce people to my Zumba classes and create new members of our Z-family!!

I hope it goes well!!

74!!! (no really - 74!)

This year I started teaching Zumba classes at First G Church on Thursday evenings at 6:00pm.  I had no idea with the type of turnout we would have.  Well, this past Thursday was our second class.  To my surprise - 74 women came out to get in shape.  It is such an amazing feeling to be an instructor and look out and see that many women filling a gym to better themselves.  I'm a true believer that working out is not a individual sport.  So, at the end of each class we do something that helps each of us get to know each other.

I've found my motivation and my drive.  While others come to me for empowerment and enthusiasm, I find myself equally seeking the same in them!  2011- the year of fitness!!!

One Crazy Morning IV

I'm still working to get a copy of Part III, but here's Part IV with Keith Kaiser of Fox in the Morning!

One Crazy Morning II

Here's Part II of the Fox in the Morning Video from this previous Friday!

Part II

One Crazy Morning I

I woke up bright and early on Friday morning (3:30am to be exact) so that Fox in the Morning could come to my house to film for their show.  They filmed several segments where the reporter, Keith Kizer, demonstrated at-home gadgets and asked me for alternatives.  He kept me laughing the entire time.  Check out one of the links below:
Part I

New Goals for 2011

Me at my Alma Mater (UNC) this month!

I have fallen in love with the fitness industry.  Whether it's personal training, wellness coaching or teaching Zumba classes - I have found my passion.   One of my goals for 2011 is to transition from my current career field into the health and wellness field.  There are a lot of fitness opportunities that are presenting myself and I feel like my big toe is peeking out door.  But, I need a couple of more things to happen before I take that full plunge!  January 2011 has some great publicity and opportunities so stay tuned!

Also, if you love Zumba - come check out my Zumba classes.  I'll be at APT Fitness & Absolute Dance (both in St. Matthews Station at the corner of Breckinridge Lane & Shelbyville Rd).  I'm also excited to be doing classes in the west end at First G Church and at some private locations!  Visit the Zumba section of my website for the class schedule and prices.

I appreciate all of the support I have received from others over the years, now it's my turn to return that support while helping others get in shape.  LET'S DO THIS!

I'm Getting Married

On October 22, 2010 my boyfriend proposed to me!  I was overjoyed.  Of course, the joy quickly turned to stress as I had less than six months to plan my wedding.  So, now I am in the mist of planning a Spring wedding.  It has become less stressful because most of the details have been planned.  However, I now must also re-evaluate how I will train over the next several months.  My original plan was to build, build, build muscle.  Add on those pounds (which would also include some fat) and let the good times roll.  However, the last thing I want to do is be "thick" in my wedding dress.  So now I've found myself still trying to build muscle but at a much less extreme pace.  We'll see how that goes.

I've also started teaching Zumba classes.  They are a blast.  This Winter I'm only teaching 1-2 classes a week.  However, starting in January I'll be teaching 3-4 classes a week.  That's a lot of cardio.  I must make sure that I eat the right type of calories to balance that type of activity - and if anything else, I'm hoping it helps with my glutes!

I'M BAAAAACK!

Wow, I wanted to add a blog to my website and remembered that I had created a blog when I first started competing two years ago. Back then, I was training for my very first competition - so much has happened since then!

In 2008, I ended up doing seven competitions - winning first at many of them. I went to my first national competition and switched from figure to fitness. In 2009, I competed in The Arnold and two national shows and was only four points from turning professional. This year I won my class in the Arnold still have the goal of turning pro.

One of the best things about competing is the people I have met along the way. Fitness competitors are some of the coolest people around and we have so much fun backstage. Although we are competing against each other, we build an amazing support system with each other. It was a great experience to watch some of my friends (like Stacy Wright) turn pro this year!

After this competition season, I decided that I needed a REAL off season. Most of the feedback from the judges is that although I have a great shape, I appear smaller on stage compared to the other competitors. I need to build some muscle, but in order to do that - it must take the right time, use the right weights and eat the right foods.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TIRED

My body is SO TIRED right now. It's another week of "final week" prep. Most people take longer than 2 weeks between competitions. At the same time, most people take longer than 8 weeks to get ready for their first competition.

My day started at 5:00am this morning to get ready for the 5:45am spin class. It was pure torchure. That was followed by 75 minutes of working out at 80% of my usual weight. If I still had energy, I was encouraged to do another 20 minutes of cardio. That didn't happen.

Luckily I finished early enough to go back home and sleep for 45 minutes. Glorious, but not long enough. So now it's about 10:00am and I'm still here and work wishing I could lay in bed and do absolutely nothing. I'm not sleep, but my body is physically tired.

I guess it doesn't help that I'm back to drinking 2 gallons of water a day. I've already used the bathroom 6 times this morning. Luckily I'm already on my third of four bottles so the frequent urination should cease over the next several hours. I just keep thinking... this week, then next week... then rest, rest, REST!!!