Max Muscle- Week 1

I mentioned on Facebook the other day that I went to meet with the very awesome Corry Matthews of Max Muscle.  Corry is someone that really intimidated me on paper.  She's a former fitness model, co-author of a book (a real book!), and owner of a business, namely Max Muscle.

I really want to dislike people that look this awesome pregnant. 

If there is ever a store that I didn't contemplate ever entering for even a second, y'all, it had to be Max Muscle.

Just the name was enough to scare me.  I am not now, nor do I ever have aspirations of being a bodybuilder.  Heck, as I openly admit I don't even really care to be fit, I just want to be skinny.  So, when Corry contacted me about coming out to the store and talking about some ways she could help out my readers, I sat in my car staring at the storefront for a few minutes trying to decide what I was walking into.  Then I manned up and went in.  They're located at 12849 Galveston Court Manassas, right across from Confections, so I figured if it went really bad, I'd just head across the street. ;)

Guys, this might be the best-kept secret in Prince William County, but Max Muscle is not necessarily just for people who currently possess "Max Muscle".  Corry explained to me that one of her passions, and part of the reason that she wrote her book, is post-natal wellness in mothers.  We see all these women in the media who pop out a baby and leave the hospital in size zero jeans and then we beat ourselves up.  So, while she does work with competitive athletes, and even people who are really fit and want to take their fitness next-level, she's also here to help regular people who are just looking for a quality of life change.  She can help you up your energy level or drop a few pounds post-baby.  Her store stocks energy and protein bars and shakes as well as supplements, and she's even set it up so that if you're new to fitness, you don't have to go past the first 2 feet of the store.

Oh, also- if you've got a student-athlete, Corry has great information on nutrition and even diet plans for them, too! She's helped high-school wrestlers and football players add lean muscle mass rather than bulking up with fat, and she can also help parents who are looking to help their multi-sport players (hello my family!) stay well-fed and fit.

We talked for a few minutes, and then Corry invited me to try out their Max Formation program, which involves assessing your current body fat, measurements, physical activity, and calorie needs and tailoring a system of eating to help you meet your fitness goals.

Listen, she's good you guys. I let her take my measurements in the first 10 minutes of knowing me and my husband doesn't even know how much I weigh.  When she asked about my eating habits, I didn't feel judged or embarrassed at all, and she was very gentle about making corrections to how I currently do things, but also firm with the fact that they needed to happen.  For example, I openly admitted I frequently don't have my first food of the day until around lunchtime or later.  Corry said that was a very common mistake that a lot of women make, but then told me that I was going to have to suck it up and eat breakfast. That's a perfect balance for me.  Don't make me feel stupid, tell me you get that it's hard, tell me to do it anyway.  It works!

This is my magic spreadsheet.  It's pretty amazing. 

This post is getting really long, so let me cut to the chase.  over the next 3 months I'll be using the customized Excel Spreadsheet that I was provided with.  It's got a pull-down menu for each meal so I can keep making my family meals as I usually do and it will provide me with portion sizes.  I spent $64 on protein powder mix (um, yeah, that almost made me drop dead, but then I realized it's just over $1 per serving and I spend a lot more than that on iced tea at Starbucks).  I've gotten a lot of feedback from friends that think that too much protein makes you big, or that you need to totally cut out carbs, or that you need to eat only egg whites, but I'm going to try this for 3 months, and I'll share with you guys how it's going.  It seems like a really reasonable plan, and I'm kind of at the point where I'll try anything.

I didn't have an ideal weight in mind, but Corry's measurements helped me set a super-embarrasing 40 pound goal.  It's been 1 week, and I'm -2.  I'm also on vacation this week, and with the exception of driving to South Carolina alone in the car and using Diet Coke and snacks as a crutch to stay awake (I drove from 7pm to 3am), I've had no problems following the plan as directed, and I even really like the protein shakes, which aren't required, but I bought because they're really fast and easy for breakfast, rather than cooking for myself every day.

If you've got questions or comments you'd like answered as we go along, I'd be happy to answer them, or to get answers for them from Corry.

Also, Max Muscle Manassas will be having their 5th Anniversary in September, and they're holding a 5K to benefit the Semper Fi Fund in celebration.  I'm planning to run jog it at a moderate pace, and if you'd like to join me, I'd be happy to put together a team of us!

Aaaaannnnddd.....other than that just cross your fingers for me because failing in front of an entire audience of people would be mortifyingly embarrassing.

Oh, aaaannnnddd (since I'm apparently typing things out the way I hear them in my head right now) if you go in to Max Muscle Manassas and tell them you're a PwcMoms reader, they'd be happy to give you 10% off this week. Just show them this post on your smart phone (or if you don't have a smart phone, just tell them, it's random enough that you should be good).