Follow Friday!

I’m a huge advocate of supporting other women, especially in my field. I think it is important to empower each other and form a community so that we can all grow and learn from others. There are others that might not think the same way I do and view others in their field as competition. Honestly, those are just people that are insecure about themselves and their craft.

In order to grow, we learn from one another and perhaps someone might have a different perspective on something that you never realized. I see this all the time with how some of these ladies perform exercises or with their recipes. I am plain and to the point and it can get boring at times, so I look to these ladies for inspiration and I hope that you will too.

Some of these ladies I know personally and others I’ve never even had a conversation but I still LOVE their work. Whether it's their personality, their ideas or their knowledge I am drawn to them and absolutely love what they are doing. I honestly cannot say enough about these ladies. They all have brought something different into the fitness industry that has made a difference.

The first one on the list is Yami Mufdi! She is a fellow Youtuber and Fitness Influencer and coach. I actually know Yami from college….we are sorority sisters! Yay AZD. Yami and I have similar backgrounds in that we are both Latinas, tall and models. We both struggled with weight and tons of rejection during our modeling days. However, Yami has done incredible things for herself. She found her passion and calling in life. She has inspired so many women out there and I think it's due to her incredible and uplifting personality. Yami also has her own clothing line, Levavi. which has the cutest sportswear and caters to every female body. You can check her out here:

IG: @YAMIMUFDI

YOUTUBE: YAMI MUFDI

WEBSITE: WWW.YAMIMUFDI.COM

Second on the list is: Grace White or otherwise known as @asoutherndrawl. I’ve been following Grace now for about a year and I absolutely love her style and energy, not to mention her killer abs.  I am also obsessed with her pup, Jeter. Grace is a fitness and fashion blogger, which are two of my absolute favorite things. I really resonate with her style because its classy, athletic but not in a tomboy way and comfy. I honestly get a lot of outfit inspos from her. She also comes up with some great recipes that are so yummy and easy to make. I know you guys have seen me talk about her crack chicken on here before. I suggest you give it a try if you haven’t done so.  Grace is also the owner of FITWITHASD which is her fitness website. She posts her daily burns that consist of her daily workouts. You get so much for just $8.99 a month. Her recipes, workouts, home workout options and a ton of tips. She is a great one to follow!

IG: @ASOUTHERNDRAWL & @FITWITHASD

WEBSITE: WWW.ASOUTHERNDRAWL.COM

Next up is Emily Duncan AKA Em Dunc.  I’ve been following Em for a while now and I absolutely love her. She just tells it as it and doesn't give a F**K about anything. She is super duper smart and extremely knowledgeable in her field. She is one of the reasons why I decided to go back to school and get my degree in Kinesiology. I honestly want to be a walking encyclopedia of exercise and nutrition like she is! She is also a youtuber and a wonderful fur momma to Luna. I relate a lot with Em because she also suffers from anxiety like me and is extremely open about it. Em had a rough year in 2018 and ended up having to have explant surgery, however, she is thriving now! She is an NPC bikini competitor and truly deserves to win her IFBB Pro card for the 2020 season.

You can follow her here:

IG: @EM_DUNC

YOUTUBE: EM DUNC

WEBSITE: WWW.EMILYDUNCANFITNESS.COM

I recently started following Lauren Gleisberg about a month or two ago. I was drawn to her page because she is not your typical blogger by any means! She shares great advice about fitness and is like me: works out at home and at the gym.  I like how she shares 3 different ways of styling leggings or a t-shirt, I might have to steal this idea haha! She is currently doing a FITMAS CHALLENGE.  She also shares a lot of great knowledge about fitness on her blog and Instagram page. Also, if your mom or just gave birth, Lauren is a proud mama of two and looks phenomenal.

You can follow her here:

IG: LAURENGLEISBERG

WEBSITE: WWW.LAURENGLEISBERG.COM

Now I know I said I was just gonna talk about other girls, but I have to do an honorable mention to these incredible men who happen to be my coaches: Alex Bush and Jason Theobald also known as Scooby Prep. These two really know their shit! As a former NPC competitor and Beauty Pageant Queen, I have had my share of trainers, coaches, and nutritionists but none like Alex and Jason. I would always start off doing wonderful with these other coaches and super motivated but then a couple of months would pass and I would get discouraged because I wasn’t seeing results. This hasn’t been the case with Alex and Jason.

Alex is my physique coach and I can not say enough great things about him. He has taught me to really train with intensity and purpose. I would speed through the exercises to finish quickly and I was able to do so much weight but my body wouldn’t change! I was using momentum instead of my actual muscles! With Alex I have re-learned to perform a common exercise like the lat pulldown. I mean I think I might be a massichist because I pay for him to torture me but I wouldn’t have it any other way! He knows so much about the body and is the ultimate best in putting programs together. My physique has changed in only a year from working with him and we actually had to stop for a couple of months when I had my back injury.

Jason is my nutritionist and I have no idea how to thank him! He has fixed my hormones and my body is finally responding as it should. It hasn’t been an easy road, that's for sure, but Jason has been there through every step guiding me and teaching me. He is the best at what he does. No one has been able to get my body to respond the way it has! The funny thing is that I haven’t lost much weight on the scale but the recomping of my body has been phenomenal! You know its working when everyone has something to say about how good you look. Jason has been a true savior for me! I went to him when I had lost all hope on ever being able to restore my body and my hormones. I am forever grateful for what he has done and continues to do!

Do yourself a favor and follow these two! They will give you the correct information and not all the BS you see on Instagram.

ALEX: ALEXBUSH_

JASON: SCOOBYPREP1_IFBBPRO