After I decided to take some time off from competing, I felt a little lost. I had trouble working up the motivation to get to the gym because I didn’t have that BIG IMPORTANT GOAL to work toward anymore. Which was actually a weird feeling because the gym is usually my happy place and I don’t often just not feel like it. But, I listened to my body and I took it easy for a couple of weeks.
Instead of lifting weights 5-6 days a week, I lifted weights maybe 2 days a week.
I joined a spin class. I joined a yoga class.
I ate less meat — not a huge meat fan, and my competition diet required me to eat a ton of it.
I started to feel a little better! I guess my body just needed some TLC in order to heal and start recovering from depression.
Slowly, I started to miss the weights. But getting myself to the gym felt like a huge undertaking and I couldn’t seem to make it there unless my boyfriend was with me.
A big part of my challenge was feeling afraid that people at my gym would ask me how competition prep was going and I’d have to have a discussion I didn’t want to have. In general, I’m not big on chatting at the gym. And although I’m open about why I stopped prep, the first person I told at the gym (without mentioning the reasoning) told me I should “suck it up”. Yeah, not really something I wanted to hear.
It sucked feeling out of touch with my favorite hobby.
And then motivation arrived at my doorstep. Literally. I got a shipment of workout shirts and recovery drinks from KILL CLIFF, and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. As dumb as it may sound, shiny new gym gear or new supplements to try out does the trick for me when I need some gym motivation. Especially when their slogan is KILL THE QUIT!
I got to try five different KILL CLIFF flavors! I’ve tried them in the morning as my second “cuppa” (they have 25 mg of caffeine, compared to a cup of coffee at 90-200 mg), in the afternoon as a tasty pick-me-up, and pre-workout for a small boost of energy to get me going.
I’ve been enjoying using KILL CLIFF in all three ways, but I especially appreciate that it’s sugar free and the caffeine content is lower than your typical pre-workout drink powder. I can use it before evening workouts without worrying about being up all night. And it’s full of good stuff like electrolytes, vitamins, ginger, ginseng, and green tea to fuel the bod naturally.
We like the stuff so much at my house, we cleared out a whole kitchen cabinet shelf just to have it easily accessible. The shelf happens to be right above the liquor shelf…might have to do some experimentation there! Will report back.
My absolute favorite flavor is Blackberry Lemonade, with Blood Orange in second place. But honestly, all the flavors are refreshing and delightful.
As silly as it sounds, KILL CLIFF helped give me the kick I needed to get back into the gym while I worked on recovering from depression. If you need help to KILL THE QUIT, too, visit the KILL CLIFF site to find locations near you that sell the drinks, or order online (free shipping).
You can feel extra-good about buying KILL CLIFF because they’re founded by a Navy SEAL and are official partners of the Navy SEAL Foundation that donate to the foundation every year (last year they gave over $200,000)!
Quitting is not an option! KILL THE QUIT.
