Archives for May 2013

05/29

TRX Summit 2013: San Diego

Hey Guys! Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend! I’ve been in San Diego (and am still here) for the annual TRX Summit – think of it as a really physical work retreat. In years past we’ve gone to different cities, but this year’s took place in SD, which is very exciting for me as I lived here for 4 years not too long ago. Our Summits are always a blast and we, the Master Instructors, love getting together to learn, laugh, and sweat. Each summit has a workout that involves some sort of local cultural element, (when we were in Thailand, we took a hardcore 90 minute Muay Thai class at Tiger Muay Thai in the middle of the jungle) so in San Diego, we were led through a two hour SEAL Team training experience. Since the creator of the company was a Navy SEAL, he thought it’d be great to enlist a couple of his old SEAL buddies to take us through a log training workout. Yeah… great.

I almost died.

And this experience solidified

why I will never join any military branch ever …

But it was sort of fun… in a

“fun to talk about now that it’s OVER and I didn’t die”

kind of way.

Here are some photos.

First command: go dive in the water, then cover yourself completely in sand.

You have 30 seconds.

Go.

Here are some 300+ lb logs… pick ’em up, press ’em up, squat with ’em.

(this went on for about an hour or so)

Photos by Fraser Quelch, Steve Katai, and Dan McDonogh.

posted by Ami McMullen 1 Comment
Filed Under: San Diego, Summit, TRX

05/23

Travel Thoughts: New Orleans

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The last time I went to New Orleans I only had a couple hours to cruise around and check things out during a late night. I hit up a couple jazz bars and maneuvered my way through tons of partying (drunk) tourists. This time, I still only had a few hours, but they were in the early evening on Saturday night, a much different experience as the bar-hoppers weren’t out just yet and it was mostly tourists like me, enjoying the laid-back evening and taking it all in. Since I didn’t have much time, I headed straight for the French Market. I wanted a drink, I wanted to try the world-famous beignets at Cafe Du Monde, and I wanted to enjoy the perfect 78 degree weather while people watching – my favorite thing to do when I’m traveling.

Louisiana Lemonade

at Market Cafe

Stopping in at Cafe Du Monde!

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These were better than you could even imagine.

I love having nowhere to be

and people watching in different cities.

Cruising Decatur St.

The food. The people. The weather. The energy. It’s all got an electric feeling to it.

It’s just so unlike other places in the states. There’s SO much culture.

New Orleans is definitely one of my favorite cities in this country.

And here’s a fun article about 10 Things New Orleans had before anybody else!
Like cocktails! And Jazz! #thisplaceiszesty

posted by Ami McMullen 2 Comments
Filed Under: New Orleans, travel, travel thoughts

05/21

DIY: Changing my own car headlight…

Soooo my mom has always taught me to be self-reliant.

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Backstory: Growing up, my mom and I replaced gutters, put up dry-wall, painted, changed oil, etc. She wanted me to be prepared to handle anything and to feel confident in knowing that I had the ability to do it myself. Not that I couldn’t ask for help when I needed it, but being able to fend for myself would ensure that I’d always be ok. So that’s usually what I do… except when it comes to car stuff. Small things I can handle, like putting air in my tires, putting oil in my car, replacing the air filter, etc, but the bigger stuff I pass on to the people equipped with the know-how to do it better and faster: my dad, my brother, or whoever I’m dating at the time. (I feel sorry for every boyfriend I’ve ever had and my ex-husband, as they constantly dealt with all my car issues.)

Moving on to the point:

I’ve had a headlight out for a couple months now… so I went to Autozone and picked up a new bulb. Usually, if you buy a small part there, they’ll offer to install it for you for free, but this day the store was packed, there were 10 people in line behind me, and they didn’t offer. I was bummed, but thought it was all good though. I can put in my own headlight. This will be a good learning experience and maybe I’ll blog about it. I can do this all by myself! I nearly roared…

Three months later…

I’m still driving without a headlight and just waiting to get pulled over and get a ticket.

Pull it together, Ami! It’s just a stupid headlight.

How hard could it be to change it yourself?

I knew that it wasn’t going to go as fast as I thought,

so I waited for a day when I had a few hours to spare.

Today was that day.

First, I went outside, opened the hood, and stared at everything for about a minute.

Then, I came back inside and googled that ish.

This video actually helped a lot. I didn’t even know you had to unscrew shit! After I unscrewed everything and moved it aside, I had to turn the lights on to see which bulb to replace (there were 3) and I discovered all 3 were working.

It wasn’t the RIGHT SIDE light. It was the left.

SON of a…

On the left side, you don’t have to unscrew anything.

Lesson learned. But 15 minutes wasted. Whatever.

I did the first couple parts fine: undo the electric thingy, pull off the rubber thingy, then it came time to undo the metal retainer clip. “Just push down and then swing it to the side” it said. OK.

This was not effing working!

After consulting the manual again,

and consulting the youtube video again

to confirm that you were supposed to push down, the clip came undone

the moment I pulled up and wiggled!

So 45 minutes,

one beer,

and several bruised and sore fingers later,

pulling up was what got it to unclip.

And out came the bulb! Bitch.

Moving on… Next step:

“Take the old bulb from the holder by simply pulling straight back.”

Straight back my ass!

You know when you’re trying to open a plastic bag and you don’t want to pull too hard and rip the whole thing open, but pulling lightly isn’t working and you can’t find the happy medium? This was that moment. And I was getting pissed.

Hence the second beer.

Finally, I called my brother, and he told me to try and pry it off with a screwdriver. Genius! That worked quickly and easily. He offered to do it for me if I came to his place but NO. I was doing this. But thanks for the tip, Nathan! : ) New bulb in place, it was now time to reverse the order of everything and put it back together (thanks for the instructions, Mazda manual). That took about a minute and a half and BOOM! Light was working!!!

The whole thing took me an hour and 42 minutes.

I timed it.

(I know… weirdo)

I was supposed to use this at some point

but I didn’t. Oh well. It’ll be fine.

Obviously somebody didn’t use it to begin with

since it was so hard to remove…

Would it have been faster/easier to let somebody else do it? Yes

Do I now know how to do it myself? Hell yes.

Booyah.

we’ll see how long the bulb stays in there…

What have you done by yourself that should have probably been done by a professional?

posted by Ami McMullen 3 Comments
Filed Under: Charli/Car, DIY, independent, Nathan

05/20

Things That Are My Jam…

The following things are my JAM right now.

1. This song.
Y’all don’t even know how much this song is my jam right now. I danced through the entire Houston C terminal while this song was on repeat this morning. Robin Thicke… I have a new boyfriend.

2. This book.

Loving it. Love that Robert Langdon can’t keep himself out of international trouble. It keeps me occupied and highly entertained.

#3. This dog.
Tango is so sweet. I’m pretty sure he tries to “tuck me in”. He always gets into bed with me and stays until I’m about to fall asleep. Then he stands up, looks back at me, then crawls into his kennel for the night. It’s the sweetest thing.

#4. This suitcase.

I’ve only had this set for about 2 years, but it’s been on 60+ trips and starting to look worn; signs that it’s been a lot of places. Totally a good thing!

#5. The weather!
It’s feelin’ more like summer these days and it’s so nice to train my clients outdoors instead of inside. I like sunshine, and they love being outside after long days in the office. This is Tom, rockin’ out TRX Crossing Balance Lunges.

#6. Beignets
I’ve been told all about Cafe Du Monde so decided to hit it up while I was in N’awlins this weekend. Wasn’t sure what a beignet was… now I’m in love. It’s basically a rectangle doughnut (but so much better) with about a pound of powered sugar on it. I also had red beans and rice for dinner, a Louisiana staple I’m told. Today’s menu: vegetables.

What’s your jam this week?

posted by Ami McMullen 4 Comments
Filed Under: Book Buzz, dance party, Jam, song, Tango, travel

05/16

Who Are You? I wanna know…

Anybody else feel like their blog has about 3 readers: you and your parents?
We have blog stats and such, but we never really know who’s out there reading our ish,
unless they leave a comment. But I read tons of blogs and don’t always leave a comment
(mostly due to lack of time) or connect with the blogger.

A lot of bloggers have no idea that I’m reading and following their lives, but I am.

Now that I’ve typed that it sounds way creepier than it’s intended to…

I was reading this post last week from Meg,

and have been LOVING reading all the comments,
meeting new bloggers,

and finding great new blogs to check out…

so naturally I’m going to ~~steal~~ borrow this idea,

’cause I’m kinda pissed I didn’t think of it first.

If you’re new to my blog, I’ll answer these questions as well.

But tell me about yourself, please! I want to know who’s out there!
Call it blogger networking : )

Tell me the following about yourself, please:

1. Who are you?

I’m Ami

photo by Missy Brown

2. Where do you live?

I’m currently in Louisville, KY

3. Where else have you lived?

Pittsburgh, Richmond, San Diego

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4. What do you do for work?

I’m a TRX Master Instructor, all around the country

and I run a TRX Bootcamp and do personal training here in Louisville.

5. How old are you?

I’m 28. 3 months younger than Mark Zuckerburg…

which makes me feel sort of like a slacker at times…

6. What are your main hobbies/interests?

I’m a dancer and rock climber, but I’m game for anything outside.

Kalymnos, Greece

7. Countries you’ve been to (other than the one you live in).

I’ve gone to the Bahamas, Greece twice, Thailand, and Canada.

SO many more are on the list of places to go though…

Krabi, Thailand

8. What’s your favorite book and song right now?

I’m reading Inferno, by Dan Brown (the author of The Da Vinci Code)

and have been rockin’ out to Cruise, by Florida Georgia Line (country lover)

Cruise by Florida Georgia Line on Grooveshark

Leave me a comment and tell me about yourself

(and leave your blog link!).

I’ll get to know who you are, find your blog,

and you guys may meet some fellow bloggers similar to you!

Go!

1. Name

2. Where you currently live.

3. Where else have you lived?

4. What do you do for work?

5. How old are you?

6. What are your main hobbies/interests?

7. Which countries have you visited?

8. Favorite book/song right now.

posted by Ami McMullen 9 Comments
Filed Under: connecting, i wanna know

05/15

Workout Playlist!

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Does anybody else feel like there’s hardly ANY good music out right now?

I’ve been struggling with making a new playlist the past couple weeks

so I’ve been re-playing some of my older ones in class.

I’m over that.

I’ve been SCOURING the intertubes for good music to workout to. Here’s what I’ve found.

As always, my playlists are an hour long and include cool down/stretch music.

This is this week’s playlist:

May 15, 2013 by Ami McMullen on Grooveshark

Let me know if you’ve got some great tunes

that get you PUMPED for your workout.

I’d love to add them to the next mix!

Thanks!

posted by Ami McMullen Leave a Comment
Filed Under: classes, motivation, music, playlist

05/14

Video: TRX 30 Minute Circuit

Need a quickie? A quickie workout, I mean… I get asked for fast workouts quite often. This workout can be done in 30 minutes! It’s perfect for before/after work or on your lunch break.

First: Determine your level.

Level 1 peeps are going to do 10 reps of each exercise
Level 2 peeps are gonna do 15 reps of each.
Level 3 (badass) peeps are going to rock 20 reps of each.

Second: Start the clock.

I like to set the timer on my phone to go off at the 30 min mark. Change it up if you have more/less time to work with.

Third: Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

Go through your # of reps of all 5 exercises, then repeat as many times as you can, with control, within your time frame. How many rounds can you complete?

Pro Tip: Don’t sacrifice good control for speed!

I did 3 rounds (plus a few lunges) of Level 3 in 30 minutes.
And was breathing hard…

Try it out and let me know what you think!

TRX 30 Minute Circuit from Ami McMullen on Vimeo.

For 4 weeks of my TRX Workouts (videos, pdfs, and workout timers), check out Flash Fit Clubs.

For your own TRX, click here.

posted by Ami McMullen 2 Comments
Filed Under: Circuit, Fitness, TRX, video, workout Tagged: core, Flash Fit Club, home workout, TRX, workout

05/13

Lululemon Ambassador Summit: Video

I started to put the next couple days’ photos up

for the next post and was thinking of making a video instead.

So I did.

Music: Slumber

Artist: Needtobreathe

Lululemon Ambassador Summit from Ami McMullen on Vimeo.

Thanks again to everybody at Lululemon

for an amazing event. We gained so much on this trip

and all of us are grateful!

posted by Ami McMullen 1 Comment
Filed Under: Ambassador Summit, lululemon, Summit, video

05/12

Happy Mother’s Day!

My mom is awesome. There’s so much good in her I can’t even begin to tell you.

I mean… she raised me and I turned out pretty kickass.

; )

I am everything I am because of her.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!

And this awesome video is for all the awesome mothers out there

(and anybody else that’s in a “mom” role)

from Kid President:

Also sending out lovely thoughts to those who have lost their mothers
and those who long to be mothers but aren’t:
those dealing with infertility, miscarriages, or have experienced the loss of a child.
Today is SO great for most, but SO hard for others.
*hugs*