Top 5 Active/Fitness Apps of My 2013

The past year saw a much more active Audrey, and a lot of it was assisted by some great apps I found this year, many of them free. If you'd like some new, encouraging, uplifting apps for your mobile, here are my top 5 for the year.

ActiveSide: I'm eagerly awaiting for this to become a social media site outside of an app. If you need encouragement or a more uplifting place when your goals seem far out, this is a great solution. Instead of liking posts, users "cheer" people on. Additionally, you can post about and discover new activities. It's also free.

JEFIT: If you like weight training, this app is a golden treasure chest. You can find new lifts to do by muscle to spice up a boring day and get specific instructions on how to do new lifts by animation and step-by-step instructions. Additionally, you can track your workouts and find new programs by goal. It's also free.

Seconds: Like cardio? Have you tried intervals or tabatas? This app is great for HIIT, circuits, tabatas, and more. Additionally, with the Pro version, you can save timers. I've improved my cardio and 2 mile time with this substantially and you have great flexibility to personalize your cardio.

Nike Training Club: If you do in-home workouts or don't have gym access, this app is golden. You can pick workouts based on your goals, muscle groups, and intensity. Pro-athlete workouts are also included and you can earn bonuses and badges. If you don't know how to do an exercise, you can watch and listen to a demo, even in the middle of a workout. A "coach" tells you exactly when to switch exercises and encourages you at crucial moments. Great for cardio and overall body work. FREE!

Yoga Studio: Whether you're a beginner or seasoned yogi, Yoga Studio is a great addition to your fitness arsenal. You can pick from pre-planned yoga sessions or make your own, tweaking how long poses are held and repeated. Once you've picked your class, you can choose music and sounds while listening to a soothing voice tell you exactly what to do. The best part is this is totally free, unlike an expensive class. A great way to relax and recharge without getting too 'out there.'

Do you have any great apps for the new year? Jump start your resolutions with these apps and kick some ass!

You Do You, I'll Do Me

Yeah, I went there. :)

This post is to address myself, to address decisions I've been making that I refuse to make again.

I've always liked boys. I've wanted to be some of them, be best friends with some of them, and some of them I've never wanted to let go of. I've chased them across states, from New Mexico to Michigan to Texas, which sounds absolutely nuts. I've compromised characters, ideas, goals, and morals to get them. I've changed my future to be like them.

Regardless of the past - awful - decisions I've made concerning the opposite sex, it's been a season of change, including how I look at and treat guys. It's been a season of personal change: I've committed myself to service for at least 6 years with the Army, I've started to make physical changes pertaining to strength and ability, and I've made attitude changes.

After all that, you'd think that they wouldn't get under my skin. FALSE. Shit is imbedded deep, I tell you. It's hard to let go of abuse, hard to let go of insecurity and wrongs and basically the lesser bullshit you get with relations and relationships.

I'm making a decision though: I'm not chasing anymore. I'm just not. I have 1,001xinfinity faults, but I have just as many good qualities. It's a struggle to see the latter sometimes, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. I'm working on myself now. And those pesky boys? They can come and go. But there is no way that I'm letting them have the leverage they've had previously. It ain't worth it.

Attitude is everything. Imma do me.

Workout Gear

Life is about taking chances, ya? Kinda what this blog is about.. :)

I've been at the gym a LOT recently, wearing out my same old clothes over and over. Which is fine, but sometimes you want that awesome gymwear. So, I've been thinking about making my own! I've been working on a fitness site and thinking about putting clothes on it for sale. Here's an example of a design:

Is this something that y'all like? I'm wondering if I could actually sell them or not. Excited to (possibly) hear from you!

Real Talk

This man... If you wanna go out and do stuff, he's got some motivation for you. Have a listen and have a good day.

Video by Eric Thomas.

Try Again... And Again... And Again... And again...

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. -Abraham Lincoln


I like to go out and do stuff. I like to experience, to take chances, to explore, and challenge myself. It's a rush: that new challenge completed, that new relationship you stumble into, that opportunity that you never thought you'd get that falls into your lap.

However, unfortunately, sometimes these things can fall flat. Relationships can be a bust, a challenge can be uncompleted, opportunities can turn into a let down. The important thing isn't the outcome of these situations, but our attitude and response to them. We have a tendency to become discouraged, to give up, to let our frustrations get the best of us.

A common example of this is dieting. We do our best, eat well, resist those bad cravings.... and then cave. And give up! As if one moment of weakness or failure could truly end tons of past and future hard work. But what if we instead looked at our blunder, accepted it, and set ourselves again to the goal?

This is called perseverance, and it is vital in continuing the human spirit, getting stuff done, and moving forward.

I have had too many bad relationships, too many failures, too many missed opportunities I watched go by. If I let them, they could totally weigh me down, convince me that after all these bad things, what good things could possibly break the pattern.

Instead though, I have made a conscious decision to persevere, to not allow my past downfalls to weigh me down and keep me looking back. And the thing is, I don't just make it once. I have to make it over. And over. And over. And over. Everyday. That's the thing about perseverance, you have to actually persevere in the actual act of it.

The moral of the story is shit keeps happening. ALL the time. Bad things will come. Good things will too. If you're feeling down about failures or missed moments, make a decision that you won't let it affect your attitude and your person. We are much more than what we haven't or couldn't do, or even things we have done.

Keep going. Don't give up. Try, try, try, try, and try again.

Lift, Lift, Lift!

Ah the life of a never-ending college student... Late nights after lifting, procrastinated homework, copious amounts of tea and coffee...........

My point is I'm tired, but I'd like to share a video I found quite awhile ago but that I've often thought about. I think she has some solid advice on weight training and overall changing your mindset towards lifting. It's geared towards girls but I think much of it is universal.

Key point: Lift heavy, stop endless rep'ing, and stop worrying about "bulking."

Rachel Guy is a fitness model and instructor from good old Australia and you can like her Facebook page if this video impresses you: Athletic Fox on FB

I workout! ......And eat soo much

Do you? My weightlifting club at school recently posted this helpful article on what to eat and buy and the grocery store. I liked and wanted to keep it and share it, in case anyone is looking for good food ideas, whether you lift or not. Here's the link!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beginners_shopping_list.htm

And ain't it the truth.......

Tough Mudder!

"The toughest event on the planet!!"

That's the tagline you'll hear constantly at Tough Mudder events, media, and from workers there. While I'd say it's perhaps not the toughest event on the planet, it does give you a run for your money, and your balls! A good way to describe TM would be challenging your fears and determination. If you run a lot, 12 miles may not be a big deal to you. Most people, however, don't always jump in to some of the obstacles you'll see here. Some of the fears you may face are claustrophobia, electroshock, heights, and of course pain. I ran my first in Chicago in May this year, and my second several weeks ago in STL. The course for STL was pretty great, with a wide variety of obstacles and a lot of elevation changes. Here are some of the May experiences:

Wounded Warrior Carry! (In STL, I finally nutted up and carried a man twice my size on my back!):

Following the 17-foot jump:

The team, after the jump:

Endless running....

Another after jump photo op:

We survived the Electric Eel....

Belly-down through mud and water through live wires (up to 10,000 volts!):

While not everyone needs a teams to get through the obstacles, this is one big difference with TM: the brotherhood mentality. Everyone works together, everyone puts on a smile and gets through it. One of my favorite parts about TM, and the heart of it, is the pledge we all take before going out.

That's Tough Mudder. If you like getting dirty, working with friends and strangers, being badass, and feeling great about yourself, you'll love it. And the best part? Earning the delicious Dos Equis at the end. Hoorah!

Trail Running

Iowa is sometimes a challenging state to find a good, mind-stimulating exercise arena. Granted, there are days when I am simply working on flat speed and a good track is easy to find and better suited for training. However, when I'm working on endurance and hills, I need something to keep me mentally engaged.

A great trail I recently discovered is the Coralville Reservoir Trail, located in Coralville, IA. It's incredibly hard to find the address so I've taken the liberty to copy and paste it here from www.alltrails.com (great site for finding new paths):

3955 West Overlook Rd NE, Iowa City, IA 52240

I wasn't sure what to expect, except that the reviews listed it as a 4.4 mile looping trail with moderate hills. Indeed, for this area, it was a moderate difference in elevation. The only drawback was the complexity of the trails. It was truly a looping trail, but in the sense that there were many loops. Fortunately there are plenty of trail markers to let you know where you are. In fact there are a lot of different trail distractions, such as this "sculpture" that looks like a wooden igloo about a half mile in.

You'll definitely want to make sure your ankles and feet are up for this. I recommend some solid trail shoes before going out here, and be prepared for elevation changes.

Overall, I'd say this was a great trail. If you end up running ALL the paths, you'll also run into "trail training," stations along the way that let you work on muscles with pull up, pushups, climbing, etc. If you are in the Iowa City/Coralville area, I definitely recommend checking it out.