What Did the Papa Tomato Say to the Baby Tomato Because Baby Tomato Was Falling Behind?

Hurry and catch up!  Old, corny joke, but I do have some serious catching up to do on here! 

Besides The Action Plan: Get Fit Over 40 Training & Nutrition Program book review I posted yesterday, the last time I posted was more than a year ago! I started writing articles for other sites and abandoned this one. I figured I’d get started again. 

The Big Move - August 2012

Shortly after competing in my first bikini competition (with the OCB) in April 2012, I took a trip to San Francisco to visit my boyfriend. I visited the area 10 years prior so I obviously was in a different state of mind (18 years old versus 28 years old), and I was only able to visit for a couple of days compared to the week-long vacation I took last July. 

Back home, I already enrolled in a four-month program with the National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) in Orlando, Fla. I was going to drive down that September (live on campus) and graduate that December. My credit union approved me for the loan. I was going to do this. 

When I left San Francisco (and knew NPTI had a location in the area), I knew I had to move there and enroll at that location instead. I gave my job my two-weeks notice and called NPTI to switch which school I would be attending. About a month later,
I sold whatever I knew I wouldn’t be taking with me in a yard sale and packed my car with the rest of my belongings. 
In August, my dad and I made the 3,208-mile drive (I-90 to I-80). SIDE NOTE: If you EVER get the chance to road trip with your parent(s), DO IT! That was such a cool experience and I will have those memories with me forever. Plus, we saw a lot of different things along the way. I would do it all over again for sure. 

Opportunity #1 - September 2012

This is also another reason why I need to keep up with my fitness blogging - it’s opened some doors for me!
Without blogging, I would have never had the opportunity to become a FitFluential Ambassador 
(and, later, a ReebokONE Ambassador - I’ll explain more about that later). 

I applied to become a FitFluential Ambassador in September 2012. They only accept a certain amount of applicants each year and I was one of the lucky ones to be chosen! FitFluential is “a nationwide network of highly influential fitness enthusiasts sharing their journey both online and offline through multiple social media platforms. Founded in April of 2011 by Kelly Olexa (who is FRIGGIN awesome, I might add!), FitFluential was designed to connect health and wellness bands with their ideal target market through customized, long-term experiential and contextual marketing campaigns.” (Source: FitFluential) 

By the way, FitFluential Ambassador applications are now open! If you’re interested, submit yours before Oct. 31, 2013 - just head over to www.fitfluential.com.  

Back to School - September 2012

It was back to school for me yet again! I graduated from the University of Maine Orono in May 2005 with a bachelor’s in journalism, and seven years later, I was enrolled in another school for something completely different! Classes started in early September, and, because I LOVE to learn, I soaked up every bit of information that was taught. The six-month program (Orlando is the only one with the four-month program) went by so quickly! By the end of February 2013, I received my NPTI diploma and became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. 

I immediately began work as a trainer at Crunch Fitness Hills Plaza on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. It was good while it lasted, but I quickly realized big, corporate gyms are not the fit for me. I am now training out of Be Fit Stay Active Personal Training in Albany, Calif. (“Be Fit” for short!) as an independent contractor - right up my alley! 

Opportunity #2 - February 2013

From: Peter Bognanno

To: Magen

Cc: Kelly Olexa

Subject: ReebokONE Ambassador Program

Date: February 15, 2013 at 11:02 AM

Hi Magen,

My name is Pete Bognanno and I am part of the ReebokONE Instructor Network team here at Reebok. ReebokONE is an online community for fitness professionals allowing them to connect, share, and further themselves in the industry. I wanted to reach out to you and see if we could set up a call to discuss our new platform and specifically our ambassador program in more detail. Reebok and FitFluential have had a great relationship thus far, and we feel that furthering this relationship through a connection to ReebokONE will be mutually beneficial. 
By looking through multiple FitFluential profiles, we have identified you as someone who would be a great fit to become an ambassador to the platform 
because of your interest in strength & conditioning and the figure (he really meant bikini ;-)) competition community. Please let me know if you would be interested in discussing this in more detail. You can check out the site at: 

www.reebok.com/ReebokONE

By simply having a profile on the network, fitness instructors gain access to: 

Exclusive Content

25% discount on Reebok product

A Professional Fitness profile

We want to better the fitness community by giving them a dedicated fitness social media platform on which to connect, and we would like you to be a part of this. 

Feel free to contact me at your convenience. Thanks!

Pete Bognanno

Wait a minute, WHAT?! I gotta read this again. Obviously, this is some kind of sick joke. But I do see Kelly’s Cc’d on this email so maybe it isn’t? I don’t know. Whatever, I’ll just call this “Pete” guy and see what he has to say. 

Dial the number. Holy shit... is this really for real? 
Did REEBOK really just reach out to me? 
I can’t even belie-

“Hi, this is Pete.”

“Hi, Pete, this is Magen Petit. I just received your email regarding the ReebokONE Ambassador Program.”

“Wow, you’re quick! I just sent that email.” 

Shit, I definitely was too quick on that. Stupid eager beaver! Totally should have given it a day or two at least - isn’t that usually the way phone calls work, men? You wait a day or two after meeting the hot chick at the gym and THEN you call? You don’t call right away? Well, I’m on the phone with him now!

“Haha yea, I had the time to give you a call so I figured I would right away.”

Pretty much, the phone call lasted about 10 minutes and I don’t think my heart rate was ever under 150 the entire time. Pete asked if I was on board and wanted to become a ReebokONE Ambassador after he explained to me what it entails: I would have to sign a one-year contract and wear nothing but Reebok gear that would be sent to me every quarter (yes, FREE gear!), promote the brand via social media outlets, attend ReebokONE events (which would be paid for by Reebok), and promote the ReebokONE online community and get other fitness professionals signed up on the free site, too. 

In the words of Ace Ventura, “Gee, let me think...umm, sure!” 

I immediately called my boyfriend, parents, and sent out a group text to my closest girlfriends freaking out and telling them what just went down. Did this REALLY just happen?!

NPC Stage - March 2013

So crazy how social media connects us. When I was prepping for my first competition in early 2012, I set up my Instagram account (@magenfit23). Most of it was fitness related, shocking, I know. Because of that, and my excessive #hashtags, I met a future fellow NPC-turned-IFBB Pro bikini competitor, Michelle Mein (@meeshelliieee). She was doing boot camps, had lost a bunch of weight, was starting to really get into fitness, and asking me questions about competing. She finally decided that July that she would start prepping for her first show, which ended up being October 2012. (She took 1st place in Overall Masters and 3rd Open Class A. From there, she competed in six more shows. During her most recent show, she earned her Pro Card!) The craziest thing of all of this is that she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I moved to! She convinced me to do an NPC show out here, so I did. 

I competed in early March in Culver City, Calif., which is right outside of LA. I qualified for nationals by placing 5th in my class (Class D). I was ecstatic! I got first call outs during prejudging and never imagined that would happen in my first NPC show in California in LA of all places! I figured I would be at a huge disadvantage because of my lack of boobs and my full sleeve tattoo. Apparently, none of that matters, which is great for me! 

Competing in this show, my prep going into the show, and what happened post show is all for another article... stay tuned! 

Wrap Up

This post is a little longer than I expected, and I really want to share with you my experiences with ReebokONE so far so expect another post on that shortly. 

Thanks for reading, and, as always, HAPPY TRAINING!

Motivation: Where Is It?

Photo Courtesy of helpmegetthin.tumblr.com

So you want to become motivated. You want to start going to the gym and get on that cardio machine. You want to get rid of weight and feel great. You want to fit into those pants you haven't slipped on in more than five years. You want to look in the mirror and finally smile back at yourself because you feel confident in how you look and in how you present yourself. 


First of all, do it for YOU and no one else. YOU are the only person who can make YOU happy. YOU are in control of your life. Secondly, identify what's making you feel the way you are feeling. Is it the beer gut? Or how about those saddlebags? Can you just not get rid of that trouble area? You're always looking in the mirror and picking yourself apart. You think to yourself that you'll never get to where you want to be. Guess what? You're right. You think it, that's exactly what's going to happen. You'll get that beer gut, those saddlebags won't go away, and that trouble area... it's staying! Let those negative thoughts go. 


What do your negative thoughts do to yourself? They bring you down, right? They make you feel even more insecure. 


Turn your negative thoughts into positive ones. Where do you want your body to go? How do you want to feel? Convert all your negative thoughts into positive ones. "I hate my body" to "I love my body" or "I'll never get fit" to "I will get fit". Still don't think it's possible to do this? Here's a challenge for you - DO IT. Remember, what you put into it is what you'll get out of it. Set small goals for yourself so you actually stick with it. Don't just make it a resolution and have it fizzle out a month later. Words and phrases drive action. Make them positive! 


Ok so you have the positive words and phrases down pact. Now all you have to do is put them into action and you're well on your way to being and staying motivated. If you need to, write yourself a note or an email to "get to the gym". Print out pictures of people's physique that you want to emulate and hang them on your fridge, in your cubicle at work, or in your wallet. Let that be a reminder as to where you see yourself. 


Be fit. Stay fit. It feels so good to be healthy! YOU CAN DO IT!

Photo Courtesy of helpmegetthin.tumblr.com

Gym Etiquette 101

For those of you who have been to a gym, I’m sure you’ve encountered at least one thing that completely irritates you. Whether it be the foul odor coming from the dude who just let one rip while jogging on the treadmill next to you or the chick who just can’t resist piling on the makeup before her effortless and sweat-less workout.

Now I’m not saying my gym etiquette is perfect, but I’m at least respectable in some regards.

1. Re-rack your weights! If you’re a big burly man putting up 300+lbs. during your bench press, you seriously don’t have the energy or strength to remove all the plates and return them to their proper place? Don’t get me wrong, I can certainly do it myself, but it’s the principle. Didn’t your momma teach you to clean up after yourself? No one wants a messy man! Ladies – same goes for you, too!
2. Passing gas. You really can’t control yourself? How about at least sprinting outside or to the bathroom and letting loose there? It really interferes with my cardio or lift, no joke! It completely takes my breath away and throws off my entire cardio or lift session for at least the next two minutes. I understand we’re all human and do it, but it’s disgusting while I’m trying to workout. I do not want to smell what you had for lunch while I’m performing a full on sprint at an incline on the treadmill – it completely chokes me and I have to stop short of reaching my goal. I just cannot push through something like that.
3. Grunting. Okay, I get it, it helps you get the weight up and get that last extra rep in, and that’s great! Good for you! Can you tone it down a bit though? I grunt, too, sometimes when I’m really lifting heavy, but it’s not that loud. Everyone in the gym knows you’re trying to squat 500+lbs. because of the five or six 45lb. plates you have stacked on each side; we can clearly see that. A little less grunting please.
4. Attire. Oh boy. How can you workout in jeans? How can you workout in flip flops? Ladies, are you sure you feel comfortable enough to be wearing just a sports bra in the gym; Men, are you sure you want to workout without a shirt on? You don’t want to save that for when it’s a really hot day you’re exercising outside instead? I know you are proud of your body and want to show it off, but I’d rather not see your butt cheeks hanging out of your Nike CombatCompression shorts. Save that look for the beach. Heavy makeup? Seriously? Are you expecting to go out on the town after and not shower? Please, please, please – WEAR DEODORANT! That’s just as bad, if not worse, as farting!
5. Wiping the machines down. It’s really simple: you use a machine and you sweat all over it – you wipe it down! The gym even provides, free of charge, towels with a spray bottle filled with sanitizer! It’s pretty cool, you get to spray the sanitizer on the towel, walk over to the machine you were using, and wipe it down. See? Told you it was simple!
6. Hogging it all. Really? You have 10 sets of 25 reps (with a minute rest in between) on the only machine that’s available in the gym for the exercise I need to do? Awesome. Oh, you can’t let me do my 3 sets of 10 in between either? Cool. Piss off!
7. Cell phones. My music is on my cell phone so I have it with me on the floor because you all know now that I can’t workout without my music. I also have an armband and headphones that have a speaker so if someone does call me while I’m working out and I don’t want to miss the call, I’m able to answer and speak, in a low voice and for a minimum of a couple of minutes, all while I continue my workout. I’m ok with this. I’m not ok with those who stand in the middle of the floor talking loudly on their phone. Take it in the bathroom or outside.
8. Nakedness. This is NOT ok. It is unacceptable on all counts! I don’t care if you have the hottest body in the world, walking around naked in the locker room is just weird. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough in your own skin, but I don’t like seeing your boobs (and vagina) flopping around (actually, I hope your vag doesn’t flop around…). If I want to see that, I will go to the nearest strip club. And do not try talking to me naked. Where am I supposed to look? I certainly can’t make eye contact with you. Awkward! If you want to go in the sauna naked, please bring a towel and sit on that ladylike! DO NOT SIT SPREAD EAGLE! I can’t imagine a men’s locker room. I pity all you men out there. Who really wants to see a bunch of genitalia bouncing around like that? There’s a time and a place for it, just not at the gym. Thanks.

Okay, I think I’m done ranting about my pet peeves at the gym. Truly the ones that bother me the absolute most is passing gas and not wiping down the machines. I find if I need to re-rack someone else’s weight, it’s just giving me an extra little workout, which I’m fine with. Grunting, I can just turn my music up or completely ignore. Attire – hey, to each his own, right? Hogging it all, I’ll find an alternative to what I want to do, no big deal. Cell phones, whatever, I can just ignore that, too. Nakedness, it’s how we were born, right? Ok, maybe I’m a little grossed out by some of the bodies I see roaming around the locker room. Just make sure your body is tight before letting it all hang out.

What are your pet peeves at the gym or with working out? Share with me! I want to know!