This is what sparked my motivation/inspiration to start lifting weights again lol.

I was out of the wrestling loop for a while, but the obsession started way back in the summer between 7th and 8th grade (20-something years ago 😅). My sister was going to a meet & greet with The Hardy Boyz at Geauga Lake amusement park, and the friend she invited couldn’t go so somehow I was the backup??? – at the time I only had second hand knowledge of wrestling because my sis watched it. I had no true interest — until Jeff Hardy shook my hand and I went 🤯🤯🤯 and the rest is history. Obsessed doesn’t even begin to cover it. I had a ring name, I signed it like autographs, I acted THE PART for a solid two years.

Sometime in high school my interest started to taper off, somewhere around 10th grade feels about right, and it would be YEARS before I watch again. Here and there I would turn on RAW (when I’d remember it was on) to “check in” and would quickly say “WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE THIS IS TERRIBLE,” without ever giving it a true chance. Flash forward to recent times – I gave it a better chance and became interested in some of the storylines, and can say I was excited for Wrestlemania this year! And it did not disappoint. I mean did you see Seth Freakin Rollins’ entrance??? Legendary.

So anyhow all of this to say – as I’ve been watching more frequently – I instantly noticed Bianca Belair’s muscles one day when she came out for a match or interview or something and again I went 🤯🤯🤯 As a former bodybuilding competitor who has fallen away from the gym hustle, it made me flash back to how people used to react to my arms lol. I’m 5’0″ but I was BUILT and looked super strong during the competition season (see below). Maybe not as built as Bianca or Rhea 💪💪 but for my petite frame I looked badass!

I’m not saying I’m not fit or strong now, but since my ovary surgery I have only been working on my core strength. Important, of course, but I’m ready to add on! Barre has been my obsession for a couple years and it’s absolutely possible to grow strength and have defined muscles with barre alone, but there is a part of me that misses that time in the gym! I don’t think I’d want to go back to hours in an actual gym, but I’ll get back into my home workouts I love so much!

Here’s my plan; I’m adding in little bits at a time, it’s what I’ve found to work well for me in terms of consistency.

• Continued Pilates: A friend and I FaceTime several mornings a week to do 30 minutes of classical Pilates together – one of the easiest ways to stay accountable; a workout buddy. And a strong core helps with everything in life!
• Add on 5 minutes of strength training (upper body or lower body or full body). Build up each week (10 mins, 15 mins, etc).
• Take a walk daily, 5-30 mins
• Stretch every morning, 5-30 mins
• I’ll continue to do Barre too because it’s sooo good for mobility and flexibility, and booty gains!! I record workouts to add to my app regularly (Hot Body Habits at the top of this page)

The key is selective variety. It’s good to keep the body guessing when it comes to movement, but when trying to build muscle it’s also about consistently pushing the same muscles in a similar way each week – that repetitiveness is what builds! So I’m keeping a variety of styles in my repertoire to make sure I’m covering each muscle group plus getting a good stretch plus moving in a way that feels good, forever!!!!! Going with the flow 😎

Tell me your favorite Wrestlemania match OR tell me if you like a morning or evening workout better 🙌