BANG BANG 💥

For those of you who know me, know that I’m always raving about the new bang energy drinks. Opposed to always giving a long winded speech about why I love them so much & why monster drinkers should convert.. I have decided to make a post about it. I have broken it down into 5 main reasons.

1. The flavor is AMAZING. This isn’t your typical energy drink that tastes like you are going to get a heart attack shortly after consuming it. Bang has a very smooth & light taste.Most of the flavors are pretty great, however my personal favorites are the citrus twist and the cherry vanilla.

2. The Caffeine!! This drink has 300mg of caffeine, that is about 3 cups of coffee. Prior to discovering Bang I would drink up to two coffees to be able to both function and be pleasant, and I’m the type of person who likes their coffee SWEET, which in turn lead to weight gain. Luckily, Bang has 0 carbs & 0 sugars therefore, supplementing Bang instead of my coffee has aided me in achieving my weight-loss goal. The best part is that this drink doesn’t leave me with the jitters. I drink some before work and I’m ready to tackle anything that the world has in store for me that day (and with a smile on my face). I also really like drinking it as a pre work out, I definitely feel like it enhances my performance & i don’t feel itchy like most pre-work out drinks often make me feel.

3. The Super creatine. Okay, so first lets talk about creatine. Creatine is consumed as a performance enhancer that promotes the growth of lean body mass. The primary role of creatine is to facilitate the recycling of ATP which is basically the energy currency of your cells. Now what makes this creatine so super? VPX sport came up with formula that bonded Creatine to Leucine (an amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins). Creatine sinks when mixed with water & Leucine floats so when you mix the two it creates a water stable form of creatine that crosses the brain barrier with more ease to maximize mental focus.

4. Bang contains BCAAS (Branched Chain Amino Acids). I am the worst at taking the supplements I know I should be taking because I often don’t like the taste, or simply because it can be hassle to mix your BCAA drink and get the powder ALL over the place. BCAAs are so important because our bodies don’t produce them naturall. It is up to us to get them from the foods we eat or the supplements we take, and I don’t know about you but I won’t touch broccoli with thirty-nine and a half inch pole! Amino acids help you preserve muscle during your workouts, it helps fuel your skeletal muscles by giving them an energy source to tap into during your work out. And last but not least BCAAs help give your muscles a better recovery after an intense work out

5. Bang contains CO Q 10 – a compound called Coenzyme 10. This compound ironically has 10 amazing health benefits:

1. Generates energy in your cells

2. Helps treat heart failure

3. Helps with fertility

4. Keeps your skin looking young

5. Reduces headaches

6. Enhances your athletic performance

7. Helps if you have diabetes

8. Plays a role in Cancer Prevention

9. Good for the brain

10. Could help protect your lungs

As you can tell there are many benefits and I can go on for days but I wont bore you with the details so I’ve kept it sweet and simple.(:

10 Fit-myths

FIT-MYTHS; Fit/miTH/ noun : a widely held but false belief or idea about fitness.

1. “If you weigh a lot, that means you’re fat.” Many of us (myself included) sometimes get so hung up on the number on the scale. A pound is a pound. A pound of fat and a pound of muscle weigh the exact same (common sense). The only difference is density because fat takes up more volume. However, it is possible for the number as the scale may go up while you lose body fat. Progress is better measured by checking your body percentage, the change you see in the mirror and being able to slip into your favorite jeans that hug you just right.

2. “I’m not going to lift heavy weights because I’m not trying to look like a man”-me. hahah I’m almost never wrong, but boy was I wrong with this one. You see, its science, Women do not have the same hormone profile as men, therefore they will not bulk like men do. The testosterone men produce helps facilitate their muscle gain. Females don’t have nearly as much testosterone as men. In fact, females have 15-20 times less testosterone. Weight training will get you to burn more calories which will result in body fat loss. Plus, you train for the results you want so if you are trying to bulk you need to fuel and train your body for bulking.

3. “I worked out so I can eat whatever I want”-Everyone. Everyone has different goals they want to obtain, some wish to bulk, some want weight loss. Just because you worked out does not mean you should go out and eat that double-double cheese burger because you “earned” it. If you are truly working that hard you should reward your body by fueling it with food that is actually good for it. Don’t throw away all your time and effort by stuffing your face with garbage. Now don’t get me wrong, I love fries more than anything and Im not as strict as I should be, but moderation is key!!

4. “I can eat as much of these as I’d like because they’re gluten free” -gluten free hipsters. Some people load up on gluten free junk food but little do they know that some of these items have more calories and carbs then the real form of the junk food. Essentially, the grains that these gluten free treats contain have been stripped of their fiber and nutrients in order to be gluten free. So might as well go for that real cookie, I’m sure itl’l taste better anyhow.

5. “I can spot reduce my problem areas”. When you workout and eat properly, your body draws fat from different regions based on your genetic make up. If you want to lose fat from one area, you’d have to lose fat overall. Only liposuction and surgery will attack the desired area but who wants to do that? After all if you work hard to obtain your goals, the accomplishment itself will feel soooo much better.

6. “Running is best for weight loss” Yes, you will lose weight if you run but a lot of the weight you lose is most likely muscle loss. Personally, I know I’ve worked hard for the little baby muscles I have so I rather keep what Ive got!

7. “If I do 565,199,347 crunches I’ll have abs” This ties into number myth number 5 with spot reducing. Everyone is born with abs, some of us just have a little more cushion on top of them. In order to reveal those bad boys a healthy diet is essential. As much as it breaks my little heart to say it, its right what they say “abs are built in the kitchen”.

8. “But first, cardio” Most people walk into the gym and head straight into the cardio section because they think doing cardio goes before the actual weight training burns more fat. If you begin with cardio, you are exhausting your muscles before your actual workout has begun. By doing this you are reducing your glycogen levels which can prevent you from training to the best of your abilities. Weight training promotes calorie burn throughout the day so that’s the long term solution you should be aiming for!

9. “Carbs are only found in bread & noodles” FALSE! Carbs can be found in almost everything, including fruits and veggies. If I had it my way I would live off of fruit and acai bowls but unfortunatley I would be loading up on carbs making it impossible to reach my fitness goals.

10. “The cardio machine said I burnt 300+ calories” Everyone burns calories differently based on age, fitness levels, body mass index, and sex. The treadmill does not know these characteristics of yours making it impossible to calculate how many calories you have destroyed as an individual. For example, if a 140 pound person with 30% body fat and another weighing 140 pounds but is 20% body fat both run a mile at a 10 minute rate, the cardio machine would display the same amount of calories burnt based off of a formula. In reality the person that has the most fat will burn the most calories because of the energy they have to use to accomplish that mile.

Dear younger me

FullSizeRender 2                   When I first decided to work on my physical fitness I stepped into the gym and it was a pretty intimidating place. I had no idea what I was doing and looking back at it now, it’s sort of comical. I would walk inside the gym and “run” a mile on the treadmill, maybe hop on an elliptical if I was feeling wild and reckless. Then I would walk into the weight lifting section of the gym and travel from one machine to another depending on availability. Not even realizing I wasn’t isolating a single muscle group. After that, I’d walk out of the gym feeling so accomplished with my amazing workout and I’d reward myself with a delicious cup of Yogurtland, because I earned it. I wish I would have known better but that's okay, because I learned from my silly mistakes and I am continuously learning to this day. These are five things I wish I knew when I began my fitness journey in order to save myself a lot of time and embarrassment.

#1. Organization is important. In a perfect world all the machines you need for your workout will be available when you need them, but since that's never going to happen, it's probably not the best idea to hop from the leg press on to a lat pulldown like the dear younger me would have. That being said, build yourself a nice split, which is a schedule that divides your weight training by body regions. For example, Monday is my Leg day (although many argue Monday’s are international Chest day). Walk into the gym with a game plan and conquer it, I like to write down what I want to do for the day. I make a list and I group the workout depending on the layout of my gym. Find out what works for you and make it happen!!

#2. Stretching is important. I used to think that stretching was the biggest waste of time because I was just so eager to hop right in there and start pumping some weights. I didn’t want to waste any time looking like I was preparing myself for the most intense event of my life, but I quickly learned my lesson through injuries. Injuries that could have been avoided if I simply would have taken the time to stretch. Stretching keeps muscles flexible, strong, and healthy. By stretching we provide our muscles the flexibility to maintain a good range of motion in the joints. If you go straight into a workout without stretching you are calling on your muscles for activity when they are weak and unable to fully extend which puts you in risk of joint pain, strains, and muscle damage.In the end avoiding the stretching was a bigger waste of time because the pain my tight and pulled muscles would hinder my ability to work out.

#3. Just because a bar says PROTEIN on it, it does not mean its good for you. I used to run into the grocery store and grab any protein bar that had an appealing wrapper. You have to take the time and understand what your body needs in order for you to reach your goals as an individual. My goal was weight loss and unfortunately most protein bars are loaded with carbs so most protein bars are not ideal they are great for people who are looking to gain mass.

#4. HIIT > Running Long Distance. I personally hate running long distances because I feel like it takes forever and it is just torturous for my not so very long legs. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. This is a cardio strategy where one performs a short burst of high intensity exercise followed by an active rest activity. These should be done repeatedly until exhaustion. HIIT burns calories and fat in a shorter period of time and will continue to burn calories and fat hours after you have left the gym. HIIT also promotes loss of fat not muscle, whereas long distance running can lead to muscle loss. HIIT should be extremely challenging and totally kicks my butt every time but, trust me it’s worth it.

#5. Stay Positive. Everyone had a different fitness journey, it isn’t easy. It takes hard work, dedication and sometimes a few failures. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have moments of discouragement, but luckily I’ve been surrounded by amazing people who always push me to do better (and I am way too stubborn to give up). Just remember a little progress each day adds up to big results.

“If you get tired, Learn to rest not to quit.”

img_2326I cannot to begin to tell you how many times I almost quit during my fitness journey. Why? Because it isn’t easy! Well, at least for me it wasn’t. Particularly in the beginning because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and yes, to me it was a bit intimidating stepping into a place where I probably looked like a fool because I had no fitness knowledge at all. But we all have to start somewhere. Then, when I got past the intimidation and started learning from my peers. After that came a little bit of discouragement. I felt like I was working so hard, prioritizing fitness over everything in order to achieve my dream body with no mind blowing transformation. I would think to myself is being fit even worth it? Maybe its not really meant for me. Then someone told me “If fitness was easy then everybody would be fit”. I find that to be so true! One thing I really love about this process is that it’s not something you can buy or something that can be given to you. Your desire,dedication, & discipline is what is going to get you where you want to be and I truly believe  that, that speaks in volume about your personal character. Granted, technically you can buy your body by getting implants or using steroids, but again to me that just says so much about your character. If living a healthy lifestyle is something you truly want, its worth every drop of sweat! What greater satisfaction then stepping back and seeing the results YOU have created? And yes sometimes it takes a few failures to get it right but that okay. Every failure is a lesson, if you aren’t willing to fail a few times you aren’t ready to succeed. If you ever feel like quitting just think about why you started & lets keep going!!

-xoxo Pri

The More You Glow

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No matter where I go, I always aspire to be the type of person who adds something positive to the space & lives around me. I hope this blog brings a bit of encouragement to you during your fitness journey. I myself am in the middle of my fitness journey with a long way to go and I truly believe that with knowledge, determination, & positivity anything is possible. I’ve been through the setbacks and some of the failures so I understand how difficult it can be to reach your goals. Through this blog I will share all that I’ve learned so far in hopes of making your journey a little more enjoyable. I spent a lot of time looking for a light to show me the way to success and now instead of looking for it, I decided to become it myself. I encourage you to do the same! 

The more you know, the more you glow! 

                                                                            -xoxo Pri