Gorgeous Tori!

(photo by: Alpha Athletic Imaging)

I am so excited about this guest post! Meet Tori.  She is one of my great friends from High School.  She is hilarious, fun to be around and is so sweet. I just love her.  Tori got involved in competitive fitness competitions.  Her body was absolutely incredible before (my dream body) but she has taken it to the next level.  I'm so excited about her advice!

I am so excited that Jess has chosen me to be a spotlight on her blog! I will say that I am not a mother but I have been through times in my life where I have been so busy that it was easy to make excuses not to go to the gym or live a healthy lifestyle. I am here to hopefully give you, at whatever stage you are at in your life, a little motivation to keep pushing to reach your personal goals of leading a healthier fit lifestyle and ultimately being happy in your lives!

Now for an introduction. I cheered with Jess through high school and afterwards cheered for weber state university. I met my husband while attending school and he showed me the road to developing the physic that I have always wanted. I always knew the basics about how to keep looking"skinny" when I was cheering but I didn't realize how unhealthy I really was on the inside. That's one thing people need to know, even though you are skinny or think you look good on the outside doesn't necessarily mean you are healthy, you can still be depriving your body on the inside.
Once I started lifting weights I saw a major change in my physic. I noticed I didn't have to do as much cardio because building lean muscle mass helps to constantly be burning calories throughout the day. I became so in love with this new lifestyle that I hired a trainer and nutritionist to help me compete in "figure" competitions. My trainer showed me the ropes, I learned an extraordinary amount of useful information. I, along with many women out there, was at first nervous to start lifting weights for the fear of becoming "bulky" or looking "manly". But women do not produce enough testosterone to look manly, so don't be afraid!
I soon became so busy that I no longer had the amount of time needed to spend in the gym to compete. I was enrolled in 22 credit hours, working full time, had cheer practice 12 hours a week a long side of events and fundraising, was preparing for my first national level figure show and to top it all of was trying to plan my wedding!
I have learned through all of this that it's all about moderation and what you can handle with whatever you are going through at the time. And whatever you do to your body... You can, with time and patience, undo it. For example when I first started competing I wanted to put on an extreme amount of muscle, so much that I put on 17 pounds of muscle! Serious. Now that I am not competing, this is not the ideal look that I want, so I have started to lift and workout in a manner to eliminate some of my muscle while still having a proportionate amount of muscle on my frame. I have learned so much from the people in the bodybuilding and fitness industry that I have literally learned how to sculpt my body to the way I would like it to be.

 Before pictures (amazing)

After pictures (incredible) 

I hope that in reading this it gives you hope! That when you might blame your body shape on genetics or the body frame you were given you know you can build muscle to give yourself and others the illusion that you want. For example I am very square and my shoulders made me look like I had no waste. By building my shoulders I was able to give myself the "tapered" look. The illusion that I have a smaller waist.
Whatever your goal is. Surround yourself with people in your life that support you! And remember its all about how you feel on the inside!

Here is a sample meal plan that i am following right now ( you most certainly can substitute) and a workout that you can do without excuses! I have done it in my hotel room while traveling, in my own home when I am short on time or at the gym you can add weights for a even stronger burn!

6:00 am Meal 1: 1/2 cup quinoa cooked and put in 1/2 cup almond milk with a handful of blueberries in it as well!
9:00 am Meal 2: 1 medium apple with 1 teaspoon all natural peanut butter
12:00 noon Meal 3: 1 whole wheat tortilla with albacore tuna mixed in low fat cottage cheese and topped with saracha  sauce with a side of etamame
3:00 pm Meal 4: 1 plain rice cake with 1 teaspoon honey
6:00 pm Meal 5: 1whole egg and 3 egg whites made into an omelet with spinach, mushrooms and chicken

Tip: when trying to lose inches eat smaller portions but still eat 5 to 6 meals throughout the day

Workout:
2 sets of 15 jump squats
2 sets of 15 jumping jacks
2 sets of 15 alternating jump lunges
2 sets of 15 high knees
2 sets of 15 mountain climbers
2 sets of 15 running butt kicks
2 sets of 15 wide push ups
2 sets of 15 jumping jacks
2 sets of 15 bicycle crunches

when performing this you want to complete each thing (15 times) and on to the next without stopping. At the end rest 1-2 minutes and start over. Repeat twice and you're done!

Lifting Tip: if trying to build muscle with weights keep repetitions between 8-10. Meaning you cannot get one more after 10. If trying to tone and lean out keep repetitions between 12-15. Remember it should still be hard enough where you cannot get one more after 15. For legs if I am trying to lean out I will do 15-20 repetitions and sometimes even switch it up to 30!

Cardio: when doing cardio try intervals. Right now my favorite is on the treadmill. Set at level 9 or 9.5 and do 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off. This will help to burn off that lasting fat! Remember to always switch it up, it should never be easy!

Cardio Tip: doing things on an incline will help to keep your buns high and tight! Try walking on a high incline or doing the stair stepper!

Thanks Tor! Getting my booty to the gym!