Personal Training
Recap of Camp Savage and Clean Meatball Recipe
What a weekend I had! I am so humbled to now be a coach for Cathy Savage Fitness. This is such an incredible network of women and I cnanot believe how much CSF has helped me grow from the inside out. I was reading all about my first CSF camp experience back in 2011 (I joined CSF in August of 2010) I remember being scared out of my mind, not knowing a single person but really trying to get out of my comfort zone, knowing I was doing this for no one else but me . I knew I would meet some amazing women along the way but back then, I had no idea what kind of impact they would truly have on me. To say I am a different person now is an understatement. When I decided to compete, there was no question in my mind that Cathy Savage Fitness was the route I would go. It had always been a dream of mine from when I was about 18 years old. I bit the bullet and decided now or never. I was a shy, self concious girl, stuck in the middle of an unsupportive relationship and ready to finally do something for me when I was so used to living someone else’s life.
Beyond the act of competing and learning all that the sport has to offer, I left that studio back in January 2011, feeling a sense of passion and focus for whatever my life had in store. By the time my first show rolled around, it was far from the ‘actual show’ that mattered so much but rather the journey I was on to make it to that day.
2 years later and 4 shows under my belt, under the expert guidance of Cathy Savage and her team, I am so proud and humbled to be a part of this team coaching. The support, camaraderie, tools and wealth of knowledge the CSF staff shares made the competition a life changing experience.
Every single woman in that studio had a different story, different life, different upbringing and different path as to where they are today. We listened, we cried, we danced and we hugged (a lot of hugs!)
Two of my best friends, Ashley and Jenn, both work for and compete with CSF. We arrived Friday night around 6pm and got the studio to set up for the arrival of campers. The night flew by with the introduction of all the coaches, helpers and Cathy! The girls were a bit shy but this was expected as many of them had no idea what to expect, showing up by themselves, however with this said, they were all ready to dive head first into whatever this weekend had to offer!
The first DAY of camp, the girls were split up into groups. Workout in the main studio and in the other area, there were 1-1 assessments with Cathy and a talk on the different federations and choosing the ‘right suit’ Each part of the camp is a learning moment for the ladies to learn exactly what goes into competing. I remember feeling SO overwhelmed, yet by the end of the 3 days, I had never had more clear goals and felt more support getting there than I have in my life with anything! We are there to make contest prep a breeze! The last thing we want to do is for these women to stress about anything whether that be tanning, nutrition, workouts, federations or suit choice. We are there to answer questions and de-mystify any rumors or myths that some may have about competing.
Here we are in action during one of the workouts!
Lots of posing practice!
It seems silly to teach a group of women how to walk in heels, but when it comes to getting on stage, there is an art to the posing, ease and ability to walk in those heels. Just like any sport, this is a huge area that we focus on and practice practice practice.
This is me and two of my girls (I take notes from them, seeing as posing is not my strongest area) These two ladies have the most incredible stage presence!
Around 4pm, we called it quits for a few hours and retreated back to the studio around 6:00pm for a Savage style party. We were dressed in PJs, loaded up on the food that was served and got down on the dancefloor!
I did get the chance to do a fun, brief photoshoot! Jason Halbert is the official CSF photographer and he does amazing work! I had my shoot right before the dance party began. Jason is at every show, camp and CSF gathering. I have worked with him for the past year and a half and have nothing but amazing things to say about shooting with him! This was somewhat of a last minute shoot since I had found out a few days before that all of the coaches are getting some complimentary shooting time with him. Of course I wanted to take advantage so I threw on some ‘fitness wear’ make up and spent more than 10 minutes on my hair. This was certainly more of a carefree and plesant in that I wasn’t so distracted as I have been in the past because my shoots have usually been before or after a show. I went with the flow and just had fun! I decided to throw on some leg warmers and do some Jane Fonda poses 🙂
One of the most important aspects of camp are the nutriton lectures. These women all have a passion for fitness first and foremost. Every one of them joins CSF because they have a goal, vision and dreams of maybe one day competeing and they already have that deep seeded passion for health, fitness and kicking butt in the gym! What some of them may not realize is how important nutrition is. Fueling the body for the physique athlete is way different than fueling for any other sport. We want to build muscle and support that muscle with wholesome foods rich in nutrients. As (my coach)Kim says “Variety is the spice of life!”
There is no such thing as ‘dieting for a show’ Our goal as coaches is to feed feed feed the body and muscles as much as possible until the day before the show. Why take foods away when there is NO need to? The most common problem I have seen when girls try to ‘diet’ for a show is that they self diagnose. They start excluding food groups such as dairy and grains when in reality they have no reasoning behind it. With the help of the Savage coaches, our goal is to ease these ladies into their show. Cathy calls it ‘sliding into the show’ Feed feed feed! The real work starts happening post show. The above picture is a demonstration about the downfalls of post show. It is such a well done, comical skit that really does get the point across about how important it is to keep the body balanced!
When I see people who are feeding themselves ‘protein frosting’ and ‘low carb tortillas with fat free cheese’ saying this is fuel…not to mention these same people are spending endless time in the gym performing 60+ minutes of aerobic exercise. The human body is slowly breaking down. When did respecting our bodies take a backseat?
Food is meant to be seen as tasty, delicious fuel. It helps our bodies recover and fuels our hectic workday, amazing workouts and great nights sleep. The idea of ingesting 80% chemical laden food and preaching about HEALTH seems like such an oxymoron, I can’t help but turn away. It is so hard to read when these same people are preaching about ‘healthy living’ All I think about are the young females and males in their college dorms, in High School, trying to ‘lose weight’ so they turn to heathy living blogs and see these food and exercise habits, getting ideas and mimicking them
Here are some of my favorite posts that have really helped clients of mine and readers alike
SMILE!
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Speaking of delicious food and wholesome nutrition, I have a recipe to share with you!
Speaking of delicious food and wholesome nutrition, I have a recipe to share with you!
Burkey (Beef and turkey) Meatballs
**these are so simple to make. They take about 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook. Quick, tasty, clean protein source. I eat them a variety of ways; on salads, on whole grain pasta, paired with veggies. Get creative!
Ingredients:
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 lb lean ground turkey breast
- 2 tsp chili pepper
- 3/4 C frozen spinach
- 1 T nutritional yeast
- 2 T dijon mustard
- 2 T fresh basil (can use dried but I LOVE fresh basil!)
- 1 T oregano
Method
- Place meat in a large bowl.
- Add in seasonings, spinach, mustard, salt and pepper
- Mix well until the all of the ingredients are evenly distributed
- Form into 1-1 1/2 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes (flip halfway)
I served my meatballs over speghetti squash with roasted brussels sprouts! I drizzled some walnut on top of the bowl for some added good fat and called it dinner!
ENJOY IT!
What is your favorite way to use ground beef or turkey?
