How I Got Dedicated to Fitness: The Tone It Up Community

Women Crush Wednesday!? Why not!

Today I wanted to pay tribute to the wonderful women who sparked my love for fitness, the Tone It Up trainers Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn. These two awesome beach babes have created a strong and supportive community of women dedicated to fitness and adopting healthy habits.

I first stumbled upon the Tone It Up team last summer during the 2014 Bikini Series Challenge. I had never been an active person. I was always more involved in non-physical activities because in my mind I was too slow and horribly coordinated for sports. Somehow I even managed to avoid P.E. courses in school by taking simpler active courses at the local community college, like yoga or doing gym hours. Somehow my boyfriend convinced me to join Cross Country with him during our senior year. No try outs, but I was still horribly anxious, but instead of being depressed in last place I surprised myself with my physical capabilities. Running one mile had once seemed so daunting and now here I was running three or more miles a day!

When I went to college I must admit I was a bit afraid of the much warned about, “Freshman 15.” So I tried to stay active which was a little easier now that I had access to an amazing university gym facility (already included in my tuition fees, so I HAD to use it, RIGHT!?) We even had an indoor track! I went to the gym a few times, sometimes even convincing friends to join me! However, half the time I spent on the mat not really knowing what to do. I always did the stationary bike and was overly intimidated to attempt using the weight machines. At last I started attending free fitness classes and found some joy in working out. The instructors always seemed to have all these new, exciting moves and challenges to share with the class, which I loved! Plus, I was always sore the next day. A necessary pain of proof I was making a difference in my body. Something I almost never got on my own.

A sudden determination to be strong, confident, fit, and healthy came upon me during the Summer of 2014. I questioned my boyfriend about fitness and showed some concern for the mountain of fries we seemed to be enjoying all too much. My boyfriend and I decided to both try out P90X. Although we never fully completed the program, I enjoyed the layout nonetheless. The DVDs ignited the same motivation and inspiration I had gotten in live classes. Plus I could workout in the comfort of my own home! My boyfriend and I still to this day always choose the Ab Ripper X workout as our core workout choice! We agreed to get an LA FITNESS membership for the summer so we could reach our fitness goals together.

I was excited to finally hit the weight machines with the help of my boyfriend and be able to workout even when I wasn’t able to drive out to school. Still I wasn’t entirely sure how or where to begin. I knew I wanted to be strong but not too bulky. My boyfriend insisted that I was already a good size and that all I needed was to “tone up.” So I goggled something along the lines of, “workouts to tone up,” and alas I was introduced to Toneitup.com.

The first routine I found was Bikini Abs. I glanced at the printable for a few minutes and thought to myself, “Hey, I think I can actually do this!” and so I clicked the play button on the video and did just that.  I felt amazingly sweaty and empowered! I quickly became obsessed, sifting through all their posts and wanting to try everything!

How awesome was it that these two beautiful women, naturally sculpted with strength were sharing their fitness and health knowledge with me (AND YOU!) for…FREE!? Sadly, I had found Tone It Up at the end of the Bikini Series and with school and two part-time jobs it has always been a struggle for me to complete a challenge all the way through. Despite this my discovery of this amazing community has still changed me entirely in body, mind, and spirit. Plus introduced me to some amazing women! (Check out a few of their stories here!)

Recently I got out of the groove of fitness again and just this week got back into it. Now I’ve graduated from university, have decided to only keep my day job and am fully confident and committed to completing a Tone It Up challenge.

HOW TO BEGIN AND STAY ACCOUNTABLE THROUGHOUT

Get your calendar ready! (Planning & preparation are big in the TIU Community)

Make sure to read ahead for this in the book/weekly schedules!

Nutrition IS important! (I admit this is a big challenge for me too!)

BUT Toneitup has you covered in that department too! If you feel like investing you can purchase the TIU Nutrition Plan (which I do have) but I understand this can be quite pricey! So feel free to check out some of their FREE recipes or find your own (I love searching for clean eating recipes on Pinterest)

Stay accountable!

Check-in daily with your meals and workouts, and don’t be afraid to share your struggles too! We are all here to lift one another up, not tear one another down.

Many TIU members create a separate TIU account on Instagram for their check-ins (mine is cs_tiu_) Not a must, but incase you don’t want to bombard your family/friends with fitness posts! There are also plenty of Facebook Groups as well!