#I love giving him a powerlifter build

[helv-ete]

Germany doodles I did a while ago

[braindead94]

Little blue lady and the big black cat 18+

Werecat!Andres x Cop!Reader

Happy Spooky Month! Today is werecat Andres Galan for Spooky month and it's a frisky night tonight! Hope Ya'll enjoy!

TW: Gun Violence, blood, Magic, magical violence, Minors DNI, reader is a cop, horrible spanish spelling (on my part)

A happy sigh left your smiling lips as you sat back in your seat. The patrol today turned out to be a nice one, even if it was in LA. Nothing wrong living here, but as a cop… well, the media just loves to bash on the boys in blue and the public has a thing or two to add to that.

You looked at the moving imagery of the people and buildings outside of your moving vehicle, your partner bobbing his head in the tune of the song from the radio.

You and Buddy just diddly bop by some neighborhoods, met up with some kids playing basketball (and shot some hoops with them), met up with some friendly veterans who (kinda) took over a bench overlooking a playground, and help a man moving his stuff out of his ex apartment (mostly to make sure she wouldn’t make any false accusations on him, the poor man has been through enough already).

Then got a noise complaint from a part that was being too loud with raunchy music that turned out to be a Quinseanera party for a lovely 15 year old girl who invited almost everyone in her neighborhood (except for that one lady, which you two quickly learned why, cranky old bitch). The parents were super nice enough to give you two some delicious pastries and some soft tacos for the road.

“Feeling good?” Asked Buddy as he glanced around with an aloof attitude. “Feeling full. Man, that family is super chill and are great cooks. I’m kinda tempted to just patrol past their streets again if they are handing out some free food again.” He laughed as he said “Well, I asked around the family and they are the proud owners of a family restaurant that has been here for a long time.” “Pleeeaase tell me you got the restaurant's name?” He gave you a smirk with a nod, earning himself a high-five from you before continuing on to keep a look out at the streets.

You glanced outside too as you sat straighter, just to be safe. This part of the city was not the safest to be around, even for the police. Normally, those activities involve some gang violence, something about stepping onto their turf or some bullshit that these punks got into their heads. Lately though, it has gotten worse. Now the little gangs are disappearing as the bigger threat, the bigger fish that eat the little fish, wipe them all with very little effort. 

Now there are signs of drug dealings, mini fight clubs and even sex trafficking; and the people are starting to get affected by them. Weirdly enough, some of the markings on the victim's body had animal marks, so your lab concluded that they have been using animals to kill them off. Really big cats.

Though it is becoming clear (or allegedly) that the main gang belonged to the notorious leader, Andres Galan, or as many mexican folks would call him “El Gran Leon”. Based on what pictures you've seen of him (which you admit that he is very attractive, but that was your secret to keep), from news blogs and from the evidence room, he does resemble a little bit like a lion. Or somewhat a regal feline animal. Or just a fat cat.

How he evaded their countless times of arrests, you never know. Only relying on one rumor that when the first, and only, guy to slap handcuffs on him, Galan snapped his body in two. Looking back at the mob boss, you doubt that he has the strength to pick up even a tall child above his head unless he was a secret powerlifter.

Regardless, he was still dangerous and had a warrant on him for years before you joined the police force. You and Buddy kept silent as you dove on peacefully when you came upon a secret strip club that was closed this time of night.

“Hey, what’s that?” Looking up, you saw what he was pointing at.

A black fancy looking car parked inside of a dark alleyway, and just stepping out was the man in question was none other than Andres Galan followed by one burly man. The Mexican boss walked up and into a hidden door with a stripper logo, turned off, and the man stood beside the door with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Buddy stopped right there, both of you staring at this bizarre chance of an opportunity before you looked at each other in a comical fashion. Quickly, he parked it close to the sidewalk (almost on top of it) as you called it into the station.

The reception turned out to be bad, you furrowed your eyebrows at the not fun coincidence of it all before Buddy ready his gun at your side. “I’m not getting a clear call from them. We shouldn’t go in if this gets out of hand.” 

“No, this man has somehow evaded our arrests and has gotten a lot of good people hurt and killed. He needs to be taken down now.” You sighed as he jumped out and moved quietly to the brick wall of the building while rechecking if you have all of your gear in your belt. You followed suit, also drawing your gun out.

He peeked around the corner, and you stood stiff, ready for anything. Your partner motioned ‘lets go’ and you followed closely behind him. The muscular man was whistling a tune when he cocked his gun at him. “Put your hands behind your head, and don't make any sudden moves.” The man just looked down at him, seemingly unbothered but slowly complied. 

You trained your gun on him while Buddy took out the cuffs with ease and tightened the metal bands on him. “Y/n, you go in and scope out the place. See if you can find Galan and stop him from whatever he’s doing.”

“You two are making a big mistake. You might want to skip out on making arrests tonight.” Said the man with a shaved head with a smirk that was held in a secret. Your eyebrows furrowed down at his words, your gut bubbling with worry. ‘How is he this calm?’ You wondered. “The biggest mistake I’ve made today was eating too many soft tacos. Now, I’m going to read you your rights and you are going to follow my every order. Understand?” Buddy commanded in his deadpan voice that demanded attention.

The man smirk then showed his teeth, his tongue sticking out to lick the crooked canines. “Of course, officer. Anything you say.” He said with a hot and eager voice. An uncomfortable tingle slithered up your spine when you heard his voice as you entered the club.

It was a lot smaller than the other strip clubs you’ve seen, but a hella nicer than others. More fancy with plush furniture, blackened marble tables and an elegant stage with poles erected from the floor to the ceiling. Even the air didn’t smell like sex or drugs, it smelled like… flowery spices or something warm. It almost made you want to take off your bulletproof vest, but you ignore it. The whole establishment showed wealth and the guise of a gentleman's club, and luckily has no patrons.

But no Andres, however there was a short, curvy woman who stood frozen near a closed door. She looked tired, frightened with some of her make-up still caked on her sudden face and a blue, fluffy robe clutched around her body. Her golden curls rain down on her shoulders beautifully, covering her ears as well. She stared at you, her body shaking like a leaves on a tree in the wind. 

You immediately lowered your gun and made yourself look friendly but kept your distance. Just in case. “Hey hun, I’m sorry for startling you. But I’m here for Andres Galan, do you know where he is?” The woman only stares back at you. Her eyes almost threw you off, they were the brightest color of purple you’ve ever seen. Not humanly possible, but you pushed it aside as contacts.

“A-are you going to arrest him?” her voice was shaken, her body swaying towards the door. You nodded as you explained “Yes, he has an arrest on him for a while and needs to be taken in for his crimes. I understand you have a job to do, ma’am, but there are better clubs that have better and kinder bosses and staff without having to entertain crime lords like him.”

She frowned, making her face look unpleasant and sour. There was a slight buzzing sound coming from her and her robe moved a bit. “My boss treats me and the girls just right. I don’t need anyone else, or any other places!” You apologize, trying to keep her calm with a lower and softer tone with her. 

“Just-please, ma’am. I need to find him and take him in. He has done a lot of harm and had people killed. He has traffic drugs, sex traffic and that’s only the scratch on top of the iceberg. You don’t have to go anywhere, but you need to leave tonight.” She paused, the windows of her eyes showing you a great debate in her mind. 

 “So, you’re going in and just… arrest him in handcuffs? Just like that?” You frowned, puzzled at her how sudden her voice became stronger. The way she's looking at you with unknown hatred and distrust, it didn’t sit right with you. ‘What type of question is that?’ “Yes, I will. I don’t want you to get hurt, so I need you to go somewhere safe.” ‘Shit, is she loyal to him? Perhaps he’s her favorite customer-’ She cut off your thinking process as she pointed at the door she was near. Her eyes clear with a decision made, but also with her body slumped in relief.

“He’s in there, waiting for me. Good luck tying him down, sweetie.” She said with a mockingly sweet tone before she walked off fast on her high heels. Your eyes just followed her as she sauntered away into a staff only door, taken aback of her change of attitude. ‘What is her problem? Should I get this place looked into?’ 

You refocused to the door and schooled your face to remain neutral, cocking your gun at the ready, finger off the trigger and your body stiff with anticipation. ‘Deep breath, in…and out…. okay.’ 

You barged in, no knocking or any warning and came face to face with Andres, the big so-called ‘lion’. Still wearing his gray suit and his cream shirt still buttoned up standing near a desk with a notebook and pencil. The room was dark like the outside, but had pink furniture, the bed with see-through curtains, a cozy chair and the desk he was at. 

Andres turned sharply; his dark eyes boring into yours as you raised the gun at him as his wavy dark with silver hair swept away in the air. Your eyes quickly darted around the room and saw that he was the only one inside.

“Andres Galan, you have a warrant for your arrest. You have the right to remain silent as I read you your rights. Failing to comply will result in physical harm.” You gave him the same command that Buddy did to the first man as you stood firm, followed up with his rights being told to him.

The tall, portly (and hot, holy fuck! Why is he this good looking?) man just raised a thick eyebrow at you, smiling through his mustache and stubble beard as if he heard a good joke. Nodding his head while gesturing at your uniform, he starts talking in a baritone voice. “I see you girls have amped up your costumes. Gun looks real too-” 

He stopped as he sniffed the air, then frowned. His nose sniffed again as his big eyes looked at your tool of weapon in your still hands, then to your name tag on your heavy vest. You ignored his comment and stalked closer to him. “I will not repeat myself; put your hands behind you.”

Andris placed his notebook on the desk with a “Ah, I see. I don’t suppose I could buy your silence of seeing me tonight?” Your scowling face told him off. “Well then,” Then the Latino held his hands in front of him, his smile returning, but with a dark twist in his lips and a hunger in his dark eyes. “Take me away, Officer Y/n. I’m all yours.” 

That same feeling from the first guy returned, but much stronger when you cuffed Galan's hands from behind. Once the taller man was secured, you radio Buddy on your walkie talkie with a firm hand on the mob boss jacket. Probably the closest you’ll ever feel actual expensive silk for a while. “Officer Bently, do you copy?”

Static was your reply, and the feeling grew as the milliseconds ticked by. “Officer Bently, do you copy?” You asked again but didn’t get anything but static again. “Shit.” You muttered as you made Galan sit down on the pink armchair, acting along with your directions. “Anything wrong, Senora Y/n?” You turned to look at him, sitting back and relaxed (as relaxed as one could with both hands cuffed behind his back) and looking up at you, like a cat looking innocently after knocking something off the table.

You glanced at him to stay silent, then almost froze how his gaze looked. His handsome, plumb face, his dark eyes, that damn smile just oozes mischievous.

Something isn’t right.

“Bently, I need you to answer me now.” Your voice was harsher with begging, worry laced in with your tone. It was only that one guy that Andris was with, right? Was there more in the car? Static filled in the blanks until it was cut off by Buddys voice, which sounded frantic as he shouted “Y/N! You need to get out!”

 Your hand reached for your gun as you moved to the door. “Bently! Talk to me-” But your radio was cut off too short, leaving you standing near the door with your hand on your holster. Your heart beating fast, the all too familiar feeling of fear coursed through your veins along with powerlessness.

You hated that feeling.

Taking out your phone turned out to have the same results, no reception and no chance of calling backup. “Looks like you need to get your phone plan rechecked, Senorita Cerda.” Your back straightens out as you turn around with your blood heated that shoves aside the uncomfortable feeling. “Despite what I look like, I actually know how to speak Spanish. So lay off the insults and maybe your ride to jail won't be in broken arms, anciano.” 

He just let out a laugh, still relaxed even after your threat, and that made your anger grow more. However, now was not the time to get mad and Buddy needed help. But you can’t leave Andries alone.

You spotted the pink phone and made for it, ready to dial 911. Just as you were finished dialing it in, you looked at your suspect and froze.

He was still looking at you with those damn, hooded eyes and that smirk on his plump face. Still sitting with his hands folded in his lap, watching your every move-

…….His hands were supposed to be cuffed behind his back.

You stormed in front of him as you grabbed the second handcuffs. “Nice magic trick, gatito, but the next time you pull that again, you’ll come in with broken wrists.” You said, just before he grabbed your hand in a tight hold. “Ah, so you have heard of me. This will make this much more interesting.” He said with his Spanish accent before he pushed you away.

You almost flew back to the wall, nearly stumbling with surprise just how strong he is, he didn’t even look like he used his whole strength to do that. ‘He’s just bigger and taller than you. Not like you have arrested anyone his size before.’ You think as your hands reach for your gun holster, but you froze again when you look, REALLY look at him.

The tall man slowly stood up, almost taller than you first saw him and started walking towards you slowly. You eyed his suit, how it clings to him as if it was too small for him. How the buttons on his shirt was straining against his chest (Holy FUCK does it detail his pecs nicely). His pants were straining against his hips and-

You avoided looking down.

This isn’t right. His clothes fit him when you first saw him. How did it change? You looked back at him and he almost chuckled at your questioning look. “Worried about my attire? There’s no need to be, I have plenty of others back home.” He said with a deep rumble in his voice.

“Stay back, or I will open fire.” You threaten as you draw your weapon. He stopped but didn’t back up, just eyes at your gun again and sighed in a tired tone while smoothing his hair back with his eyes closed. Like he was disappointed. “Y/n, it would be wise of you to not draw your weapons at me. You’ll end up getting harmed.”

His eyes opened back on you and a shiver jolted up your spin.

Andres' eyes changed into feline pupils, with glowing bright green eyes and black surrounding the green instead of whites. There was a sound of a button snapping off his shirt. You looked and saw his chest wider than before with dark hair growing on his skin. The sleeves ripping, bulging with muscles, controuting longer as well as his legs. He walked up to you again, like a cat stalking a prey.

Or like a lion.

Snapping out of your stupor stare, you aimed your gun at him, but his large hand, much larger now, grabbed hold of it. You shrek as you manage to withdraw your hand in time, and watch with growing horror as his fingers bend the metal. The magazine was dropped to the ground first before the end was bent out of shape. You saw with fear as his nails grew longer, sharper and darker.

Looking back at him, you backed away when you saw how his face changed too. Shit, you had to tilt your head back, for he grew taller again. More angler with black hair-no, fur sprouted on his skin. His hair grew too, darker that framed around his head and shoulders, like a mane. Andres smiled that only a cat could make, and his teeth looked SHARP.

“Well, what would you do now, mi Querido cerdito? You were speaking so boldly, so fierce,” He said, his voice deeper, rougher like gravel in honey. Your back hit the wall and your hands palmed at it like a lifeline, pushing at it if it could part open for you to escape. “But now you are so silent. What's wrong, cat got your tongue?” He chuckled, his laugh rumbled in his chest, which was still growing out of his suit.

He finally stood in front of you, laing a hand on the wall next to your head. You could hear how his bones are changing into something else, something monstrous. Still changing and not yet done!

A claw grazed under your chin, and you shivered as it trailed up and down your throat. His eyes never left yours, boring into yours with fiery intent; so much of a primal lust that no man or woman could make. “What pretty eyes you have there, with such lovely lips to match. I can’t wait to hear you squeal.” Your heart stilled that second.

Your hands immediately shot to your taser with practice ease and you shot him in the stomach. The taller man-creature, snarl in pain and stumbles back, giving you a wider area to escape.

You dashed out of the room and straight for the door, going past your record speed. Grasping at the door handle, you twisted it but it wouldn’t budge. 

Panic mixed in with fear as you tried to twist it again, only to pull at it, then kicking the door in hopes for any results. But the accursed metal door didn’t budge.

You hear more growling from the room along with more ripping and snapping. Sounds unnatural that only a horror movie could depict Something in your mind warning you that he was almost done, soon he’s ready to get out and hunt for you.

Looking around and spotting a few other doors, you dashed to one farthest away from where Andres was and went inside, closing and locking it. Looking around, you noted it was the same built as it is in the first one and you set out to barricade the door with the desk.

Then backed up with pepper spray in your trembling hand and in the other, your phone. You tried calling your captain. Nothing, just static. Then to your chief. More static. Sweat was trickling down your skin as you looked through your contacts for help until you heard heavy footsteps outside the room.

‘Fuck…. He’s out.’ You looked at the pink door, praying that Andres wouldn’t look for you. That he grew bored of you and went after… oh God, you couldn’t dream of having him hunting down another soul. Fuck! Is that what happened to Buddy?!

You were about to try another contact, another life line that hopefully would rescue you from this nightmare-

A long, hard scratch was made outside of your door.

You stood still, holding your phone. Looking at the door.

“Little pig, little pig, let me in.” Came a dark, husker voice with the crime lord's voice from behind the door. You backed up again until the back of your knees hit the bed. In your haze of dismay, you dropped your phone and almost along with your spray too. ‘This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening-’ You repeated in your head, tears starting to flow down your cheeks.

“If you come out now, I promise I won't harm a single hair on your little chin.” He said with a mocking, sweet tone that only made his voice sound more terrifying. You did nothing. “I can hear your heartbeat, Y/n.” There was another scratch on the door. It bends under the pressure, followed by a low growl. “It sounds sweet, like a bird confined in a cage. I can smell the fear in your blood, it smells so heavenly. There is no way out for you, and no cell to call from. It will only get worse if you continue to defy me. Open the door and let me in, bonito cobre.”

It took everything to yelled-no, screamed “FUCK OFF!!!” at the door. Following behind that was a low growl mixed with a elation laugh, as if he was dared for a challenge. “Then I’ll crush this door down,” The door bent again, but more closely to a breaking point. “And I’ll catch you,” He growled again, but much more deeper. More husker. And much more deadly, ready to create malignant destruction. “And I’ll make you beg for your life, little cerdita.”

You didn’t say anything, you didn’t dare move.

The door splintered as black claws punctured into it and ripped it away. In a blind panic kicked in with muscle memory of escape from your training, you dashed and slid on the floor under a dark mass that almost blocked your way like a baseball player. You stumbled up and turned to see your attacker, then completely fell down in horror.

The hulking thing-fuck, no…. a cat-lion-werelion, turned around to face you. God he was fucking TALLER then the last time you saw him. His whole body was wide as he was tall, with muscles covered in black fur, a tail swished gently behind him as his hinds legs moved towards you. You looked up, up, up at him and almost stopped moving.

His face, now very much like a lion, was grinning. Some gray fur was sprouting from his fluffy chin and around his cheeks and ears. Even his mane had some silver in it too. And his green eyes……. They bore into your frightened eyes, piercing like a dagger into a flying fish.

He growled in amusement as he knelt down on all fours, stalking you closer until he was nearly close to your trembling body. Like a lion stalking its prey, with his tail swaying behind him. “Well, what now, copper? Do you still want to try to cuff me again, or are you ready to lay down and be a good, little pig.”  

You glanced around the wide room, looking for anything in desperation for-wait! The staff room! A possible escape!

You shot your arm out and dosed his nose with the pepper. He hissed like an injured cat pricking its claw on a cactus and you sprinted to it, practically throwing your body against the door. You tried to turn the knob but it wouldn’t budge. You swore as you screamed for help, calling for the dancer whom you saw.

A muffled voice called out from behind the wooden door. “Just give up, bitch! It will be sooooo much easier to let him have at it, TRUST me. Make sure you use lots of lube!” “Please! He’s going to kill me!” “Ehhh, wouldn’t be the first time he spilt blood like this. Probably the main reason why he always asks for fairies to do him off. We are more capable of handling that fucking meat he’s packing.”

‘Fairies?!’ You think in that frantic state before giving up and throwing your body against the door again and again. There were some shouts of ‘Stop it’ and ‘We just paid off the paint in this joint!’ until a big hand slammed against your back, shoving your body against the door.

Before you could do anything, his face appeared on your shoulder with a bite that nearly pierced through your vest. You screamed loudly when you felt his teeth almost tearing into your skin. The hand, fuck-it was wider then your back, pushed your body harder onto the wood as his mighty jaws slowly clinch onto your shoulder harder, but never completed his bite. You cried as you begged him to stop while your hands tried to reach behind you.

Andres released your shoulder, leaving a bit of drool on your bulletproof vest (holy crap, his teeth can rip into it!) and shirt before he nosed into your hair. Smelling it before he whispered into your ear with a rumble in his voice, his body rumbled as he spoke. “Now, here’s what is going to happen, querida. If you continue to fight against me, I will not be kind.” 

You felt claws digging into your sides, nearly breaking your skin. “I will fuck your brains out with no regard for your wellbeing. You’ll be found in a dumpster, unrecognizable, all torn to pieces like a used sex doll. Or,” The werelion licked at the bite while the claws eased up on your sides. “If you comply, if you let me have you for tonight, I’ll be gentle.”

Your tears flowed down your cheeks as you blinked your eyes shut. Only to open them when his nose nuzzled into your face. “I can make you feel good, make it worth your while. You must be tired from your hazardise job, I can ease your tension. Then I’ll let you live on to protect those poor civilians you work so hard to protect. I’ll even tell Elvio to ease up on your partner.” You became *painfully* aware just how fucked you are, caged in by him. Your face was shoved against the wall, how you could FEEL him slouching over you, like a hulking wall of muscel and fur.

“Maybe I could even make you cum harder than anyone else has ever had, stuffed your little cunt until it overflows over my cock.” ‘ Oh Jesus have mercy.’ You think as your face turns red, trying to ignore how his voice with his stupid, hot spanish accent, what his promise made your insides feel. 

Maybe…… maybe you could survive this. Just for one night. Just…fuck the monster and hopefully he keeps his word and lets you and Buddy live.

You let out a whimper, trying to convey words into sentences. “O-o-okay-” His huge, furry head leaned against yours as his hand pressed harder again. “Hmm? Please speak up, darling. I didn’t quite catch that.” He asked with mockery in his deep voice and a smirk on his lips before it kissed your cheek.

You gasped in as much air as you could and shouted “Okay! Just-Please call him off Bently and-GAH!” You screamed as he backed up and flipped you on your back to the wall.

“All in good time, pequeno cerdo. But first, lets us get rid of this infernal vest of yours.” With only the tip of his claws and with one hand still around your neck, tore through your bulletproof vest. Your armor, your only shield becomes shredded like aluminum while ruining your shirt and bra. You shrek as your arms went to stop him in vain but Andres just held your hands and raised them over your head.

His dark eyes, the green just glowing with lust as he stared down at your breasts, how it moves when you're gasping for air, the slight plump of your stomach that almost overtook your abs, and how the muscles of your arms bulge out to break free. He saw a few fading bruises and little scars all over your body, reminding him of how dangerous your job really is besides patrolling the city and eating donuts.

Just look at you, your tear-stained face that still showed teeth at him, your wide eyes never leaving his own or his body. Full of fear, God, such delightful fear, but inside that fright sight of yours was a need. To protect your partner? Most likely. The need to take him down for his crimes? Absolutely. To fuck him? No, not possible what you really wanted.

He couldn’t lie to himself; you are just another cop just doing your job to protect these people like him and he had or shouldn’t be having these feelings for good cops. Yet, a hidden part of him just wanted to hold you in his clawed hands and never let you go, but that would compilated things later on. In fact, he should kill you off and let a corrupt cop take your place. That’s what a crime lord would do.

But he isn’t like most petty criminals, no. He’s a powerful one. A monster hidden among Humans.

Well, this monster is just drooling at how appetizingly helpless you look in his hands.

His nose nuzzles between your breasts, smelling your sweat. If you had the power to phase through walls, you would have done so to get away from his face so close to you. “Oh Y/n,” His voice purrs as he licks his way up to your neck. You cringe at the rough sandpaper like texture scraping up your skin-shit, you can’t ignore how good it feels. “I’m going to completely ruin you forever.” His face nuzzles into your neck, smelling the bite he left on your skin. “Tonight, I’ll make you mine.”

Those words should not have turned you on as it should. “G-g-great, but about my part-” You were cut off again with a yelp as he picked you up (with ONE HAND) and you were hugged against his soft, furry chest. The feeling of his padded fingers on your butt was the only warning you’ve got before he tore apart your pants and shoes too. Not even the underwear was spared.

You blinked as you're now naked in the arms of a tall werelion, who is a criminal boss in a stripper club. With a possibility to die by him, if he decided to go back on his word. You sent a silent prayer in hopes for survival as you gripped onto tufts of his fur (shit, they are super soft).

A clawed hand held you closer to his chest and you heard him purr again as you felt him moving. You glanced up and your blood turned cold when you saw him looking down at you with hunger in his eyes. “Now, let's retire and fulfill that deal, estimada cobre.”

[practically-an-x-man]

Ophelia + hobbies?

Thank you so much!!

She doesn't actually have that many hobbies!

Mainly, she just likes to tinker - her work projects are different from her personal projects, but it's what she loves to do either way

She has toyed around with a few other creative hobbies, but they just don't strike that problem-solving part of her brain. Things like jigsaw puzzles and Rubik's cubes are too closed-solution to be entertaining to her, and while she loves seeing a project come together, creative projects like cross-stitch or felting just don't seem useful in the way that she likes

Her other main hobby is powerlifting - partially so she can stay strong and fit for hero work, but she also just loves working up a good sweat

^ When she's really stuck in the lab, like really stuck, she'll sometimes head down to the gym and do an absolutely brutal workout. Then she comes home, takes a shower, maybe lays down for half an hour, and usually by the time she's up the problem has dislodged a little

After she's in recovery for her knee and can't be as active as she normally is (and admittedly was going a little stir-crazy), I could see Peter introducing her to a few video games

^ She'd grown up playing games with Harry on his NES, so she's familiar with those already. They're really nostalgic to her, especially the two-player games like Dr. Mario, Contra, Bubble Bobble, etc.

^^ I could see Peter finding one on Amazon or eBay and getting it hooked up for her, and they'll play together on those healing days too

^^^ And, of course, Minecraft. She'd played it a little back when it first came out and it never really stuck, but now that there have been so many updates, there's actually a lot to occupy her

^^ She loves building those elaborate redstone contraptions, and once even figured out how to create a stop-motion animation, in-world, powered entirely by redstone and a few command blocks

^ She also enjoys other puzzle-style games too, though she tends to breeze through them fairly quickly. She's very good at logic and pattern recognition, it's hard to stump her

If it weren't for her knee, she'd probably have asked Peter to teach her how to skateboard. Having someone teach her about things they're passionate about is basically a love language for her

^ Even though she can't get on the board herself, she loves hearing him show off and try to explain some of his tricks.

^^ She has tried to design a skateboard or similar vehicle that she could use with her bad knee, but hasn't quite worked out the mechanics of it yet. The closest she's come is a board with a pedal on the back, a bit like the brake on the back of a scooter, so she can pump the pedal rather than pushing herself off the ground (less force/pressure on her bad knee). She's also debated using a crutch to push off the ground rather then her foot, which works reasonably well

^^^ She doubts she'll ever really be able to come up with a perfect solution, there are some activities that just can't be fully adapted, but trying to solve it is just as entertaining and engaging as the solution itself

[noob-serotonin-gainz]

Of course, right after starting an accountability blog, I get a nasty cold that wiped me out. And unfortunately I'm still not 100%. I might try to do a light workout later, but as decorating for Christmas about did me in and my mum and grandmother had to finish for me, I'm not keen on pushing it too much.

If I do, I will post it no matter how small, but, in the meantime, I figured I'd give a list of people that have inspired me in my workout/fitness journey and links to their content and such like that. I really struggled for a long time trying to find fitness people that are the typical fitness gurus that you readily find on youtube and instagram, etc. Or ones that talk about getting skinny, etc. My main goal with fitness has always been to gain muscle so I don't exactly vibe with perky people telling me how to lose weight in thirty days. I could care less about my hip dips and belly. I want to be able to bench press my boyfriend if I get bored enough to or (less sarcastically) do any work on the hobby farm I dream of starting someday without assistance.

So, without anymore rambling, here is a list of people I follow that give me inspiration to go for my fitness goals in the order that I locate them in my insta following list:

Tatum McCann (she/her) - @tatumtots37 on instagram and link here for youtube (I have not watched her youtube channel yet just her insta content, but I know not everyone is on there so i'll give yt links where I can).

Jordan Maron (he/him) - many of you probably grew up with CaptainSparklez! I've watched his content since before pffft I don't even remember. Well before Mianite at least and I was there when he started getting into fitness. He was definitely my earliest inspiration to get fit as he kept going past just getting in shape and going for healthy muscle mass as a hobby as much as for health itself. I will leave a link for his lifting channel but it is pretty much dead lol. But he does still occasionally post reels on his insta @jordanmaron.

Gordy Bravo (she/her) - @bravobuilt_fit on instagram. She does not have youtube channel that I am aware of. She does have her own website where she sells fitness programs, etc. Though I have never used it or even checked the website out cause I have authority issues. If people tell me what to do, it's very likely that I won't do it. Hence why I curate my own routine as I go. BUT her content on insta is fantastic. She's very charismatic and natural and it makes her content very approachable.

Lauren Pon (she/her) - If you love anime memes, video games, and want to get muscular, you need to follow her! She's hilarious and sweet and makes lifting (she's a powerlifter) so unintimidating. She's on Insta (@laurenpon), YouTube, and twitch! She's also on tiktok, but i'm not on there really and her linktree is not working. However, her @ is the same across the board so I assume it's the same on there.

Maya Davis (she/her) - More anime vibes, cosplay, and bodybuilder! Her insta is @mayatheamazon and that's the only platform she has as far as I'm aware of. She also has an Insta for her fashion tho. She's a fashion student and the fits are always on point!

Tabi (she/her) - Her bio says it best, Fitness and Anime! Her insta is @tabi.lift (tiktok is the @tabi.fit as is her backup insta) and she's on youtube. She also does cosplay.

Amber (she/her) - She's a weightlifter with more anime vibes and cosplay (are you sensing a theme here? I did not realize anime was the way to my muscle building heart until i started making this list xD). Her insta is @amberthevalkyrie. She's also a fitness model.

Serena Abweh (she/her, i think passed on a couple tags she's used, but if I'm wrong pls let me know!) - very meme-y powerlifter and artist! Her insta is @rena_serenaa. She also has a youtube channel.

Leigh Laurel (she/her) - Lots more bodybuilding, anime, and cosplay! Her instagram is @fitmissfilipina.

Patty aka LEAN BEEF (she/her) - if you're this far and you are aware with anything on that side of the internet, you already know who Patty is or atleast have seen her in fitness edits, etc. She is the person that I saw and went yep, that's it, we're fucking doing this! She's so badass and makes fitness so fucking approachable! I absolutely love her content! I watch her insta religiously and her youtube anytime i want to learn new techniques (especially with mobility training) or just relatable fitness content. And of course there's more anime and cosplay! xD She's also on twitch. Her insta is @leanbeefpatty and I'm pretty sure her tiktok is the same but her linktree is not working so don't quote me on that. (I will say that she has programs for food, working out, etc but again I have issues so I've never looked into them.)

That's all for now. I will update this list as I find more (or if I realize I missed any) as we go!

[onesinnerzerostandards]

I'm so glad to see other artists who make big Red, big big Red is so underated!

* thanks, man! i really like drawing red, he’s like, one of my fave skeletons. :3 for giving him love, lemme show you a couple ways i like to draw him! :) * first is his default-- smol gremlin that is still bigger than tale!sans by half a head or so. i especially love drawing his fur collar and have been experimenting w jacket designs.  * second is a mafia version, bc half of my followers are literally parched for this man. he never really appears in fullbody form, but it was really fun figuring out his clothing and overall build-- he’s top-heavy like ‘bara alternate’ form red, but his gut is more in line w a powerlifter build, with thicker arms to suggest that this man can benchpress a schoolbus and not break a sweat.  * last is basically default red, but supersized. he’s still bulky, but i gave him a bigger gut and lessened the damage to his face. he’s still got the gold tooth, but no cracks like mafia!red. gives him a softer look, i think, but i might change this. 

[sortavibing]

hi ! that’s my matchup request. i hope you don’t mind that i sent it in screenshots! it’s a lot to type lol ! i hope you’re having a good day :) i’m very excited to see who you match me with ! :)

hello! thanks for requesting! i love angels of death as well (zach is the best character ever prove me wrong), and whenever i listen to cancer by mcr, i think of the in another life bokuaka fic- pain i tell you. anyways, here’s your matchup!

generating matchup...

matchup: complete

i match you up with ushijima!

ushijima has pretty bad social skills as well, so you guys kinda gravitated towards each other, because both of you guys thought that the other was pretty chill and would be easy to talk to, and you guys were right. ushijima really enjoyed being your friend, and he asked you out a few months later (with a lot of hyping up from tendou).

the first time he went to your house, he saw the squishmallows and he lowkey was in love with them. once he went home he bought one (blake the bear), and he showed it to you the next time you guys were together. you guys now have a little tradition where you get them for each other, and ushijima how has a collection that is growing every month.

one date he planned was making one of those cute holding hand candles that are all over tik tok, and the first time you guys tried it it turned out really bad, and the next try you guys forgot to put in the candle wiks, and then the 3rd try you and ushijima got it. he was lowkey proud, and offered to take the 2 failed attempts. he still has the second one in his room displayed next to his squishmallows.

if you are ever having trouble standing up for yourself, he will immediately be there to stand up for you. he hates when you get used because you just want to help someone out, so he will always be sure to be there and emotionally wreck anyone who tries to be mean. he doesn’t even have to insult people, he is just so blunt, that when he just points out a simple flaw, it lowkey hurts more than an insult can, so people back off.

every few weeks, you guys binge an anime together in like one night, and the entire time, ushijima is making sort of stupid comments about the characters and plot, and you will have to explain almost everything to him, because he doesn’t really get the deeper meanings of some of the lines or plot devices, but it’s cute so you will explain it to him.

he loves to listen to you sing, and sometimes he will secretly take a video of it to listen to it whenever he is missing you. he also made a playlist of all your favorite songs, so you guys can have a chaotic karaoke night, while blasting everything that you love to sing. if you ask him to join in, he will, but he will sing pretty quietly, because he would rather listen to you.

if you guys ever watch a scary movie, he will have a straight face the entire time, like- even with all the jump scares, he will not flinch at all, and you are wondering how the fuck is he not scared at least a little bit. you ask him, and he just says “they are in the screen. how can i be scared?”, and you try to tell him that it’s still scary, but he takes no criticism on the topic.

he is amazed that you are able to powerlift, and he will often work out with you to help build his strength as well. when you introduced him to your team, he was lowkey nervous because he wanted the people close to you to like him, so he was even more serious than usual, but after a few minutes, he warmed up to them, and now he’s pretty good friends with all of them.

he really likes your dog, so whenever he comes over to your house, he will always give a little treat to your dog and lots of head pats. you are starting to suspect that your dog likes ushijima a little more than they like you, but you won’t mention it, because ushijima always gets lowkey excited when he gets to play with your dog.

overall, you guys are so cute, and you get to see a sort of soft side of ushijima that not many people have seen. you guys are pretty chill, and though he isn’t very good at showing it, he truly cares about you and he will do everything he can to make you happy, and enjoy your relationship with him.

i hope you enjoyed!

[ofdaeseong]

𝚒𝚖  𝚍𝚊𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚐:  𝚝𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝟶𝟶𝟷

GENERAL INFO

full name: im daeseong nickname(s): dae, ‘d.i’, english name: damian gender & pronouns: cismale, he/him sexual & romantic orientation: bisexual, biromantic age & dob: 25, 14th of july, 93. birthplace/hometown: daegu, yeongnam, south korea parents/siblings: im taehyung (father) jung seonyoung (mother) im daeun (younger sister) pet(s): n/a astrological sign: cancer dominant hand: ambidextrous, prefers to use his left handwriting style: tbh his handwriting is pretty bad lol if he wants to make it readable, he has to rlly take his time with it. him writing in english is far easier to read. language(s) known/spoken: korean, english, spanish (all fluently), bits and pieces of french and japanese religion: catholic current living arrangements: lives alone in an apartment occupation/major: works as a personal trainer

PHYSICAL

picture reference: (x) blood type: b nationality: korean skin tone/color: he’s definitely darker than most koreans, so a mixture between light and medium !! birthmarks & scars: still has a scar on his stomach from when he got excess skin removed when he lost all his weight when he was 18 – its not very noticeable unless you’re truly searching for it. he has a few more scars left from childhood and the likes of having chicken pox as a kid. also has a cut in his eyebrow from a fight a few years ago. his birthmark can be found on his right thigh. height: 6′2′ build: fit, athletic, mesomorph hair color: currently black hair length: buzzcut eye color:  brown diet:  eats extremely healthy throughout the week and only gives himself a cheat day once every two weeks. his major at university was sports nutrition, so it’s something that he takes very seriously. exercise & level of fitness: daeseong exercises every single day and tries to work out two times a day. he does some cardio for like twenty minutes, but his main focus is on lifting weights, so he’s ultimately focusing on powerlifting when he’s at the gym, and is lifting wAY more than other guys at the gym ajsdhfd  he mostly sticks to compound weights: deadlift: 440 x 2, squat: 285 x 8, bench: 295 x 2. he’s constantly pushing himself and lifting more and more as he gets stronger… so… a strong boyyy how’s their posture ( or lack thereof )?: he has pretty good posture considering its something he reinforces often at the gym. typical style of dress: usually always in fitness wear because the gym is usually where he is. grey sweatpants??? his one true love – if not, he can always be found in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket body modifications: 4 piercings in his right ear, 3 in his left. two tattoos – and in the process of getting more!!

MANNERISMS

how does your muse walk?: his posture is pretty good and hes also tall so like,, he has to walk straight otherwise he knows it’ll look super weird lmao how does your muse talk?: his voice is pretty low tbh?? he’s pretty much more confident with english considering he’s spent longer in the states than in korea,, his voice gets even lower in korean and he prob sounds like he’s mumbling a lot bc of his low it is KSJDHSJA (x) what does their laugh sound like?: his laugh is so much louder than his voice in general lol he either sounds like he’s wheezing or like he’s CHUCKLING most of the time,, (x) lmao just watch bm teach somin english in the WORST WAY possible how does your muse typically smell?: he loves being covered in cologne pls he’s constantly showering bc of the gym, so he always feels the need to be covered in it what are their nervous ticks?: avoiding eye contact, biting his nails and playing with his sleeves (!!! this is the bIG one that he prob done ever since he was younger)

PSYCHOLOGY

what makes your muse happiest?: deadass being told he looks good KSJDFHDJ what upsets them the most?: if anyone upsets his little sister or his friends???? YALL BETTER WATCH OUT does your muse have any quirks?: he loves scented candles and has them everywhere in his apartment what are their hobbies? how frequent do/can they do them?: probably exercising, and he’s obsessed as i said before !! do they have any guilty pleasures?: he loves showering with cold water in the mornings,, mostly to wake him up or to sort out any issues JSJDHSJ is your muse an extrovert or an introvert? neither?: he’s definitely more of an introvert unless hes out drinking,, lmao if he’s hitting on someone??? he’s the most extroverted do they have high or low self-esteem? what about confidence?: his self-esteem is a lot higher than what it used to be, but its still pretty low what is your muses worst fear?: losing the people he loves, especially his sister and parents what is your muses biggest dream?: he wants to eventually move back to the states and live his life out there!! is your muse a morning person or a night dragon?: morning person for suuuure describe their sense of humor: think of like,, kyunghoon and his dirty and flirty mind,, that’s daeseong but he’s on another level bc of the american humour, rather than the korean,, he sometimes doesnt get korean humour and doesnt find it funny

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES

are they currently in any sexual or romantic relationships?: he’s currently hooking up with a few people what is their experience with relationships?: he hasn’t had one that’s lasted long enough than what he would like tbh?? he had been seeing myung ok ( @myvngok ) before he enlisted, but for the most part, that’s rlly all the experience he’s had – he’s definitely looking for someone who he can have that relationship with bc boy wants to settle down soon tbh how important is sex to your muse?: its honestly one of the few things that makes him super confident!! he thrives for praise and doing things right so if that’s voiced in anyway??? that makes him feel sO GOOD,, its part of the reason why he hooks up with people sm what are their biggest turn on and turn offs?: KISS 👏🏻 HIS 👏🏻 NECK !!!!! praise, lip biting, being dominant,, but imma turn this around and do things that aren’t hella sexual – he lives for affection, gentleness, also being a good driver??? hE LOVES THAT LMAO. turns off: being too self-centered, just being boring,,, he’s also not fond of aegyo but he doesnt hate it either lmao it has to come from the right person tbh does your muse find it easy to make friends?: he finds it pretty hard honestly, which is why he tends to keep to himself how important is friendship to them?: his friends are something that he holds close bc he doesnt always get to see his family,, they’re his second family, and people who love him sO hes happy quantity or quality of friends?: he wishes that he could say quantity but nah,, so quality !! how important is family?: the most important thing to him because he’s extremely close to them

FAVORITES

activity: watching netflix animal: giraffes,, bc he relates beverage: water color: black food: salmon mode of transportation: his motorcycle movie: goodfellas musical artist: anything rap tbh he’s That guy,, he’s hella into jay park tho scent: clean linen weather: rainy weather !!! vacation destination: bring his ass back to LA

ATTITUDES

greatest dream: be able to take care of his parents whenever they’ll need him greatest fear: losing the friends he’s made most at east when: he’s finished exercising biggest achievement: being healthier and completely changing himself most embarrassing moment: he has at least one embarrassing moment a day lmao biggest secret: he’s absolutely in love with jinae ( @hijinae ) and has been since he was a teenager !!! 

[enniewritesathing]

57 Facts

I was tagged by the lovely @pink-chevalier, thank you ❤❤

Let’s see if I got 57 facts in me, lol.

My car, Sheila, is a stick shift. I’ve been dirving stick since I was 19. My dad taught me and I got it down within a day. The hardest part is stopping/going on a hill.

My favorite color is blue, but I love the darker shades of blue. They speak to me. (And they also taste good no matter what it is).

I’m 30, but I look half my age. At least according to everybody. It’s a curse. And don’t give me that, “but that’s good~”. 

I won a Xbox One X from Taco Bell last year. I’m just as surprised as you are. I’m gonna try and see if I can win the white one this year, lol.

My Steam queue and game queue in general? It’s outrageous. 

I served in the military (Air Force). I fixed radio equipment and antennas. 

For almost 3 years because I have really bad shins.

I lived in Germany when I was 2months - 4 years old. I don’t remember any of it, but we have a lot of pictures.

I got kicked out of a major university marching band because I was frustrated with a lot of things and I may have made a F-bomb laced post. (And I talked to the higher ups about stuff but they didn’t listen/did nothing about it). Someone snitched on me; still don’t know who did it. This was back when FB was college-only.

I played the clarinet from 6th grade up until that point. Should have taken up saxophone if I’m gonna be honest.

And then like a semester later, I flunked out. 

When I make OCs, I put a lot of thought into them.

I had a tough love approach to making them, but I'm way gentler now. Mostly.

I tend to make them in pairs? Or eventually they end up being together, lol. I think one pair is married?? But they all tend to have old married couple traits, I think. They *clearly* love each other.

I would make them in TS4, but I forgot what they look like... 😟

I'm 5'0.

I powerlift! Which is *very* different from Olympic Weightlifting! And bodybuilding is completely unrelated to both!

I don't look the part though. Powerlifting brings all sorts of body types.

I've been competing in the 84kg weight class for 3 years, and counting.

I've won 1 1st place, and 3 2nd place medals.

My total right now is about 610lbs for all three lifts. I've got a ways to go to start competing on regionals/nationals.

I have a meet on Saturday and I'm super nervous about it, lol.

I'm single, not sure how to mingle, and at this point... kinda don't want to?

Never really been in a relationship; some times I'm alright with this other times I'm cursing the universe.

I'm demisexual, or, somewhere on the ace spectrum. Demi fits me the most currently. (What's up my fellow aces 🖐)

I'm not aro tho. Give me that romantic shit!!!

Didn't figure this out until I was a whole ass 25 years old, and I found out via here and my hella good friend! And it's been a goddamn ride.

Now that I think about it, Brian is (most likely, but he may be grey-A) demi. I think. Probably.

I've known my good friend for 20 years? Almost 20 years! They have a tumblr too and of course we're mutuals and I love them to bits :>

I'm pretty shy.

I *do* have a type. Well, types, but I do love characters that are strong as hell, but also really sweet??? Like they can fuck you up, but also loves baby cats. A "bad boy" but a sweet boy.

Physically?? Oof. I have a tag on my main that's like my jam, aesthetic wise. They're so handsome. But my fav body type is actually the "lumberjack' build. I like a little beef ~_~

I started making poses because a lot of poses didn't fit my boys/very slim pickings and hardly nothing spicy wise, and I could never find anything super specific that I wanted.

I pretty much learned on my own through a LOT of practice with the Pose Helper. There was like one tutorial using the pose helper, and that was it. Lots of trial and error. If you really want to go through it, go through my ts4 pose wip tag. Like alllll the way back. It was a rocky start.

I do the NSFW/spicy poses in cycles. Basically, when the mood strikes me. I'm not sure what theme I'm gonna go with for the next one though. I've been wanting to do some stripper poses, but also light bondage or something. Hmm...🤔

I do enjoy making them, but 😳

My favorite pose set is probably Bare Knuckle because, at the time, the most complex thing I made and I'm super proud of it. The idea of fighting a literal demon just... came up lol. I am considering doing another Muay Thai centered pose set, but pic refs are hard to come by. The one I used for BK deactivated :(

I use a lot of refs. It's very okay to use refs! Sometimes I have to adjust them to accommodate male frames.

I have a weighted blanket and it's fantastic and if you're able to get one, I SUPER recommend it.

I was born 2 weeks late. Yeah, lol. Sorry, mom.

I have an older half brother. He's out there doing... stuff.

I have 4 nephews. That I know of.

Up until last year, I was the only granddaughter of my grandma. Now I'm the oldest!

I am older than my uncle by 4/5 years. (He was a late/surprise baby lol)

I have a bad habit of making faces. I am *very* expressive. Basically, I'm a walking reaction gif, lol. And I have gotten in trouble when I was younger.

I know how to read maps. Like actual road maps, and I can navigate by sight too. When I was younger, my dad gave me the role on long trips to help me read and know geography. I don't get lost.

I'm pretty hungry right now...

I used to play DDR. Like, an absurd amount of it, allll the way back when Max2/Extreme came out. Now? I play when I can.

Not as good as I used to be, stamina wise, but I still get ridiculously high grades/marksbn on songs. The highest difficulty rating I was at when I peaked was 16s. That's out of a 20 scale. Now? I'm lucky to clear a 13/14. There's a HUGE skill difference.

I have trouble verbalizing things in general. When I'm writing/typing, I'm fine. But speaking?? Forget it.

I am a naturally quiet person, which tends to unnerve a lot of people? I just don't have much to say on a lot of things.

People tell me some wild shit, but uh, I forget because I have a shitty memory and attention span.

Never been in a fight, but I did punch this bully that was messing with me back in kindergarten right in the stomach. Just dropped him. My dad taught me :>

I've been on Tumblr for a LONG ass time... since 2010. I've seen shit. This blog is I think 6 years old? But only 3ish years since it became a simblr, hence the name. It was for my writings at first but ~nobody came~.

I really do love making poses, yall. Even on days where I'm feeling crummy, I try and do one pose. Don't matter what it is.

Every time I get a message saying that my posts/cc brightens someone's day, it makes my whole damn week. Thank you for nice words. I still have an anon message that was sent months ago, saying they really love John and Brian's relationship with each other, and depicting what love is. Thank you, anon 😭😭😭

I love and appreciate every one of ya'll. Thank you for following me and sticking around with this small simblr. :)

57 is a LOT, but I somehow did it. If you wanna do it, considered yourself tagged. If not, that's cool, and if you read all of the facts... congrats, lol.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Dagger Release Blitz #Giveaway

Title: Dagger Series: Vegas MMA #1 Author: S.L. Sterling Genre: Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance Release Date: March 27, 2020 Derrick I'd been fighting all my life. Making it my career choice seemed...logical. Sticking to what I was good at seemed...illogical as often as I ended up in the ER. Then my occupational hazard began to feel like more of a perk when I met, Katy. She was a night nurse at the ER I frequented. She could barely hide her contempt for me, which naturally made the curvy brunette with long wavy hair all the more irresistible. 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧. Katy They called him Dagger, for the looks he gave. He knew I hated him on sight, but still, he teased me and tried to sway me. There's no way it would work. I was on the run and still healing from a relationship with a 'roid-raging powerlifter. No way was I going to give it a go with someone trained to cause pain for a living. Then my ex tracked me down. And suddenly, having a fighter in my corner didn't seem like such a bad idea. NEW RELEASE GIVEAWAY! I am super excited that Dagger is finally LIVE!  To celebrate I want to gift one lucky person my entire backlist! Yes, you read that right!  Books will be sent directly to Kindle (Dagger excluded). For your chance to win all you need to do is sign up for my Newsletter, easy peasy! List of Titles It Was Always You Bad Company On A Silent Night Back to You this Christmas A Kiss Beneath the Stars In Your Arms His to Hold (CLICK ME TO ENTER) Chapter 1 Dagger I sat and looked up at the clock that hung on the pale-yellow cement wall. My head was pounding, and a pool of blood was building on the floor in between my feet. The wait times here were getting ridiculous. It was a good thing it wasn't a matter of life or death, I thought to myself. I had been waiting for over two hours before they had finally acknowledged I was even in the waiting room. It was busy tonight; not as busy as some of the other nights I had been here, but that’s what I get for having to come into the emergency room on a Friday night. At least I made it through registration where they had taken my blood pressure and other vitals, and listened to my heart, then the blond behind the desk sent me here, into this hellhole of a waiting room. Across the way a child cried out and I glanced around at the other patients who sat there waiting, just like me, to be seen by the next available doctor. While I waited, I thought back to the first time I had come walking in here and chuckled to myself. It had been a bad fight that night and I was a fucking mess. At that time, I was still an amateur in the ring and hadn't quite learned the concept of blocking. The nurses who were on that night had taken one look at me as I walked through the door and had rushed me in to see a doctor. There was no messing around, none of the now usual “go sit in a corner and wait.” Both of my eyes were swollen shut, my nose was bloodied and broken, I had a mouth full of blood from a cut on my inner cheek, and a large gash on my head, and I was clutching my side as if I had been shot. I was sure they thought so too, due to the blood-soaked shirt I had been wearing. They had cleaned me up a little, and within minutes, I was on my way down for a CT scan and X-rays to make sure I didn't have any type of brain trauma or broken bones. Once all the results were in and I had been stitched up and put back together, they had released me. Shortly after that visit I had become a regular and normally came in with the same type of injuries on a monthly basis. Apparently, you become less of an emergency once they find out that you are doing this to yourself, and now they make you wait.  "Hey, Dagger. Another fight I see. Tell me you at least look better than the other guy?" one of the regular night nurses said as she walked by, handing me a clean towel to hold to the cut above my eye. "Make sure you're keep pressure on it. That will help stop the bleeding." "I know, I know. This isn’t the first time this has happened you know." I grumbled nodding and held the clean towel she had given me up to my eye. I took the other blood-soaked towel and dropped it into the bin labeled bio-hazard. I sat back against the chair, ignoring the sharp, agonizing pain that shot down my back. There were times lately I felt as if I were being punished for the choices I had made in life. It wasn't my fault I had grown up fighting in the streets. Besides, having a drunk of a father at home, I'd had no choice but to learn how to defend myself at a young age, first from him, and then from the others who picked on me and stole what little lunch money I had. However, if I hadn't learned then, I probably wouldn't be sitting here now. Instead I would have become some nameless victim and my body would have been found facedown in a ditch or back alley somewhere. Regardless, fighting was now in my blood, so it was no surprise I had made a career out of it. Becoming an MMA fighter was probably the best thing I could have done. I was good at what I did, one of the best in the area, as a matter of fact, and it paid the bills. However, it just so happened that this career choice also came with a lot of injuries. Good thing I was a tough son of a bitch. "Still kicking ass and takin’ numbers, huh, Dagg?" Bree, one of the nurses, said as she entered the room carrying a clipboard. Bree had looked after me the last few times I came in. "Come with me. I had a feeling you might stop in tonight. We haven't seen you in a while, I was getting a little worried," she said as she pulled open a curtain to one of the little exam rooms and patted the paper-covered bed. I listened to the familiar sound of paper crinkling beneath me as I took a seat and groaned from the pain shooting up my back again. "I'm just going to take your temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen saturation, but you probably know the drill by now." She smiled. "Yep, sure, use and abuse me, just like all the pretty girls." I chuckled and extended my free arm so she could put the cuff on while continuing to hold the towel up to my head. One thing about head wounds: they bleed like a bitch. I let her do her thing, watching the monitors on the machines. "Why are you here, Dagger? Everything is normal, same as it always is." "I missed you ladies here at the good ole’ emergency room. You guys always take such good care of me, and being a single man, a lady’s touch is always nice. Plus, my coach dropped me off here and made me come in." I winked at her as she tore the cuff from my arm and smirked. She pulled the towel away from my head and checked out my face. Taking her gloved hand, she gently touched the cut above my eyebrow, causing me to jump. She pushed my hand back up, so the towel rested against the cut again, and went to a drawer and pulled out a couple of bandages. "For the time being I will butterfly suture this until you see the doctor. It should help stop the bleeding a bit. You'll probably need stitches again." "Yeah, as you can see, that is the same as always too," I said, looking her in the eyes as she looked over my face again. I flinched this time as she touched another spot under my left eye. I had taken a left hook to that cheek; hadn’t even seen it coming until I felt the hit. "That is probably going to be a lovely shade of green and purple in the coming hours." She pulled the towel down away from my face and examined the gash closer this time. "Yep, you are going to need stitches. Hold still, this might sting." She smiled at me, while placing the bandages across the gash. I shrugged it off as if I didn't care that I needed to be sewn back up, but, honestly, I hated stitches, and Bree knew it. Bree was always good to me, and she gently fastened the gash closed with the bandages. "However, this time you should probably come in and have us remove the stitches, instead of doing it yourself." She tsked. "It says here that you left with twelve last time, but you never came back for your follow-up."  "Yeah, yeah. I know, I was short on time." I said, standing up. It was the same lecture as the last time and the time before that. I had become good at removing stitches on my own. "Every time you remove them on your own, you risk the fact that the wound may not be closed properly and subjecting yourself to infection," she scolded. "Well, what can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment." I shrugged, smiling. "Don't flash me that sexy smile of yours. It’s serious." She frowned at me and muttered something under her breath as she marked something down on my chart. "All right, you know how it goes now. Take a seat out there." She pulled the curtain open, signaling for me to go and sit down.  "Yep, I know how it goes, go wait and you'll call me as soon as there is a room ready." I grabbed my sweatshirt and walked out into the waiting room. I suddenly realized I spent entirely too much time here. I practically could have done the full check-in myself. I was just about to head over to where I had been sitting but noticed my seat had now been taken by an older man, and the room was twice as full than it was when I had left. I walked across the room and grabbed a different seat over in the corner, off by myself. This time when I sat down, the pain in my kidney area was bad enough that it ensured me I would probably be peeing nothing but blood in a few hours. Sadly, I knew that feeling too. Guess I probably should have told Bree about the multiple kicks and punches I had endured to that area tonight as well, and perhaps she might have sped things along. I shrugged off that thought and threw my sweatshirt on, pulling the hood up over my head to cover my eyes. The least Bree could have done was pass me a couple of pain pills on the sly, and she might have if I had told her I had a headache. I felt like shit, and the last thing I wanted was to have a bunch of people sitting and staring at me as if I were some monster out of a movie. Few people in the area new who I was, and I didn't want them to think I was just some looser who had lost in a street fight. I had too much pride to allow them to think that. I would never waste money on a stupid street fight. The longer I sat there leaning up against the wall using my hood as a pillow the more comfortable I became. Finally, the pain in my back settled and I was just about to fall asleep when I heard another familiar voice call my name. "Mollie, is that you?" I asked as I pulled the hood off my head and carefully rubbed my half-swollen shut eyes. "Yeah, Dag, it's me. Come on, handsome, let's get you looked after, shall we?" I stood up, blinking hard trying to see where I was going. I walked toward the door to the exam rooms, right where Mollie stood. I smiled as I approached her. I had seen her plenty of times here before as well. "Hey, Mollie, are you finally showing your old pal to a room?" "Yeah, come on, you poor thing," she said, her voice full of pity, grabbing my arm and walking beside me to keep me from banging into things. "Just a warning, I'm not your nurse tonight. You've got the new girl, so make sure you're on your best behavior and that you treat her nicely, okay, Dagger?" "I'm insulted! When have I ever been mean?" I asked innocently enough to make her laugh. Even though I couldn't see it, I could imagine her rolling her eyes at me. "When aren't you? You're always impatient, snappish, and the looks you give are enough to knock people to their knees," she said as she pulled the curtain back for me to enter the little cubicle of a room. "The look you’re referring to is part of my charm," I answered, sitting down on the table. "Really, though, the attitude is just because of the pain, Mollie. You guys poke and prod around; it hurts more than the actual fight," I argued, defending my behavior. She placed my chart in the holder on the wall and went to pull the curtain across. "Well then stop the fighting and be nice, Dagger. The girl looking after you tonight is new here and she isn't used to you yet. She's a sweet girl, so don't give her a hard time. Her and the doctor should be in very soon," she said as she pulled the curtain back across the doorway and left the room. I sat there for a few moments until the pain got so bad I had to lay back. I pulled my sweatshirt over my head and kicked my feet up on the gurney, resting my arm across my abs, and closed my eyes. Seconds later, I balled my sweatshirt up and shoved it under my head to use as a little pillow and laid there staring up at the ceiling. I could barely wait to see what little mouse of a girl they sent in to take care of me. If Mollie had warned me to be on my best behavior, this girl must be weak. Within minutes, a woman walked into the room wearing cute purple scrubs and carrying a clipboard. She didn't greet me or look at me; she just walked over to the wall and removed my chart, setting it on the counter. I couldn't help but check her out; she had an ass that any man would be foolish to forget. When she looked at me, I felt my pulse start to rise. She had gorgeous glass-blue eyes and long, dark eyelashes, perfect lips, and the cutest nose. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She sat down and slipped on a pair of frameless glasses and started going over my chart. "Could you please remove your T-shirt so I can hook you up to the monitors. If we must shave you, we will," she said, showing me a razor blade. "No need," I answered as I pulled my shirt over my head. I watched her eyes dance over my chest. I wanted to see if there was any reaction from her, but she just went about her business placing the electrodes on my chest, then she pressed a few buttons and the monitors started to beep. As her fingers grazed over my bare chest, lead to lead, the steady beeping from the machines started to get faster, the numbers climbing. "Are you feeling okay?" she questioned as she continued to attach the pads and fiddle with the wires. I had been through this a thousand times—it was all just part of the protocol—but this time it was my attraction to her that was causing the machines to go haywire. "Yeah," I said, swallowing hard. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as the numbers continued to climb. "Something here has got to be defective." She rested her hand against my chest. "You're sure you feel okay?" she asked as she fiddled with the leads for another few moments before taking her hand off me and searching through the drawers for something. I watched as the numbers on the machine instantly started to fall. She turned back to me and placed her hand on my chest, prepared to replace one of the leads, and the numbers started to climb again. She removed her hand again from my chest and watched as the numbers fell. A soft smirk floated across her lips, and that was when she realized that it was her that was making my heart rate go crazy. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes met mine as she rested her palm against my chest again.  "Perhaps you should stop touching me," I teased, grabbing her hand that was still resting against my chest as she watched the monitor. She smirked at my comment and rolled her eyes. "Did you at least win your fight?" she asked, studying the injuries on my face. Then she looked at my back and ran her fingers over the bruising that I was sure was already starting to show in my kidney area. The machines started beeping wildly again, and without even waiting for my response, she started writing her notes. "Why is there is no mention of trauma to the kidney area on the forms?" she asked impatiently. "There is no mention because I didn't say anything," I grunted as she lightly pressed in the area. "Oh and I won. The other guy looks way worse." "Well, then I'm glad I'm dealing with you and not him then." She kept her head down and continued making notes, studying the monitor. "Any other areas of injury you're not telling us about?" she questioned, those glass-blue eyes glaring at me. I was going to say something smart, but when I saw the fire in her eyes, I decided to shut up and just shake my head. I didn't need another fight on my hands tonight. S.L. Sterling was born and raised in southern Ontario. She now lives in Northern Ontario Canada and is married to her best friend and soul mate and their two dogs.  An avid reader all her life, S.L. Sterling dreamt of becoming an author. She decided to give writing a try after one of her favorite authors launched a course on how to write your novel. This course gave her the push she needed to put pen to paper and her debut novel "It Was Always You" was born.  When S.L. Sterling isn't writing or plotting her next novel she can be found curled up with a cup of coffee, blanket and the newest romance novel from one of her favorite authors on her e-reader. Her favorite authors include Kendall Ryan, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Lauren Blakely, Alessandra Torre and Willow Winters.  In her spare time, she enjoys camping, hiking, sunny destinations, spending quality time with family and friends and of course reading. HOSTED BY: #♥ReleaseBlitz ##Giveaway

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/dagger-release-blitz-giveaway-1

[awakeindeath]

Back To Work

"Hey Mom," I said into my phone as I walked out of the back door of my home. The night air was cool enough to give me goosebumps and send a shiver up my back. It didn't help that my arms were soaked up to the elbow.  It was fall, the leaves were well into changing, with half paper bag brown and the rest still bright green.  I lived out of family's old farm. The barn and house still stood but the farmland had long ago been sold to some large corporation. We were surrounded by open fields that spread out to the horizon, with other homes and buildings barely visible as shadows in the distance. The corn had been harvested a few weeks ago, leaving only the refuse of dried stalks and brown dirt. We were far away from the city, a mile or so from my closest neighbor. The sky was clear and the night was bright with stars and the moon, enough so that I cast a shadow as I stood. My roommate, Alice sat in a lawn chair next to the unlit fire pit, a cigarette held loose in her lips and a can of beer on the grass next to her. She looked like a poster girl for hot redneck. Light brown hair, sun-dark skin, John Deere hat, NASCAR shirt, torn jean shorts, and worn cowboy boots. She sat spread out like a languid spider, without a single muscle in her body working to hold her up. She didn't look up as I came outside. Just kept staring at the cold, charred logs of last night's bonfire.

"Leo is missing." My mom's voice was tired. Normally, those sorts of statements carried some kind of fear or worry. But my mom sounded resigned.

"Leo?" I asked.

"Your sister's boyfriend," Mom said.

"Her boyfriend is a douche" Alice muttered, life starting to come into her as she began reactivating.

"Shut up Alice," I growled as I flopped into the chair next to her.

"Gonna have to clean that up." Alice pointed to the mess I was leaving on the chair.

"Still got that going on, huh?" Mom asked.

"Got what?"

"That Alice thing."

"It's not a thing. She's just my roommate."

"Bullshit, you need to take of that. Get rid of her. For good this time."

"Mom. Missing Boyfriend." I had to cut her off. She would go on and on and on forever about how Alice was unhealthy for me. She was probably right, but I couldn’t abandon Alice. She’d been with me too long.

"Oh. Yeah. Your sister went home from the shelter last night and found her house was torn up. Like another fight happened. Leo was nowhere to be seen."

"Well, that's a good thing isn't it?"

"I think it's a good thing," Alice said as she sat up and stretched, arms reaching for the sky.

"The police are looking around and talking to people, but they have no idea what happened to him," Mom said.

"Well, I mean, that sucks. Anything I can do?" I sat in the chair next to Alice and took the cigarette out of her mouth, put it to my lips and drew in a long breath.

"You've already done enough. I just wanted to let you know what is going on." Mom's breathing paused for a moment before going on. "I'm not going to ask about what you're doing. I just want you to stay out of town for a bit. Ok? Don't come in and complicate things. Just… stay safe. Ok?"

"I will mom. Don't worry," I said into the phone, eyes cast down to watch droplets fall from my hand to splatter on the concrete. The wind seemed to get colder, like an undetectable breeze shot into my bones. Mom knew. She at least suspected. I looked up at Alice, who met my gaze with her own gold brown eyes

"Ok, I love you."

"I love you too Mom."

"How long do you think she's known about us?" Alice asked as I hung up. Ugh. My phone was covered. I tossed it onto the chair next to me and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Don't worry. I'll shower tonight when we're done." I smirked at the grimace Alice shot me.

"So, you think the police are going to come around here?" Alice asked.

"I doubt it. I haven't talked to my sister in over a year, after all. No reason to think I had anything to do with her boyfriend disappearing." I stood up and walked back towards the house, Alice following silently behind me as walked back into the kitchen. The inside of the farmhouse was all wood and old linoleum. The white paint was peeling off the walls and every corner seemed to have a cobweb in it. My grandparents owned this house before they died. Granddad worked the fields and Grandma raised cows and chickens out in the red barn. It was idyllic, in a lot of ways. You could go outside and run and play and get dirty for hours on end. There was always something to discover, always something to find. They died and I moved in. Now dust covered most surfaces, the barn was half collapsed, and what land was left was almost entirely overgrown. The only parts of the house that remained in good repair where my bedroom and the basement.

I was heading to the basement now.

The door to the basement was heavy, reinforced wood. Heavy locks and a sliding bar on the outside kept everything nice and secure. Alice and I installed this door not long after I moved in.

"How does it feel?"  Alice asked as I pulled back the bar and opened the door. The stairs leading down were brightly lit concrete with snow-white walls leading down to a second door at the bottom. My steps rang in the tight space of the stairwell. Alice was silent behind me. When I reached the bottom, she put a hand on my shoulder, seemingly weightless but it stopped me in my tracks. "Hey. Answer me. How does it feel?"

"You know how it feels."

"Before, yeah. This is different. You've never done it like this before."

"I know. But, it still feels right. Like it's what needs to be done."

"You're actually enjoying it?" She sounded pleased.

"Yeah. I mean. Why shouldn't I?"

"You never had before. Not like this."

"It's different. I think. But maybe I just hadn't let myself explore. You remember what Mom said?"

"That you needed to expand your horizons." Alice laughed. "I think she meant so that you might finally get rid of me."

"I'm never getting rid of you."

"Damn straight." Alice laughed as I unlocked the door and pushed it open. The basement was a simple open room. When my grandparents owned the house, it had been a storage cellar. Stone walls, open floor, and a drain pipe that kept any leaking rain from collecting. Now that I lived here, the shelves and cabinets were long gone. Now the walls only had hooks and racks upon which I stored my larger tools. The only table was covered by my tools. Mostly different knives, hooks, power tools, and saws. Right now several of them were covered in blood. Cleaning them would be a pain later, it always was. For now, tho, the man strapped to the operating table in the middle of the room was what was all that mattered.

"Hello, Leo," I said as I stepped up to the surgical table. He was a big man, barely fit on my table. Over six feet tall and muscular in that powerlifter sort of way. Heavy muscle built up over layers. All power, no speed. He'd been on his way to being in the World's Strongest Man competition in a few years. Given that his arms were hanging from meat hooks over the drain, I doubted his chances. I checked the bandages on his shoulder stumps. Tourniquets were on tight, and the salt pack was keeping any small leaks from forming.  Leo groaned into the ball gag, by now he was starting to wake back up. He'd lost a lot of blood when I amputated his arms "I hope you're comfortable. Honestly, I've never had someone your size down here before."

"He looks pale still. You should give him more blood." Alice said, standing across the victim from me.

"You're right."  Changing the bag on the I.V. going into his neck took only a second. With the new blood going directly to his brain, Leo perked right back up and tried to struggle. But again, no arms. They never realize what that really means. Keep trying to flail around. I l laughed at the sight as I picked up a carpet knife and examined its edge. More for Leo’s sake than my own. My tools were always in the best repair.

“What’s next?” Alice asked, giddiness beginning to bubble up in her voice.

“I’m thinking legs,” I said slowly, drawing out the sounds. Leo looked around, trying to find who I was talking to.

"I see why your sister liked him. He's hot," Alice said.

"And stupid. And violent." I touched the taut skin on his naked thigh, my finger running down the indentation of the muscles. "You have a lot of muscle.  It's impressive."

"It's going to be a pain to cut through." Alice pointed out.

"Yeah. But I think it'll be worthwhile. A lot of good meat there."  I smiled up at her while Leo looked back and forth, trying to follow my gaze, to figure out who I was talking to. I leaned over him and pressed my knife into the flesh of his thigh... "Back to work."

[itsleslieblairreames-blog]

How Strength Training Can Help Improve Your Mind As Well As Your Body

Strength-focused training is on the rise as women reclaim the traditionally male space. Ahead of the launch of Stylist Strong next month, Alix Walker discovers it doesn’t just have an impact on her quads, but on her mind too.

Until last November I had only ever entered a gym to lose weight. Body Pump classes and their familiar smell of trainer sweat and resentment were only suffered if I had an impending beach holiday.

But walking home one night last autumn, I passed a group of men and felt the familiar pang of vulnerability. I wouldn’t fancy my chances fighting off a chihuahua, never mind a real threat. And whether it’s personal growth or an ever-so-slowly shifting mindset around female body shapes, I started thinking it would be nice to actually feel strong; to give myself a fighting chance. At the very least it might make carrying home my Zara haul easier. So, I decided once again to change my body – only this time, I didn’t want to make it smaller, I wanted to make it stronger.

Stylist Strong is London’s most exciting new fitness studio for women

Today #girlsthatlift has 4.3 million posts on Instagram; #strongnotskinny has 7.7 million; and strength training (the use of resistance – usually heavy weights – to build muscle strength and size) was declared 2018’s top fitness trend by ClassPass in the US. Yet just a few years ago strength and resistance training was, for the most part, a man’s world (in 2011 just 0.9% of women lifted heavy weights). Women were directed to the other side of the gym where we sweated through aerobics.

But – thank god – this has been shifting rapidly over the past few years. Most gyms now offer some form of strength-focused class – and I know three women who compete in weight-lifting competitions at the weekend. But no doubt the biggest catalyst for the huge uptake is the fact that strength training works.

This month, Stylist is also heading into the weights area. We are launching Stylist Strong, a female-focused fitness space with workouts designed to help you increase your strength – whether that’s beating a personal best or getting stronger for everyday challenges. The more I listened to the plans we were making, the more I knew this was what I’d been looking for.

And so I began my strong mission. Given Stylist Strong was still in the works, I asked Virgin Active to set me up with one of their personal trainers, Raphael Vittori Cray, who would coach me three times a week concentrating on legs, back and biceps, chest, shoulders and triceps. Personal trainer Raph coaches Alix in the correct techniques

Raph began by assessing the upper limit of how much I could lift, which we would re-test every month to see how my strength was improving. The first session proved I was far from strong as my legs wobbled manically on my second set of walking lunges, but I could already do more than I had anticipated (a particular high point was asking for the next weights up on the leg press machine) and although I’d used a lot of physical effort, I never felt exhausted (like I do if I’m running), or mind-numbingly bored (like I do if I��m running). In fact, I finished the session feeling pretty triumphant because I genuinely didn’t hate it – a first! – and I hadn’t given up on a lift, regardless of the burn.

After the pre-requisite high five (high –fiveing is huge in gyms, it seems), I turned to Raph and half-whispered: “Just one thing I should have mentioned, I don’t really want to get bulky…”

“Unless you’re going to live at the gym and eat nothing but steak, you won’t get bulky.”

The bulk myth

Ah, yes. Bulk. The well-toned elephant in the room. The powerful association of heavy weights with thick necks and He-Man shoulders. Every expert I spoke to for this feature said this was both the primary concern and biggest misconception about strength training, but, as Raph reassured me, “Unless you’re going to live at the gym and eat nothing but steak, you won’t get bulky.”

Of course, our notion of what constitutes ‘bulky’ in a woman is changing as the ridiculously narrow standard of what a female body shape should look like – long, lean and toned but never muscly – gets a long overdue overhaul. The bottom line is: gaining a significant amount of muscle mass is extremely difficult for the vast majority of women (experts estimate a maximum of 1lb of muscle per month which will reduce the longer you train). Men also produce 20 times more testosterone – the primary hormone needed for muscle growth – than women.

So why are women reclaiming this previously male territory? “I started strength training about three years ago,” says journalist Poorna Bell, who has just deadlifted 125kg at a powerlifting competition. “My husband passed away and I needed a goal to work towards. I had relied on him to do certain things because, as a man, he was stronger – moving furniture, flipping the mattress – and I didn’t want to feel reliant on anyone. I instantly loved it because you can quantifiably say you’re stronger when you see the numbers on the weights going up. Suddenly, your newfound ability replaces the previous motivation to look lean or lose weight.” Alix hones her invisible horseriding skills while building muscle strength

There’s no doubt it’s become a much more visible activity since female weightlifters like Zoe Smith won her first Commonwealth medal in 2010 and the all-female British weightlifting squad was formed in June 2014. But it’s also due to changing attitudes as exercise becomes more about empowerment, health and wellness rather than simply the size of our body.

The health benefits are pretty appealing too. Last year, a study by the University of Michigan found a link between stronger muscles and increased life expectancy. And it’s particularly important for women as it protects us against osteoporosis, a condition which sees bones weaken and disproportionately affects women (80% of sufferers are female). Numerous studies have shown that strength training can play a role in slowing bone loss, and several show it can even build bone.

The other clear benefit of strength training is that muscle burns more calories than fat, even at rest, meaning, in simple terms, that it’s potentially far more effective than cardio for weight loss, if that’s your motivation. And if you need more convincing, a 2016 study suggested that strength training may lower a woman’s risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

No pain, no gain

By the end of week two my body already felt tighter – the fastest results I’ve ever seen in my admittedly exercise-lite life. One thing I was struggling with, however, was DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) as I learnt after googling why my legs were permanent balls of fire at 3am. “The soreness you’re experiencing shows your fitness is progressing,” says creator of the Stylist Strong programme, Nike’s Global Master Trainer Joslyn Thompson Rule, who is passionate about seeing more women strength training after seeing the huge benefits it’s given her. “If it continues to be a problem, you need to look at your sleep, food intake and whether you’re staying hydrated.” One. More. Set. Alix powers through a tough workout.

I also spoke to registered sports nutritionist (and former British bodybuilding champion) Anita Bean, who explained how vital it is that you make minor dietary changes too. “You need to ensure you get enough fuel and nutrients to facilitate muscle adaptation,” she explains. Did that mean carrying three roast chickens around with me? Not quite. “If you’re strength training, you’ll need around 1.2 to 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. That’s basically double the amount of a sedentary person.The other thing to consider is timing. Eat around 25g of protein before you train for maximum muscle gains, then 25g after training, along with carbohydrates, to fuel recovery. I’d suggest fuelling for a workout with 250g of Greek yoghurt, a small chicken breast, 100g of fish or half a tin of beans plus cooked quinoa.”

So I began eating protein with every meal – nothing over-the-top: Bircher muesli for breakfast, chicken wrap at lunch and fish for dinner. It didn’t eradicate the pain completely – leg days are always killer – but it definitely helped.

Two months into my training I went away on holiday and my youngest daughter – a two-stone lump – decided the only way she would travel was scooped up in my left arm. I carried her for miles with relative ease. It was then I clocked the impact my training was having on everyday activities. I had way more energy too, most likely because I was sleeping like a dream (a proven side effect of strength training). Raph confirmed it wasn’t just my imagination the day after I got home. “You’ve just done walking lunges with twice what you were lifting a month ago.”

“After decades of finding gyms dominated by masculine energy, I’ve found my space alongside women who are motivated by strength, health and camaraderie”

Strength of mind

I felt bloody elated. With what felt like fairly minimal effort on my part, I was categorically stronger. And while I loved the newfound definition in my arms, it was my mind where I felt the most progress.

My husband brought it up first, saying, “Don’t give this up. You seem happier.” And it was true. I felt calmer, more positive but also more disciplined – I was far more productive at work and I actually called our broadband supplier to change plans, which had been on my to-do list for approximately five years.

The mental health benefits of strength training are still being investigated but there have been some fascinating studies so far. The University of South Carolina found that women who did twice-weekly resistance training had a 60% decrease in anxiety levels and lowered levels of irritability in six weeks. And a review of 25 randomized controlled trials looking at exercise and depression found that strength training had twice the mood-boosting benefits of aerobic exercise alone (though the best result was when patients did both).

“There are a number of mechanisms we think are at work here,” says Dr Claire-Marie Roberts, a sports psychology lecturer at the University of the West of England. “The first one at play is the neural system adaptation to strength training. Your muscles adapt to being placed under physical stress, which extends to your brain, meaning we’re not just training our biceps, but our brains too.

“It also aids activity-induced neurotransmitters like serotonin, which make us feel good. Finally, there’s the more psychological side where you set yourself a goal – to lift a certain weight, for example – and the instantaneous feedback of reaching it increases your level of self-esteem.”

One thing I had no idea about before I started training was that after every set you rest for 90 seconds. It’s an enforced yet productive breather that completely contradicted my ‘never stop’ approach. I felt like a fraud at first but as my kettlebell weight kept increasing – 5kg, 10kg, 15kg, 20kg – I realised there really is something to be said for slowing down. Over time those tiny breathers became almost meditative, pockets of time to focus on nothing but my breathing and psyching myself up for the next set. It had a real impact on how I work and I now give myself little concentration breaks rather than plough on.

“While I loved the newfound definition in my arms, it was my mind where I felt the most progress.”

Alix’s Stats

NOVEMBER 2018:

Deadlift: 30kg

Chest press: 5kg each side

Bench press: 25kg

Overhead lunge: 15kg

Walking lunge: 6kg

MAY 2019:

Deadlift: 40kg

Chest press: 10kg

Bench press: 30kg

Overhead lunge: 20kg

Walking lunge: 12kg From weightlifting novice to deadlift demon

Six months later, strength training has become as important to me as my Netflix subscription. After decades of finding gyms dominated by masculine energy, I’ve found my space alongside women who are motivated by strength, health and camaraderie (when I did a 40kg deadlift for the first time four months after I started I was surrounded by women shouting “You can do it!”).

I don’t look that different – I think people are disappointed I’m not a modern-day She-Ra – but do not underestimate anyone who strength trains, because the size of your body has very little to do with your ability to lift heavy, and isn’t that exactly how it should be? “The best thing for me is when I’m training a group of women and they realise that they can lift that weight, that their body can do this,” says Thompson Rule. “They think, ‘This is me, this is what I can do and no one can stop me’.”

Leslie Blair Reames

https://twitter.com/BlairReames

https://www.instagram.com/lbreames83

https://www.facebook.com/blair.reames.7

[fitocracy]

Find your fight club !

Need an extra push to get work done this Friday? Coach Chuck recently wrote up a guide for developing motivation. Grab a coffee or tea and settle in, it’s a good read!

Tell me if this sounds familiar. You want to go to the gym to reap all of the benefits: improved mood, energy levels, appearance, clothes fitting better, etc. But despite those benefits, you aren’t motivated to actually go. Aside from the fact that motivation isn’t reliable because it’s an emotion (hint: it’s more about discipline and habit), it’s possible that the idea of simply “working out” doesn’t intrinsically appeal to you. And that’s OK. Doing things you hate isn’t a great use of your precious time.

The Cave You Fear To Enter Holds The Treasure You Seek

I ask you to consider that the missing element may be that you are competitive in nature and that you may thrive (rather than just survive) when given something to work toward. If that’s you (you may not know it yet), with the proper mindset and goals that match your competitive nature, your inner fire that drives you can go from a small ember to a raging inferno. Rather than getting better at exercising for its own sake, you are now filled with purpose, a mission.

But you’ll NEVER know what that’s like, or what exactly it is that ignites your inner fire unless you try.

If you’ve never been competitive before, it’s scary. I get that, it was scary for me too. But it’s worth it. If you do find something that ignites your inner fire, it can be life changing.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek” – Joseph Campbell

The Search For Fight Club

So what do you compete in? Nothing comes to mind? There are lots of options out there, many more than you’d think, and some I’m willing to bet you’ve never even heard of! So to find the “thing” that appeals to your competitive nature, you’ll need to find your “Fight Club”.

“Fight club became the reason to cut your hair short and trim your fingernails.” – Tyler Durden, Fight Club.

When you find something that you enjoy competing in, it becomes the reason that you want to eat healthy, to get stronger, to improve your conditioning, your flexibility, etc. You don’t need to rely on some external motivator keeping you going because your mission has become clear, and you are now filled with purpose.

Instead, we can go from “I have to do this in order to achieve my goals” to “I WANT TO and I am GOING to do this to achieve my goals with every fiber of my being, and nothing is going to get in my way.”

If you can find your fight club, habits no longer have to be slowly coaxed. Instead, you may begin to actively and positively make better choices that align with what you hope to achieve in competition. Seeing a positive feedback loop like this created simply by your love of what you do is absolutely freeing.

“Tell him. Tell him, The liberator who destroyed my property has realigned my perceptions.” – Tyler Durden, Fight Club.

Perception and Emotion

I mentioned earlier that motivation isn’t reliable because it’s an emotion, and for most emotions, we cannot control when or how strongly we feel them. There’s an exception to this though, and that’s the emotion of gratitude. I was first made aware of this concept when reading about how an Olympic athlete used gratitude to deal with their performance anxiety. Being grateful for the opportunity to compete, to improve your fitness, and health may change your perception. I say this as I’ve talked to many people who feel that they “have to” do certain things in order to reach their goals, and I, in turn, ask them to rephrase that to that they don’t have to, but they get to. This was one of the biggest takeaways that I learned from my friend Bryan Krahn when working with him on some physique changes last year.

Anyways, practicing gratitude is something I too am working on. I can say that gratitude has helped me in my competitive endeavors (and to deal with competition/performance-based anxiety). I am practicing gratitude by thinking about how fortunate I am to be in a position where I have the opportunity to improve myself (physically and mentally) and compete with others in a community, it’s allowed me to enjoy the entirety of the journey rather than just finding joy in the accomplishment of my goals.

If you wanted to read more about gratitude, check out these articles:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/randy-kamen-gredinger/the-transformative-power-_2_b_6982152.html

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude

https://piano-ology.org/2017/02/03/performance-anxiety-a-meditation-on-gratitude/

Some Options

Anyways, so what are some “fight clubs” that you could compete in?

Some options that you may have heard of (or maybe not!) or previously considered are things like races (running, Tough Mudder), powerlifting, olympic weightlifting, CrossFit, bodybuilding, or even adult recreational sports like Disc Golf, softball, racquetball, etc.

Heck, look at the sports that are in the Olympic games, there are hundreds of options!

If you can think of some options that I haven’t mentioned, please reply (or email: chuck@chuckgrossfitness.com) and I’ll add yours to the list and give you credit!

As you may know, I tend to use myself as an example. So, below is my example.

Chuck’s Example

None of those options appealed to me. At all. I started lifting weights when I began my weight loss journey in order to reduce the amount of loose skin that I might end up with, and I didn’t hate it like I did with cardio exercise. I eventually came to like the idea of getting stronger, but the idea of competing in powerlifting didn’t appeal to me. I tried out Highland Games, and while I enjoy wearing a kilt, I just never got into it despite liking the people and community. After that, I tried focusing my exercise on building muscle size and working out specifically for appearance/aesthetics. But I had no intention of wearing a thong and posing on stage. I even tried things like running (not for me, I literally felt like I had to pee the entire run), or things involving heights (ziplining, rock climbing) in order to conquer my related fears.

In all of those things that I tried, something was missing, some spark. I knew that I had serious gaps in my overall fitness like mobility, agility, and balance. I always used the “I don’t have time to fix those” excuse but it was never true, I simply never cared about those things enough because they didn’t technically impact my life enough to do anything about them.

The next thing that I tried was martial arts. My wife and kids were taking kung fu, so I gave it a shot. It was fun, a good workout, and it was my first moment of awareness at just how bad my mobility, agility, flexibility and balance were. In fact, I enjoyed it more than the other things I tried, I just didn’t love it yet. But, it was the closest I’ve come to that “spark”.

And in these cases, I’m defining love by something that I’m thinking about…all day long. You might call it obsession, or as a friend said “putting my addictive personality to good use”. Something that rekindles that internal fire of desire rather than feeling like I must do something to get some tangible reward or goal. Something that gives purpose to habits and behaviors around fitness beyond “Do X to get Y”. E.g., track calories and lift weights to look good naked. Nothing wrong with that at all, either!

And recently, my 36th birthday gift allowed me to find something that fits those criteria. A Facebook friend of mine shared some pictures of an event from early in September, and I had no idea what I was looking at. Then it hit me. These were pictures of people sword fighting and it wasn’t like Olympic fencing. This was sword fighting with a two handed sword and it looked like an actual martial art rather than a sport. Why didn’t I know this existed? And that there was a well known and respected school/club for it right here in Pittsburgh? My family signed me up for the beginners class as my birthday present. (I have a history of having my birthday presents be experiences rather than things, doing things like going cave exploring/spelunking, taking an airplane piloting lesson, etc).

Immediately, I connected on a deep fundamental level with both the people/community, and the martial art itself. And it’s changed my life in ways that hard to describe, except that the experience of holding a sword in my hand with the intent to use it is something that I will never forget.

I’m now viewing my fitness through an entirely new perspective. All of the things that I never had time for before now matter to me, and I make time for them. I’m willing to cut back on my TV, to go to bed earlier, all because I have a fire inside of me that is driving me forward toward my goals: to be the best sword fighting martial artist that I can be, and have a hell of a good time along the way.

Summary

The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what you end up competing in. If you find yourself bored with the idea of forever just getting better at exercise for no particular reason, I’d ask that you consider competing in something. And even if you discover that what you tried isn’t for you, you’ve at least learned something about yourself, and grown as an individual. Keep trying though, and you’ll eventually find your Fight Club and can break the first rule…and tell everyone about it!

If you are interested in sword fighting, and western martial arts (HEMA), please check out my sword fighting specific blog where I’ve explained exactly what HEMA is and how you can become a part of a truly amazing community!

Of course, if you have any questions related to that, I’d be MORE than happy to talk your ear off about it. Trust me, it was hard to not ramble on about it while writing this.

(Credit to Chuck Gross. More insightful articles at his site, http://chuckgrossfitness.com . Want to talk to Chuck about your own goals and how to get there? Extreme Fat Loss  is starting up soon; read about it here . )

[mmjjbbaannkkss]

2019 September 16-21 Measuring Pain

“There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.” Bill Bowerman

>>>

Usually I put in 3 cups of rice and it makes 6 cups of rice with the basket on top of building veggies and typically chicken thighs with as much in the rice cooker steamer thing. but it seems to be kind of too much bloating me and I definitely don't like the way I look eating that much many carbs at a time so it seems time to dial some of that back.

Here’s a channel of https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq6Nh-QMZW6tZrFwCi8p5tw chicks working out. 

Even though I'm older than a lot of people going to the gym and lot better shape I'm going to keep going cuz it's making me feel better lot of people going till they hurt themselves I may be doing more than people ask my age but until it hurts the next day it makes sense to keep going feels good, and without injury if managed to improve ankle and knee and to strengthen lower back. 

Week 6 (mixed: lite/slow & c)

#XVI_31 Heavy Push _8

Treadmill 15+15+3 >> Shldr Press 3x 8 /10305070 >> Supn Lat Raise 3x 8/ 5,10,15-R >> Frt Raise 3x 8/ 5,1015 >> Incl BB Bench 3x 8/ 100,100,150- >> Chest press 5x 8/ 3057911 >> Dips 3x 8  888- >> Cable X 3x 8/2*20,25,30 >> Pullover Press 3x 8/ 255065~ >> Tric Pushdown 3*8/ 505065- >> Twist 5*8 3050709011 >> Incl treadmill 30

To add volume training and muscle volume, moving all x6 reps to x7, and will see if 4x7 becomes 5x7s later. Just for muscle definition, if I want to do 1 rep maxes I’ll get into calisthenic poses. 

Press better, lat raise same, front raise: found some weak points/ranges, need to restart the swing/rangeofmotion, which might break fascia and hurt the next day, idk yet, BB smith better, forced final set; chest press better pec retention/flex, but could’ve used that front-delts improvement; ...slow dips okay, cable crossover better, should’ve brought them lower; pullover safe getting some torso heat that I need some crunches into failure to re-up the endurance/stamina, shock treatment, idk, tricep pushdown better; cardio, better, but got a high-undercut and didn’t sweat my ass off, but, everyday is light cardio, and I keep saying it’s worth it, 

My "release radar" has some tame ass tracks that make me think YT and Spotify share...switched DNS services to 8.8.8.8 (Google) and connection returned, which I plumb forgot, or there’s OpenDNS, but they were bought by Cisco, and I’m betting Google uses Cisco, so it’s a 2/1 theoretically. 

#XVI_32 Lite Pull

Treadmill 10/20-h >> Palms-In pulldown 3x 12 85*4 >> DB 1-Arm Row 3x 12 / 25*2/45 >> Wide Lat pulldown 3x 12 / 709/,90*3 >> Straight pulldown 3x 12LR5,1010 >> DB Shrug 4x 12 45505560 >> Row 3x 12 60*2,75*2 >> Delt Deck 3x 12 5555/7070 >> Straight Bar Curl 3x 12 203040 >> Heweyego? >> Preacher Curl 3x 12/ 30454550 >> Preacher hammer 3*12/ 303030 >> Incl treadmill 30/

first two meals need rice. No wear grey shirt, too rain jersey no breathes/ day; not even sure why 3*12 this card, lots of sting @12, soonll elim 6rep sets for calisthenics or slow single reps, 

#XVI_33 Heavy Legs (probably 5:5 treadmill only, pushups b/w)

Treadmill 30

Treadmill 30/ push up: 20ct

Treadmill 30/

Bloodbath, Nile, better than Saturday, need to add more pushups anywhere, have gotten complacent with low rep high weight PRs boosting pride while losing stamina, need bigger sets, same count, the truth about getting or spoiled on instant gratification instead of flex/pump, getting in my own head idk not flex/pump attention, and then looking for approbation in the wrong mix, and garbage in not out….. Google... validation in other, poor form, and so do more stamina circuits on target areas, like the breakdance bit that looks like mountain climbers w twist, push-ups, squats, abs, hokey pokey's 5 minute #bodypart-blaster workout, jumping jacks, as good as your last recovery, with stamina can more treadmill, HIIT of course, and lose the inconsistent BMI, I'd love to hear your singing voice….

many blondes like mountain nearby, sleeping hot usually gives me nightmares, cardio regularly, not so much

#XVI_34 Lite Push  c/lb/x >> FST 

Treadmill warmup 35 >> Shoulder Press LX (12) 103030303030 >> EZ Raise LX (12LR) 55555 >> DB Lat Raise LX (12LR) 55555 >> Incl BB Bench LX 6060606060 >> DB Flat Bench LX 305050505050- >> Crossover LX 2*/1520252530- >> Pec deck LX CCCCC >> 10Pullover LX 35,50505050- >> 9Chair tricep LX 45,6060,7575 >> 8Twist LX @50*20,70*20 >> Treadmill 35-

Fascia pain, muscle surface stretch, during session, asa you don't tendon damage, or tendon connective area, is good, requires sooner recovery, doms is much worse with interrupting rebuilds; Dave Palumbo spoke on that when he lifted in the 1940s sumun told him muscle gains in grams, which repeated sessions equals gains, young or mature gains can be quick, or just go back to the gym and do it again; 

#35 Slow Pull  

Treadmill 10/10/10- >> Lat Pulldown 3x 7/ 45,709090909090 >> Low Row 77/50658095959595 >> High Row 77/30455065809595- >> Archers 77/15202530355050-2 >> Shrug 77/50,100*3,150*3 >> EZ Curl 77/ 2345666 >> 1arm curl 77/10152025303030- >> Palms In pulldown 77/ 55708510,121416- >> Preacher 1-Arm 77/ 30303030303030 >> Twist 77/ 50,79111315-17- >> Treadmill 30

6'ers out, flex appeal in, big enough from powerlifting, need to pump + constrict + flex = bodybuilding, would love to hear her sngn voice…slow, not stupid…very muggy, hit some PR’s doing 7x7, enjoying this empty gym and beast mode. 

#36 FST Legs

Treadmill 10/20

Treadmill 30/5-

Treadmill 30/5-

Treadmill 30 / 5 

Did the treadmill for 30 minute sessions 5 minutes level at about 2.2 mph generally and then 5 minutes uphill and about 1.5 and worked my way up so almost to the end and did four of those and isn’t easy thus 30 minute intervals, and then finish inclined at 3 mph 30 seconds or something at best, cool down for 5 minutes and then take a 5-10 minute break. 

Decided I was going to go crazy and was so hot didn’t realize the shower was hot and almost passed out, 102f? 105? Whatever it is. Have a good day.

[gabriellakirtonblog]

What You Can Learn from Planet Fitness

Few of us in the industry are fans of Planet Fitness. It actively discriminates against bodybuilders, powerlifters, and the kind of exertion that produces the occasional grunt. It offers pizza and candy to its members. Its business model is premised on people not showing up.

But while we’re trash-talking Planet Fitness, it’s growing into one of the largest gym brands in the country with no signs of slowing down. In the last 10 years, the chain has grown from some 200 clubs to more than 1,700 today. It boasts 12.5 million members, generating $2.8 billion in monthly dues and annual fees.

No matter how you feel about the company, it’s doing something right.

If you’re like me, you want to attract more clients, make more money, and help more people. Taking a closer look at this pseudo gym may reveal real marketing strategies that aid in those goals.

Planet Fitness knows its market, and it does a better job than anyone at getting a specific demographic through its doors. I’m talking about beginners, arguably the biggest, most important market for fit pros.

According to IHRSA, the trade association for the health-club industry, only 20 percent of the U.S. population are gym members. Simple math tells us 80 percent of Americans don’t have memberships. That’s more than 200 million potential clients.

Many of them want to lose weight, look better, move better, improve their health. But they’ve never been inside a gym, and don’t really know where to start. For them, Planet Fitness is an approachable, accessible entry point for achieving this.

But while it may be the easy choice, it’s clearly not the best choice. The best choice is you, or someone like you—a qualified coach who can provide effective training and nutrition advice, and whose facility, unlike Planet Fitness, isn’t set up to limit the kind of results its members can get. These are the people who need your knowledge and guidance the most. Your job is to show them that.

I work with a lot of beginners just like the ones Planet Fitness targets. I can tell you the largest deterrent is what Planet Fitness calls gymtimidation. To them, the gym is a place for menacing men and judgmental women. They believe all the worst stereotypes about people who’ve worked hard to build strength and develop their physiques precisely because they’ve never worked out in proximity to them.

You can help explode these harmful stereotypes, and bolster your bottom line, by making beginners feel welcome. I’m not saying you have to keep candy at the front desk. But there are a few strategies you can (and should) steal.

READ ALSO: 10 Insider Tips for How to Open a Gym

Make people feel accepted

Planet Fitness is so openly contemptuous of serious lifters that it equips its facilities with lunk alarms—sirens that go off when someone grunts too loudly or slams heavy weights.

Commercials feature muscled-up men who overuse “bro” and scantily clad women who do the same to “hot.” In one ad, a Schwarzenegger-type meathead mindlessly says “I lift things up and put them down” over and over. Others depict sleazy gym owners and mean trainers. “If you were committed to this workout, you’d be pukin’ out your ears right now!” one drill sergeant shouts at his dejected-looking client.

Funny, right?

If you’re a fit pro or serious lifter, probably not. But by alienating people who love to work out, Planet Fitness makes everyone else feel like they belong. They call themselves a “judgment-free zone” precisely because they judge the hell out of people who might make their target customers feel uncomfortable.

And while I disagree with the method, the concept behind it works: Emphasize a message of acceptance, and new clients will come to you.

One shining example of this is Mark Fisher Fitness in New York City. The gym’s message of radical inclusion is at the heart of its success. Unicorns and rainbow confetti signal to the public that your quirks are not just accepted, but embraced.

Trainers and gym owners would do well to cultivate a culture of positivity.

Welcome new members, show them around, and introduce them to the staff and other members. Introduce them to that big “lunk” by the squat rack. Once they find out that lunk at the squat rack is a restaurant owner named Steve, and that he’s a really nice guy, they’ll be less likely to feel intimidated by him.

READ ALSO: What I Learned from 15,000 Training Sessions in a Commercial Gym

Redefine fitness

Beginners believe that most gyms divide people into two types: those with six-packs, and those who suck.

It’s not remotely true, as we know better than anyone. Fitness is a moving target; each of us is at a different stage in the process—moving forward, backward, or just trying to maintain what we have. But if we’re being honest, we could do a better job of dispelling the myth.

By attacking old fitness tropes, Planet Fitness redefines what it means to be fit. It’s okay to put in 20 minutes on the treadmill and go home. You’re allowed to like pizza. Whatever you feel like doing is good enough.

Now think of how you present yourself and portray your trainees when you’re trying to recruit new customers. While you think you’re inspiring people with your clients’ extreme transformations, along with your own impressive physique, you may be scaring some of them away. Especially if they think they’re not ready to train with you, or that you’ll make them feel like failures if they can’t match the results in your website’s testimonials.

Resist the urge to show off. The best way to inspire a beginner is not with feats of strength but with self-empowerment. Set them up for success by providing small, attainable goals, and always affirm their hard work.

READ ALSO: Make Sure You Aren’t One of the Bad Trainers Ruining Our Profession

Set the rules early

For the novice, walking into the gym is like entering a foreign land. People talk funny and have weird rituals, and everyone seems to know the rules but you.

Planet Fitness clearly states the rules and expectations up front. When a member first tours the facility, she knows exactly what to do and not do.

Many gyms offer tours to prospective or new members. That’s good. But take it a step farther by sharing the rules and customs of the gym. When you’re showing the equipment and machines, it’s easy enough to segue into “We ask our members to use one piece of equipment at a time” or “This area is reserved for stretching.”

Clear expectations help new clients feel at ease.

READ ALSO: Stop Rude Behavior Before It Starts

Keep it simple

When you enter Planet Fitness, the first thing you see are rows of cardio machines: treadmills, stairclimbers, stationary bikes. Why? Because operating these machines requires little skill. You hop on, hit start, and get moving. Any beginner can handle that.

It’s not great for gains, but it offers comfort and accessibility. Just because beginners have goals doesn’t mean they have any idea how to achieve them.

No need to order more treadmills. Just try emphasizing education. Teach new members basic movements and provide a simple, straightforward plan of action. (By “simple” I don’t mean “easy.” Just save the technically complex movements and techniques for later.)

Even better: Connect new members with a trainer right away; you could even make it a membership requirement. But instead of the usual “complimentary training session,” call it a “tutorial” or a “welcome tour.” For a beginner, it sounds more pleasant and less like Hell Week with the Navy SEALs.

You’re not forcing novices to navigate barriers. You’re meeting them where they are and showing them the way in.

READ ALSO: 11 Ways to Become a Better Teacher

Throw a pizza party … without the pizza

Planet Fitness offers pizza and bagels to its members every month. This yields a few benefits:

It gets people in the door. Nothing motivates people to show up like the promise of free stuff, especially pizza.

It builds brand loyalty. It’s just simple reciprocity: You give them something, and they give you their loyalty in return.

A sense of community is born. The monthly pizza parties create structured ways to bring people together. Employees get to know members, and members get to know each other. It not only underscores a sense of belonging, it lays the foundation for personal growth.

It also underscores the biggest problem with Planet Fitness: It’s not in the business of getting results. But you are, and all three of these benefits can help you achieve that for your clients.

So how about this: Partner with a local restaurant for a monthly cross-promotion. You can serve nutritious foods and even start a dialogue about how to incorporate healthy eating habits into your diet. It’s a great way to educate members on the importance of good nutrition while showing how delicious healthy food can be.

Just don’t forget to have some fun too.

READ ALSO: How a Charity Event Pays Off for Gym Owners

      You Can Run a Successful Gym, But Only If You Follow These Important Principles

Enter your email below to get our free case study on how a rookie gym owner beat the odds and improved his bottom line.

“Owning a gym can be a dream or a nightmare,” this gym owner told us. “Your first 24 months in business will determine which one.”

We’ll send you this free case study, along with what this gym owner did to grow his business. Simply enter your email address below (no spam, just great advice!):

  The post What You Can Learn from Planet Fitness appeared first on The PTDC.

What You Can Learn from Planet Fitness published first on https://onezeroonesarms.tumblr.com/

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Dagger Release Blitz #Giveaway

Title: Dagger

Series: Vegas MMA #1

Author: S.L. Sterling

Genre: Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance

Release Date: March 27, 2020

Derrick I'd been fighting all my life. Making it my career choice seemed...logical.

Sticking to what I was good at seemed...illogical as often as I ended up in the ER.

Then my occupational hazard began to feel like more of a perk when I met, Katy. She was a night nurse at the ER I frequented. She could barely hide her contempt for me, which naturally made the curvy brunette with long wavy hair all the more irresistible.

𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧.

Katy

They called him Dagger, for the looks he gave.

He knew I hated him on sight, but still, he teased me and tried to sway me.

There's no way it would work. I was on the run and still healing from a relationship with a 'roid-raging powerlifter. No way was I going to give it a go with someone trained to cause pain for a living.

Then my ex tracked me down. And suddenly, having a fighter in my corner didn't seem like such a bad idea.

NEW RELEASE GIVEAWAY!

I am super excited that Dagger is finally LIVE! 

To celebrate I want to gift one lucky person my entire backlist! Yes, you read that right! 

Books will be sent directly to Kindle (Dagger excluded). For your chance to win all you need to do is sign up for my Newsletter, easy peasy!

List of Titles

It Was Always You

Bad Company

On A Silent Night

Back to You this Christmas

A Kiss Beneath the Stars

In Your Arms

His to Hold

(CLICK ME TO ENTER)

Chapter 1 Dagger I sat and looked up at the clock that hung on the pale-yellow cement wall. My head was pounding, and a pool of blood was building on the floor in between my feet. The wait times here were getting ridiculous. It was a good thing it wasn't a matter of life or death, I thought to myself. I had been waiting for over two hours before they had finally acknowledged I was even in the waiting room. It was busy tonight; not as busy as some of the other nights I had been here, but that’s what I get for having to come into the emergency room on a Friday night. At least I made it through registration where they had taken my blood pressure and other vitals, and listened to my heart, then the blond behind the desk sent me here, into this hellhole of a waiting room. Across the way a child cried out and I glanced around at the other patients who sat there waiting, just like me, to be seen by the next available doctor. While I waited, I thought back to the first time I had come walking in here and chuckled to myself. It had been a bad fight that night and I was a fucking mess. At that time, I was still an amateur in the ring and hadn't quite learned the concept of blocking. The nurses who were on that night had taken one look at me as I walked through the door and had rushed me in to see a doctor. There was no messing around, none of the now usual “go sit in a corner and wait.” Both of my eyes were swollen shut, my nose was bloodied and broken, I had a mouth full of blood from a cut on my inner cheek, and a large gash on my head, and I was clutching my side as if I had been shot. I was sure they thought so too, due to the blood-soaked shirt I had been wearing. They had cleaned me up a little, and within minutes, I was on my way down for a CT scan and X-rays to make sure I didn't have any type of brain trauma or broken bones. Once all the results were in and I had been stitched up and put back together, they had released me. Shortly after that visit I had become a regular and normally came in with the same type of injuries on a monthly basis. Apparently, you become less of an emergency once they find out that you are doing this to yourself, and now they make you wait.  "Hey, Dagger. Another fight I see. Tell me you at least look better than the other guy?" one of the regular night nurses said as she walked by, handing me a clean towel to hold to the cut above my eye. "Make sure you're keep pressure on it. That will help stop the bleeding." "I know, I know. This isn’t the first time this has happened you know." I grumbled nodding and held the clean towel she had given me up to my eye. I took the other blood-soaked towel and dropped it into the bin labeled bio-hazard. I sat back against the chair, ignoring the sharp, agonizing pain that shot down my back. There were times lately I felt as if I were being punished for the choices I had made in life. It wasn't my fault I had grown up fighting in the streets. Besides, having a drunk of a father at home, I'd had no choice but to learn how to defend myself at a young age, first from him, and then from the others who picked on me and stole what little lunch money I had. However, if I hadn't learned then, I probably wouldn't be sitting here now. Instead I would have become some nameless victim and my body would have been found facedown in a ditch or back alley somewhere. Regardless, fighting was now in my blood, so it was no surprise I had made a career out of it. Becoming an MMA fighter was probably the best thing I could have done. I was good at what I did, one of the best in the area, as a matter of fact, and it paid the bills. However, it just so happened that this career choice also came with a lot of injuries. Good thing I was a tough son of a bitch. "Still kicking ass and takin’ numbers, huh, Dagg?" Bree, one of the nurses, said as she entered the room carrying a clipboard. Bree had looked after me the last few times I came in. "Come with me. I had a feeling you might stop in tonight. We haven't seen you in a while, I was getting a little worried," she said as she pulled open a curtain to one of the little exam rooms and patted the paper-covered bed. I listened to the familiar sound of paper crinkling beneath me as I took a seat and groaned from the pain shooting up my back again. "I'm just going to take your temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and oxygen saturation, but you probably know the drill by now." She smiled. "Yep, sure, use and abuse me, just like all the pretty girls." I chuckled and extended my free arm so she could put the cuff on while continuing to hold the towel up to my head. One thing about head wounds: they bleed like a bitch. I let her do her thing, watching the monitors on the machines. "Why are you here, Dagger? Everything is normal, same as it always is." "I missed you ladies here at the good ole’ emergency room. You guys always take such good care of me, and being a single man, a lady’s touch is always nice. Plus, my coach dropped me off here and made me come in." I winked at her as she tore the cuff from my arm and smirked. She pulled the towel away from my head and checked out my face. Taking her gloved hand, she gently touched the cut above my eyebrow, causing me to jump. She pushed my hand back up, so the towel rested against the cut again, and went to a drawer and pulled out a couple of bandages. "For the time being I will butterfly suture this until you see the doctor. It should help stop the bleeding a bit. You'll probably need stitches again." "Yeah, as you can see, that is the same as always too," I said, looking her in the eyes as she looked over my face again. I flinched this time as she touched another spot under my left eye. I had taken a left hook to that cheek; hadn’t even seen it coming until I felt the hit. "That is probably going to be a lovely shade of green and purple in the coming hours." She pulled the towel down away from my face and examined the gash closer this time. "Yep, you are going to need stitches. Hold still, this might sting." She smiled at me, while placing the bandages across the gash. I shrugged it off as if I didn't care that I needed to be sewn back up, but, honestly, I hated stitches, and Bree knew it. Bree was always good to me, and she gently fastened the gash closed with the bandages. "However, this time you should probably come in and have us remove the stitches, instead of doing it yourself." She tsked. "It says here that you left with twelve last time, but you never came back for your follow-up."  "Yeah, yeah. I know, I was short on time." I said, standing up. It was the same lecture as the last time and the time before that. I had become good at removing stitches on my own. "Every time you remove them on your own, you risk the fact that the wound may not be closed properly and subjecting yourself to infection," she scolded. "Well, what can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment." I shrugged, smiling. "Don't flash me that sexy smile of yours. It’s serious." She frowned at me and muttered something under her breath as she marked something down on my chart. "All right, you know how it goes now. Take a seat out there." She pulled the curtain open, signaling for me to go and sit down.  "Yep, I know how it goes, go wait and you'll call me as soon as there is a room ready." I grabbed my sweatshirt and walked out into the waiting room. I suddenly realized I spent entirely too much time here. I practically could have done the full check-in myself. I was just about to head over to where I had been sitting but noticed my seat had now been taken by an older man, and the room was twice as full than it was when I had left. I walked across the room and grabbed a different seat over in the corner, off by myself. This time when I sat down, the pain in my kidney area was bad enough that it ensured me I would probably be peeing nothing but blood in a few hours. Sadly, I knew that feeling too. Guess I probably should have told Bree about the multiple kicks and punches I had endured to that area tonight as well, and perhaps she might have sped things along. I shrugged off that thought and threw my sweatshirt on, pulling the hood up over my head to cover my eyes. The least Bree could have done was pass me a couple of pain pills on the sly, and she might have if I had told her I had a headache. I felt like shit, and the last thing I wanted was to have a bunch of people sitting and staring at me as if I were some monster out of a movie. Few people in the area new who I was, and I didn't want them to think I was just some looser who had lost in a street fight. I had too much pride to allow them to think that. I would never waste money on a stupid street fight. The longer I sat there leaning up against the wall using my hood as a pillow the more comfortable I became. Finally, the pain in my back settled and I was just about to fall asleep when I heard another familiar voice call my name. "Mollie, is that you?" I asked as I pulled the hood off my head and carefully rubbed my half-swollen shut eyes. "Yeah, Dag, it's me. Come on, handsome, let's get you looked after, shall we?" I stood up, blinking hard trying to see where I was going. I walked toward the door to the exam rooms, right where Mollie stood. I smiled as I approached her. I had seen her plenty of times here before as well. "Hey, Mollie, are you finally showing your old pal to a room?" "Yeah, come on, you poor thing," she said, her voice full of pity, grabbing my arm and walking beside me to keep me from banging into things. "Just a warning, I'm not your nurse tonight. You've got the new girl, so make sure you're on your best behavior and that you treat her nicely, okay, Dagger?" "I'm insulted! When have I ever been mean?" I asked innocently enough to make her laugh. Even though I couldn't see it, I could imagine her rolling her eyes at me. "When aren't you? You're always impatient, snappish, and the looks you give are enough to knock people to their knees," she said as she pulled the curtain back for me to enter the little cubicle of a room. "The look you’re referring to is part of my charm," I answered, sitting down on the table. "Really, though, the attitude is just because of the pain, Mollie. You guys poke and prod around; it hurts more than the actual fight," I argued, defending my behavior. She placed my chart in the holder on the wall and went to pull the curtain across. "Well then stop the fighting and be nice, Dagger. The girl looking after you tonight is new here and she isn't used to you yet. She's a sweet girl, so don't give her a hard time. Her and the doctor should be in very soon," she said as she pulled the curtain back across the doorway and left the room. I sat there for a few moments until the pain got so bad I had to lay back. I pulled my sweatshirt over my head and kicked my feet up on the gurney, resting my arm across my abs, and closed my eyes. Seconds later, I balled my sweatshirt up and shoved it under my head to use as a little pillow and laid there staring up at the ceiling. I could barely wait to see what little mouse of a girl they sent in to take care of me. If Mollie had warned me to be on my best behavior, this girl must be weak. Within minutes, a woman walked into the room wearing cute purple scrubs and carrying a clipboard. She didn't greet me or look at me; she just walked over to the wall and removed my chart, setting it on the counter. I couldn't help but check her out; she had an ass that any man would be foolish to forget. When she looked at me, I felt my pulse start to rise. She had gorgeous glass-blue eyes and long, dark eyelashes, perfect lips, and the cutest nose. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She sat down and slipped on a pair of frameless glasses and started going over my chart. "Could you please remove your T-shirt so I can hook you up to the monitors. If we must shave you, we will," she said, showing me a razor blade. "No need," I answered as I pulled my shirt over my head. I watched her eyes dance over my chest. I wanted to see if there was any reaction from her, but she just went about her business placing the electrodes on my chest, then she pressed a few buttons and the monitors started to beep. As her fingers grazed over my bare chest, lead to lead, the steady beeping from the machines started to get faster, the numbers climbing. "Are you feeling okay?" she questioned as she continued to attach the pads and fiddle with the wires. I had been through this a thousand times—it was all just part of the protocol—but this time it was my attraction to her that was causing the machines to go haywire. "Yeah," I said, swallowing hard. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as the numbers continued to climb. "Something here has got to be defective." She rested her hand against my chest. "You're sure you feel okay?" she asked as she fiddled with the leads for another few moments before taking her hand off me and searching through the drawers for something. I watched as the numbers on the machine instantly started to fall. She turned back to me and placed her hand on my chest, prepared to replace one of the leads, and the numbers started to climb again. She removed her hand again from my chest and watched as the numbers fell. A soft smirk floated across her lips, and that was when she realized that it was her that was making my heart rate go crazy. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes met mine as she rested her palm against my chest again.  "Perhaps you should stop touching me," I teased, grabbing her hand that was still resting against my chest as she watched the monitor. She smirked at my comment and rolled her eyes. "Did you at least win your fight?" she asked, studying the injuries on my face. Then she looked at my back and ran her fingers over the bruising that I was sure was already starting to show in my kidney area. The machines started beeping wildly again, and without even waiting for my response, she started writing her notes. "Why is there is no mention of trauma to the kidney area on the forms?" she asked impatiently. "There is no mention because I didn't say anything," I grunted as she lightly pressed in the area. "Oh and I won. The other guy looks way worse." "Well, then I'm glad I'm dealing with you and not him then." She kept her head down and continued making notes, studying the monitor. "Any other areas of injury you're not telling us about?" she questioned, those glass-blue eyes glaring at me. I was going to say something smart, but when I saw the fire in her eyes, I decided to shut up and just shake my head. I didn't need another fight on my hands tonight.

S.L. Sterling was born and raised in southern Ontario. She now lives in Northern Ontario Canada and is married to her best friend and soul mate and their two dogs. 

An avid reader all her life, S.L. Sterling dreamt of becoming an author. She decided to give writing a try after one of her favorite authors launched a course on how to write your novel. This course gave her the push she needed to put pen to paper and her debut novel "It Was Always You" was born. 

When S.L. Sterling isn't writing or plotting her next novel she can be found curled up with a cup of coffee, blanket and the newest romance novel from one of her favorite authors on her e-reader. Her favorite authors include Kendall Ryan, Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward, Lauren Blakely, Alessandra Torre and Willow Winters. 

In her spare time, she enjoys camping, hiking, sunny destinations, spending quality time with family and friends and of course reading.

HOSTED BY:

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Exclusive Interview: San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg

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Health Fitness Revolution and its founder Samir Becic have created a list of the Top 10 Fittest Mayors 2018. Since 2013, HFR has been creating lists of the fittest politicians in various branches of government in order to motivate Americans to embrace a healthier lifestyle.

After talking with San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and learning of his fitness routine, Samir nicknamed him “The Gladiator Mayor.”

“Ron Nirenberg is truly one of the physically strongest mayors and politicians in the United States,” Becic said. “His fitness routine can easily be compared with many professional athletes. He is a great advocate of a healthy lifestyle and promotes it constantly to his constituents. San Antonio, your mayor is a winner!”  

Samir Becic: Mayor Nirenberg, I was just reading your biography yesterday, and I am so impressed! With your fitness routines and how fit you are, we are going to put you on the list of the top 10 Fittest U.S. Politicians immediately. With this kind of resume, I have never seen it before.

Mayor Nirenberg: Oh, wow! Well thank you, I am honored.

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  This place gave as good as it got. One more for the memories and the pain. Thanks for the memories Bob, Mary, Jill, Milo, JD, Kevin, Lou, Steve, Joe, Phillip, and all the crew. OLYMPIC GYM FOREVER.

A post shared by Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@ron_nirenberg) on Feb 11, 2018 at 12:05pm PST

Samir Becic: Thank you for being so great, and for being a true American hero who is a great example for our children to be healthier and fitter.

Mayor Nirenberg: Well thank you, I am humbled to hear you say that. Truthfully it has just been part of my day for so long and it is something I can’t give up, but it’s certainly important to what we are trying to do for our community.

Samir Becic: We don’t want you to give up, we want you to motivate all the other mayors to be like you.

Mayor Nirenberg: (Laughs) There are a few other things that I have tried to persuade them about, but that will be a fun list for sure!

Samir Becic: I am more than impressed with your background. I am interviewing over 20 mayors in the next three days and your resume is stunning!

Mayor Nirenberg: Fitness is something I take very seriously and I am a firm believer in mind, body, spirit, and balance. The truth of the matter is, being an elected leader, being a mayor of a large city, I spend most of my day from the neck up that I have to have a high-intensity fitness regime to balance myself out and to keep myself sane and happy.

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  From rusted and retired to restored and ready for action. Thanks Willie and @el_guapo_fabrication for giving new life to the NFT iron!

A post shared by Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@ron_nirenberg) on May 26, 2018 at 2:11pm PDT

Samir Becic: That is so true, and lots of politicians don’t know how to cope with stress. Am I correct in saying that you are only 41 years old?

Mayor Nirenberg: Yes.

Samir Becic: Do you think your involvement in sports helped you become so successful and goal-oriented as the mayor of one of the largest cities in America?

Mayor Nirenberg: I certainly credit athletics, especially being in individual sports with very little instant gratification that requires a long-term outlook and self-discipline.

Samir Becic: I can clearly see that. I can tell from your body stance that you are an extremely lean man. You’re definitely one of the fittest, not only of all mayors in the country, but you are one of the fittest politicians in the United States period, and probably one of the fittest politicians in the world. What motivates you to be healthy? You mentioned to reduce stress, but what is that internal motivation that you hope to accomplish with a healthy lifestyle?

Mayor Nirenberg: Well I can say this, being fit and being strong allows me to enjoy life better, and I like to eat!

Samir Becic: I understand (laughs).

Mayor Nirenberg: I enjoy having a bigger lifestyle, not being limited by my physicality.  I have been doing anything I want to do, so being fit certainly helps me get the most out of what life has to offer.

Samir Becic: I agree, I’m a big believer in that. And for the last six years my team and I are trying to find the fittest politicians in America to motivate Americans to be healthy and fitter because childhood obesity is rising in America. What would you suggest to our kids or to their parents to do in order to stop childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes in America?

Mayor Nirenberg: Well I will say that physical fitness and your mental state of mind go hand in hand, and in order for people to truly be happy, they have to be physically active and include the body, mind, and spirit. In fact, I had a dream once, and it still may happen when I am retired, to open a gym and have part of it include physical and mental aspects of learning.

Samir Becic: Mayor, before you retire and open that gym, I would love to have you as a governor or senator because I think you can inspire more people just as you inspire me. Right now in America, corporations are losing billions of dollars in because of unhealthy employees, sick days and non-dynamic environment. As John F. Kennedy said, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, but it is also the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” What is your stance on that?

Mayor Nirenberg: I agree wholeheartedly and I believe that in order for one’s brain chemistry to work at its peak, it has to be balanced, and the only way to achieve that is through a properly balanced physical lifestyle.

Samir Becic: Yes I agree with you, and I just finished publishing my book about eight or nine months ago called Resync Your Life, which is about the body, mind, and spirit. It’s about physical fitness, healthy nutrition, mental, social and spiritual balance.

Mayor Nirenberg: I would love to read it.

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  ‪Jonah and I getting our kicks at the @finalfour FanFest with the @capitalone 360 cam. FUN! @marchmadness @sa_sports84 @visitsanantonio

A post shared by Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@ron_nirenberg) on Apr 1, 2018 at 3:04pm PDT

Samir Becic: I would love to send it to you! So, Mayor, fitness connects people, and fit people can be any race, any religion, and any background. What are you doing in San Antonio to connect people through fitness so that we can break the barriers?

Mayor Nirenberg: We are building a better city and we are connecting fitness opportunities with our infrastructure with things like park development, creek ways, pedestrian access to hiking and bike trails and we are learning how to build our city to where people can exercise and have a healthier lifestyle. The other thing I am doing is good behavior with different program events and in schools. I started a “Get Strong” fitness campaign which was intended to show all the different ways that people can have fun and get fit and adapt to the lifestyle that best suits them. I used to have a fitness consulting business 15 years ago, and my clients would ask me, “What’s the best fitness routine?” I would tell them the best fitness routine for me is the one that you will stick to! And so I want to show different ways people can adopt a healthy lifestyle so they find it convenient.

Samir Becic: Is there anything you could tell us about yourself that the public doesn’t know?

Mayor Nirenberg: Well I actually did some graduate work in bodybuilding. I was not a bodybuilder until I was in graduate school and one of the reasons why I got into it was to study how people’s identities change when they became bodybuilders, and so as an autoethnography, I have a thesis written in bodybuilding. And in 2005, I won the National Texas Cup in powerlifting for my weight class.

Samir Becic: Wow! And how much do you weigh, Mayor, if I may ask?

Mayor Nirenberg: I weigh a little under 200 now and I am lighter than I want to be, but at peak, I was 212.

Samir Becic: Ok that is great. Most people don’t understand how physical fitness impacts the brain. Scientific research has shown that the grey matter in the brain is tremendously improved by working out, and that the left and right brain hemispheres actually communicate much better. Now that I know this and know that you are not only a fitness enthusiast, but you actually have a scientific approach towards the brain, I can talk to you a little bit more about that because I don’t think we have many mayors who can actually do that. How would you correlate physical fitness and the brain and how you choose your balance and balance of stress?

Mayor Nirenberg: They are inextricably linked. Brain activity functions through chemistry and chemistry remains balanced when you are releasing the endorphins and other antioxidants that occur when you exercise, and without it, you don’t function at top capacity. People who have the experience after they run or after they exercise of thinking more clearly, that’s happening physically in your body and so maintaining a healthy lifestyle will allow you to have not just positive moods, but also enhance brain activity.

Samir Becic: This is so true and I’m so glad that you understand that and I wish at least 50 percent of America understood at least 50 percent of what you’re saying and have 50 percent of your knowledge. It is tremendously important to know that through healthy lifestyle you can not only manage or completely avoid 60 to 70 percent of known illnesses but you are actually becoming the best nature/God created in the first place. So you really are getting the best DNA expression as well. On another note, this is interesting, I see you received a $25,000 prize for health equity efforts.

Mayor Nirenberg: This actually just happened today and we were named one of the top cities in America with regards to health equity, and I was named by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. We are going to be a finalist and finding out the actual winner within the next month or two. It’s quite an achievement, considering the list that San Antonio has been on for the last couple of decades ranking us as among the most obese cities. So we are really turning that around and it has been a community-wide effort.

Samir Becic: That is very noble, Mayor. I’m trying to do this with mayor Sylvester Turner right now in Houston and like San Antonio, has been known as one of the fattest cities in America for a long time. But I also read an interesting fact, that you started working out when you were 14 years old.

Mayor Nirenberg: Yeah, I was very skinny and I started working out because I was inspired by my heroes growing up.

Samir Becic: Who was your hero?

Mayor Nirenberg: Well, I was a boy in the ’80s, and I watched all the Arnold (Schwarzenegger) movies.

Samir Becic: Arnold, ok! You know what I like about Arnold? In 1989, he was former President George Bush Sr.’s Fitness Czar of America. He actually went to all the governors and the mayors of major cities to motivate them to be healthy and fit. That’s why I like him. Arnold did an amazing job but I don’t think that people ever realized how much effort he put into this.

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  @schwarzenegger loves SA and @afterschoolallstars. Check out a special message from Arnold. Thanks, @alamocitycomiccon!

A post shared by Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@ron_nirenberg) on Oct 28, 2018 at 7:07pm PDT

Mayor Nirenberg: Yeah I remember staying up on Saturday night after SNL, the American Gladiators would come on, and I would convince my dad to buy me a weight set, but I really didn’t get serious about it until  I was a freshman in college and I went to see a trainer to give me a routine because I was just so skinny. I wanted him to teach me how to eat and to work out. He did and I never stopped.

Samir Becic: One more question: What three tips you would say to Americans on how to be healthy and fitter?  

Mayor Nirenberg: Move it or lose it, stop eating sugar, and in addition to that, if it’s in a package, don’t eat it.

Samir Becic: That is really wise and I couldn’t say it better myself. Thank you, Mayor Nirenberg, you rock!

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  Early voting starts TUESDAY for YOUR next Mayor! We need YOUR help. Please reach out to us for any questions (210) 201- 2618 or at 1001 Broadway. Let’s create a #CityYOUDeserve

A post shared by Mayor Ron Nirenberg (@ron_nirenberg) on May 27, 2017 at 1:39pm PDT

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